Worms coming out hen's backside UPDATE

[EggyErin]

I'm so horrified I can hardly stand it. One of my hens got thumped by a car two days ago. She ran back into the yard but limped with a clearly painful leg. She hid in the brush and once I determined that she was breathing normally, I let her stay until time to go into the coop. I felt around but no obviously broken leg, no blood. I put her back in the coop in a separate cage with food and water. I've seen her eating a little and she'll occasionally stand. I got her out a while ago to wash off her back end since it looked messy. There are worms crawling around what I thought was her vent but it's above the vent. They are small white worms - maggots? I dewormed them about a month ago, two doses 10 days apart. What is this??? What do I do? I'm leaving town tomorrow!!!

 

[klmclain1]

Does she have a wound? Maggots will be eating the dead tissue if that's what it is. Pull off the maggots and bathe her really well. Check the wound and put an antiseptic like blukote on it. Is there anyone who can keep an eye on her for a few days so she can be kept in a clean environment and "doctored".

 

[EggyErin]

A friend of mine said it sounded like larvae from a kind of fly that bores a subcutaneous hole in the host and lays its eggs, which then hatch in this horrific manner. She had seen this happen in a kitten. The worms seem to be feeding on the poop right around them. I cleaned the vent and it's fine. I can't find a wound. Hard to tell what's going on.

 

[farmguycitygirl]

I know it's unpleasant, but this is one time when a picture would be worth a thousand words. I hope your hen makes a full recovery.

 

[klmclain1]

I wonder if Ivermectin would help with that kind of fly larvae??? At the very least, I'd put sevin dust on her. That sounds AWFUL!

 

[TeamChaos]

I hate to say it but it sounds like maggots and they'll eat your hen ALIVE. You said you were going to wash her back end did you? If you haven't already, wash her up and soak that part underwater long enough to drown as many worms as possible! When you get her out, clean the area- cut away any feathers that will hide the worms and watch her. Are the worms coming out of abraided skin- like she got road rash from the run in with the car or are they coming out of seemingly healthy skin (the worm your friend suggested- I'm thinking screwworm but I can't google it at the moment)? Either way, I'd be tempted to slather the whole area in either neosporin w/out pain relief or even vasoline or lanolin... something to smother any other worms in there. Yikes!

 

[EggyErin]

Well, it appears that it is a type of maggot but don't know if it's the kind that just eats dead tissue or live as well. I Googled lots. It's not screwworm as that has been eradicated in the US but could be "secondary" screwworm or plain maggots, depending on the fly. Either my hen already had a wound or she got one when she got hit, possibly a road rash. There is a little bruising around her tail bone. All it took was one fly and they are terrible this year. At any rate, there weren't many worms coming out today. My chicken friend came over and we studied and discussed - this amount of grossness benefits from a more academic approach. Keeps the nausea at bay. We cleaned with hydrogen peroxide and put a sugardine paste on her with the plastic wrap. I read about that on BYC from an old thread. My chicken friend has taken my hen home and will doctor her until I get back from my trip. I'm so relieved. Either she will improve or I'll put her down if need be. For now, she is alert and eating.

 

[klmclain1]

Excellent! I bet she'll be JUST FINE!!!

 

[EggyErin]

Well, a new twist. While I was out of town, my chicken friend discovered a puncture wound near the nasty wound. Given the proximity, someone suggested that it sounded like a snake bite and that maybe the skin around one of the punctures tore or that it got abraded when she was hit. There's also the question about what the venom contributed to the nasty hole. I'm still assuming that whatever happened, a fly still had to have laid the eggs that made the maggots, which are now gone. My friend did the sugardine for a couple of days then switched to straight Neosporin in both holes. The nasty hole has closed some, the other hole looks fine. The wound looks like it has dark poop all around it and has looked that way since I first saw it. It doesn't wash off. So is this necrotic tissue? If so, what do I do? My hen is eating and drinking, though not enough. Her comb is droopy but otherwise she's alert and occasionally moves around her cage. She talked a little this afternoon but has otherwise been quiet. I don't know where to go from here. What's a timeframe for healing? What are signs that she's not going to heal and should, therefore, be put down?

 

[EggyErin]

Help? Anyone?