worms

[lvlko]

Hello, I just discovered one of our 4 hens has a lot of stuck poop on her bottom and when I looked closely, I saw a bunch of worms in her vent. It is quite gross and I am not able to take a photo to show. Any idea what it might be and what I can do to help her? She is eating and drinking and walking around, just seems little off. Thanks for any tips.

 

[ChicNmom]

@lvlko

When you cleaned to poop off were the worms gone? Was there any kind of injury under the stuck poop?

This is helpful to determine if she has worms internally or if a fly laid eggs in the stuck poop and you are seeing maggots.

 

[lvlko]

I don't even know how to clean the poop off, any good tricks? It is hard and really stuck to the feathers all around her bottom.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

I don't even know how to clean the poop off, any good tricks? It is hard and really stuck to the feathers all around her bottom.

You're going to need to bathe her bum THOROUGHLY! She may have flystrike which can be fatal.

Please click this link and follow the instructions (you have to scroll down a ways, but there are step by step instructions):
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/#google_vignette

 

[lvlko]

Thank you so much!!! This was very helpful. I asked 5 of my chicken friends but nobody has experienced this and I wasn't finding anything helpful on the internet. But by your description, it looks like it might be flystrike. I will bathe her immediately and do more research on this topic. Thank you again, I appreciate it a lot!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

You're welcome! Good luck!

Hoping everything turns out ok!

 

[lvlko]

Thanks again. I gave her two baths, cleaned her well and then spent a long time pulling the maggots out of her vent with tweezers. There were hundreds of them and probably many more will keep coming out of the vent. I am afraid she is full of them if they went in? I will monitor and repeat the process as many times as needed. It's a tough one!

 

[ChicNmom]

It can be deadly if they are internal.

Here is a thread that might have some ideas.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ewwwww-maggots-in-vent-use-capstar.214613/#post-2539803


I would probably try an epsom salt or betadine flush if her vent.

 

[lvlko]

Thank you for all the responses. Unfortunately she didn't make it. I tried really hard to help her and spent two full days caring for her wound and pulling maggots out but it was way too late.. I really wish I caught it earlier She was basically a pet and a family member. I will share my new knowledge with everyone else. I had no idea how fast and deadly this can really be. I feel so horrible for not knowing and not addressing the issue earlier.

 

[ChicNmom]

I'm sorry you lost your girl.

You can't know everything that can go wrong with chickens. In 12 years I've only had it happen once 2 years ago. I didn't even know it had a name until I saw it on BYC recently.