wound now has maggots

[pysankigirl]

I've been dealing for months with a wound from an abscess on one of my hen's backs. I've been cleaning it every couple of days and it just hasn't gotten much better. I gave her a round of antibiotics & I have been bathing her with antimicrobial soap. But the wound is not just a flat wound... it has many deep cavities so using q-tips to get alcohol into the cavities of the wound. This has tested my abilities to handle gross.

Now today there were maggots .

I am horrified, but I cleaned them all out and scrubbed and scrubbed. I've been bandaging her and letting her back out with the rest of the flock, but I guess now I will keep her inside. I guess I'd been lucky so far not to have gotten them. it has been months. I don't know what else to do to get this wound to heal. It's on her back and quite large.

She is a really sweet girl.

 

[casportpony]

I've been dealing for months with a wound from an abscess  on one of my hen's backs. I've been cleaning it every couple of days and it just hasn't gotten much better. I gave her a round of antibiotics & I have been bathing  her with antimicrobial soap. But the wound is not just a flat wound... it has many deep cavities so using q-tips to get alcohol  into the cavities of the wound. This has tested my abilities to handle gross.

Now today there were maggots .

I am horrified, but I cleaned them all out and scrubbed and scrubbed. I've been bandaging her and letting her back out with the rest of the flock, but I guess now I will keep her inside. I guess I'd been lucky so far not to have gotten them.  it has been months. I don't know what else to do to get this wound to heal. It's on her back and quite large.

She is a really sweet girl.

Can you post some pictures?

-Kathy

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry! Yes, keep her out of the flies. Alcohol will damage tissue, stop using it here. Rinse the goo off, and apply a wound dressing, and don't bandage if she's in a clean environment. Silvadene ointment is the best! It's originally for burns, and so wonderful for this type of injury. Also, those hospital/ diaper type pads work will for bedding, so she's not getting normal bedding in the site. Old towels work too, but that's nasty laundry. Feed really good stuff, like Flock Raiser, or some balanced grower type feed, and oyster shell if she's actually laying eggs. Good luck! Mary

 

[pysankigirl]

 

[pysankigirl]

I'm trying to post photo...but for some reason my post is blank...

 

[casportpony]

I'm trying to post photo...but for some reason my post is blank...

If you can't figure it out, email them to me and I'll post them for you. My email is my user name @gmail.com

-Kathy

 

[donrae]

I know maggots are

, but at least they should have debrided the wound so you're dealing with clean tissue.

I second quitting the alcohol. With tunneling wounds, I would say not to probe with a q-tip, either. use a syringe and saline or dilute betadine solution and gently irrigate the wounds, just letting the solution run back out and blotting dry. I think a 19 gauge or larger needle gives the appropriate psi for irrigating but not causing tissue damage. Probing with the q-tip can prevent the wounds from closing, gentle irrigation will cleanse and allow them to heal from the inside out.

The silvadene or something similar will be good. You want to provide a moist environment for this wound to heal, as long as it's not draining copious amounts on it's own. Something like adaptic or Vaseline gauze would also be good to lay over it to keep it moist.

High protein snacks will be good for her. The body needs protein to re-grow that muscle tissue.

 

[Sonya9]

As others have said, stop using rubbing alcohol! That destroys tissue and can delay/prevent healing, if you have been using it frequently that could be why the wound hasn't healed on its own. Hydrogen peroxide and iodine also kill cells and prevent healing. While using it once on a fresh wound is one thing, using it multiple times is very bad.

Also if maggots start clustering on an animals rear end (sometimes happens if the animal has diarrhea) they can quickly become fatal. If they get inside the body (through the rectum) they will quite literally eat the animal from the inside out.

 

[pysankigirl]

Thanks guys...I will stop using the rubbing alcohol. The wound has been producing a cheesy gunk under the scab. Is this infection? Should I do another course of antibiotics? She is sitting here in our living room on a towel. I gave her a bunch of mealworms in addition to her regular food...I am not going to bandage it so that I can see if more maggots show up.

 

[pysankigirl]

This wound is on her back I suspect a mating injury that got infected and turned into a big huge abscess.