🆘 Major wound! flystrike

[DirtyHarrysHenHarem]

Came out this morning to blood drops in the chicken coop and one of my chickens with a severe wound right under her vent completely infested with maggots. It seems that the flash was eaten overnight and now some of her internals are basically exposed. I’ve cleaned out all the maggots and I’m working on sanitizing the wound. This looks like it probably needs to be sewn up. I am not a vet I do not have access to one. Any advice would be helpful on if/how to handle this! Thank you!

 

[JuChicks]

So sorry, I have no idea. You definitely need to get a vet or a friend that is experienced with chickens. If the chicken is suffering badly, I suggest that you put her down.

 

[The Brick Coop]

Euthanize. there is not enough skin to pull that one together to close it, and it suffers already. Sorry. Keep closer watch on flock health, I know it is difficult sometimes. I am not a vet!! I will describe what I would try if my injured bird is valuable. This might take a couple hours to attempt, and your bird might die anyway from blood loss and stress. Before its organs dry up
! If you were going to process a cockerel today for your table, you might have some skin for transplantation that might work, but then again it would be a huge trick for the new patch to gain enough circulation from the surrounding skin that it would survive that big a piece. If you do have a bird to sacrifice for new skin, and decide to attempt it yourself, have one person debride the injured bird of its yukky dead skin edges while the other person, as quickly as possible, cuts the new patch off the table bird, take from same position on body, immediately after killing it, and attach the new transplant to live (probably now bleeding) tissue. You've already used non-sterile water? Use povidone iodine on the organs before closing and on the outside afterwards. Then antibiotic ointment on the joins. If you've not sutured before, either get a pro or make sure you don't tie too tight to cut off circulation anywhere but still close. Black thread so you can see it in ten days to remove it. Sew quill-to-quill every 2 cm for strength. My general advice for all injuries on chickens only for covering the job is don't use gauze, use cotton stretched, then lots of narrow sticky masking tape (not bandage tape) all over to hold it on. Of course sticking it to a wet chicken is impossible so wrap it all around the body. Not too tight. Daily or at least every other day cut it off, check it, and re-bandage. Give Poultry Cell in crop with eyedropper. Add a kind old buddy bird within sight. Keep patient quiet, clean, and warm. If the new patch does not take all the way, remove what died and pull the live together. Sew only live to live. Check the rest of your birds! good luck.

 

[The Brick Coop]

Now I will probably get arrested, but I was only describing what I would do for my own bird. Yes I have sewn up a bunch of my own birds before from predator attacks. Chickens are surprisingly tough and seem to have amazing immune systems, but then this kind of condition is more than I have ever seen to recover from.

 

[The Brick Coop]

OOOPS I just re-read,, never use antibiotic ointment on something you are going to suture. it will be too greasy to hold! use it After suturing all.

 

[DirtyHarrysHenHarem]

Thanks for the input! Worked on her the better part of the morning and the afternoon. Got her cleaned out (whew) and sewed her up the best I could and got it protected w ointment. She seems to be feeling better now that her insides aren’t outside . Praying she looks better in the morning. She’s inside the hospital crate w me to keep any more flies away.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry about your hen. I just saw this. That looks rather strange, like there might be lash egg material or solid masses under the skin. Did it feel firm or squishy when you were sewing it up? Flystrike or maggot infestation of a wound is very deadly, and maggots may continue to hatch out for 24 hours after soaking the wound to remove them. I wonder if she had an enlarged lower belly or hernia from internal laying? What thpe of thread or suture did you use? This is a very serious wound. I don’t think I would have sutured it closed with flystrike, as it might be better to close from the inisde out. This definitely would be better handled by a vet. Antibiotics may be needed. Please let us know how she gets along.

 

[glassdragonfly]

Wow! Great job sewing that up! Maggots need air to survive,so I clean,wash,dry and put the antibiotic ointment so thick nothing can live under it! But I have never dealt with a wound like that. Best of luck!