MAGGOTS on dying chicken - please help

[NancyBrew]

Catherine, I am so very sorry for your loss and can see why this must have been especially hard for you to deal with.... that chapter of life may seem over, however those chickens helped you and your daughter become who you are now. Even this sad episode is just another chapter and the story... of you is not done.

I suspect that raising them helped you once and may help you again, it is funny but very few people give up pets forever even after a heartbreaking episode such as Sassafras's passing. We just cannot help ourselves. I call it my need to save little souls.

I guess being in medicine and seeing the deaths of patients has made me focus of trying to save things I can... stray cats, injured birds, little chickies. Me giving them a decent life, seems to offset the hurt I feel not being able to save that patient I had die of a heart attack, or the teenager who died in that horrible motorcycle accident, or the lung transplant patient that did not make it....

Whatever the person's value system and good heart is from or for.... Our pets benefit...Right? And gosh so do we!

It has been 30 years since I have had a duck, many more since chickens, and some little voice very recently just said "you need chickens Nancy"... So here I am again. I was hurt once too... there is always hope... and one day maybe some new chicks will herald a new chapter for you... and then maybe not. But you are better for the experience....however harsh and sad it is right now. I am sure you know that. *smiles*

Rest in Peace Sassafras (I had a pilgrim goose named that... god I loved her

)
You are not alone and we are here.

Nancy

PS I for one would like to learn what to do right away in case this ever happens.... Maggots used in medicine are sterile flies raised in a lab, a FAR cry for anything outside. They are so rarely used. I have seem them used once in 37 years. This was a last ditch effort to save someone with flesh eating bacteria. It was not an easy thing to watch...trust me. This patient was in a coma and at deaths door. There is absolutely NO place for them on any living pet.

New topic Threehorses? Tell us?

 

[threehorses]

OK, you asked for it. I never said I wasn't wordy.

I'm interested in your input.

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The argument whether or not maggots are beneficial to wounds seems as endless as time itself. However, I think we should move on from that to what to do if you have a bird that ends up with maggots anywhere on its body. This is unfortunately a rather gross topic, but as chickens tend to attract flies, it’s a necessary one. So let’s attack it.
Before I start, I’d like to say that this information comes from research as well as hands-on, practical experience for over forty years with various livestock and poultry. I also have worked in a vet clinic and, unfortunately, seen many pets come in with maggot infestations. That being said, I am not a veterinarian and I always advise that the best and preferred course of action is consulting your good veterinarian with avian experience always. This article is meant to inform the layman fancier and help them to deal with situations in which there is no vet readily available and to prepare the bird until a vet is available. None of the following advice is intended to replace that of a veterinarian ever.
First, a little bit about maggots. Most people know that they are the larvae of flies, of course. However what most people don’t know is that it only takes one fly to produce up to 300 larvae within as short a period as one day! In warm weather, some larvae can hatch within 12 hours. Flies usually choose a place that is moist and warm to lay their eggs. This could be a wet spot on the ground, decaying vegetation, a carcass, or an unfortunate chicken.
Most maggots will only eat decaying flesh. However, screw worms DO eat living flesh and, when found, are associated with livestock. While the flies themselves are relatively easy to distinguish from other flies in the barnyard, their larvae are not. There has been an eradication program in place. However, livestock and poultry owners are still advised to be on the lookout for these flies. If you find flies around your bird that are blue-green and twice the size of a normal fly, and there are maggots, it is advisable to take a sample of the maggots for examination by your local vet or ag extension. As for the layman, it is best to assume that any maggot is a bad maggot to be eradicated as soon as possible.
When an animal presents with maggots, it’s best to prepare first aid supplies like you would do for any wound with a few additions specific to cases where maggots might be an issue or threat. Be particularly careful to wear gloves, two pairs per hand if necessary. Also be sure to keep supplies at hand in case you need to flush out your eyes, mouth, etc.
Find an area where you can look at the animal carefully with good light and a washable surface. Be sure none of your other poultry are around. Where you examine the bird depends on your situation. I’ve had just as much luck on the back of a truck tail-gait as I have in a sink for small birds or in a tub for larger ones.
The similarity between these areas is that they all can be hosed off and liquid can run off them, the surfaces being easily disinfected afterwards. This is very important.
Quickly put on clothes that you can ruin. If you have an apron that you can bleach to put on over your clothes, waterproof being ideal, then please do.
The area where maggots are present must be examined carefully. Smell the area for the offensive smell of necrosis (rotting). Look at the liquids coming from the area and make a note if they’re the normal color of pus, or if any are dark brown liquids. If the maggots are near a natural opening of the animal (eyes, mouth, nostrils, rectum, etc) take particular note that there might be migration of the larvae (depending on which fly type laid them) into the body.
Then, using warm water preferably, wash the area off vigorously. Try not to get any of the animal wet other than the area on which there are maggots so that they don’t chill. You will literally try to knock off as many maggots as possible with the force of the water. Don’t make it overly harsh, but at least as strong as a shower. If you cannot do that, knock as many off as you can using less water pressure. Then use large syringes filled with water (and possibly a little hydrogen peroxide) to knock more off.
This harsh action should help clean the area of debris so that you can determine whether or not there was originally a wound in the area, or if any broken flesh is due to maggots or sores. The water will also help to work on getting the maggots to move so that they fall off, come out of holes, etc.
If you find that there are no deep pocketed wounds or orifices that the maggots might have entered, then you can simply use tweezers to pick the last of the maggots off and dress the wound as appropriate for the type of wound. Note: You will want to check the wound every 12 hours or so to make sure there are no new batches of eggs hatching.
If you’re squeamish, sometimes doing this task under a red light helps. It makes the examination look a little less gross.
In cases where you find there are deep pockets, punctures, or an orifice into which maggots are suspected to have entered, more maggot-searching must be done. I’ve used hydrogen peroxide before both to clean dirt out of deeper wounds (preferably diluted slightly with water) as well as irritate maggots so that they exit all small crevices. However, some people have used honey to literally smother maggots out of these wounds. It works. Whatever remaining honey there is in the wound afterwards will not necessarily harm the wound. It is important to get ever maggot out of the wound. Again tweezers are really good for this. If you happen to have hemostats, these work wonderfully as well.
If the maggots have gone into the orifice of a bird, then you have to determine whether or not they have in sufficient numbers to harm the bird. Always, veterinary advice at this point is advised. Each situation differs.
For all other situations, you will want to dress the wound as usual making sure that the method you use allows you to check the wounds every 12 hours for the few days until you’re sure that the threat of maggots has passed. Also, you should consult with an expert as to whether or not an appropriate systemic antibiotic is necessary depending on the situation. Surface sores, quite like bedsores, that happen when a bird has had pasty-vent or gleet might not necessarily require systemic antibiotics but only topical ones. Deeper wounds and certainly animal bites or punctures might be a different matter. Whether or not you use an antibiotic depends on the case. However, if you choose to use one, you absolutely *must* use one that specifically acts against wounds. Do not depend on the feed store’s recommendation of the average antibiotics for respiratory illnesses to do the job.
Also, as always, any medicated bird should receive probiotics to make up for the bacteria that are killed during use of antibiotics so that a secondary digestive infection does not occur.
In a case where maggots were present, I always recommend trying to prevent a re-infestation by the use of fly-repellant ointments or sprays. Keeping a wound dry helps, but sometimes the ointments we use still might attract flies, particularly in arid environs. There are a few products at your local feed store designed to help livestock and poultry owners keep flies out of wounds. Two of my favorite products are Swat (brand) ointment in the horse aisle, and screwworm wound spray. I prefer Swat as it’s a nice smelling and antibacterial ointment that is safe for use in animals. However, in cases where I prefer a dry wound dressing, screwworm spray for wounds definitely works. You dress the wound and then spray over the wound (and/or bandages) afterwards. I highly recommend both products for every poultry fancier’s cabinet.
Once you are done dressing the area and the chicken is placed back in its seclusion, then the area where you cleaned the bird must be cleaned thoroughly. It cannot be stressed enough that your other birds must not be allowed to eat maggots. The very fact that maggots generally eat rotting flesh or vegetation should be enough to make us realize that they could possibly (and often do) carry bacteria that are harmful to our birds. Again as we are never quite sure whether the larvae of regular or screwworm flies, it’s best just not to take the risk unless one is a entomologist.
Thereafter, the bird should be treated as any stressed or injured bird. The emphasis should be on nutrition, hydration, and immune support. Always make sure that the bird continues to eat and drink normally. If it does not, take the situation in hand and nourish and hydrate the bird in appropriate and safe manners. It helps to use immune-supporting natural foodstuffs when a bird is stressed. If you help the bird fight from the inside, it is much more likely to survive.
I hope that as few people as possible ever have to encounter the horrifying and devastating site of maggot infestation. However, if you do happen to, I hope this article has been of help to you.
Good luck, and good health to you and your flock!

Please do not reproduce this article without the expressed permission of the author, Nathalie Ross. I can be contacted at [email protected] regarding its contents.

 

[momdeb]

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm searching now to help my sweet, hen, Lorraine.
Yesterday evening before closing up the coop, I gave her some panacur dewormer. Looked up under her feathers and saw so many maggots. She's infested. I rinsed her with saline spray wash for wounds as fast as I could ..when I ran out of that, I rinsed her with sea salt water(very diluted)..rinsed many maggots away but they were under her skin. I cut her feathers away to get to them. I did this through the night and she let just let me. I'm so sad because I had her sitting on my lap just a few days before - she was more snuggly than ever. I know why now. I wish that I noticed. I had brought her to the vet who said to give her the de wormer(what he thought the sticky droppings were from). Flies had been laying eggs in that area to the side of her vent and they hatched into maggots.
I read that is called Fly strike. Happens to livestock.
I rinsed her again this morning..there are so many. I am unable to get at all of them because they are inside and go into her skin.
She is on clavimox now. She doesn't have a 'hole' or anything of that sort. The vet said that it could have been lots worse, but as it is now, they are inside her.
I rinsed her with Hibiclens that I got from cvs and vet recommended this 2 times a day.
Something called, Screw Worm wound spray is a pesticide with permitheum(spelling?) in it - SWATS is another kind of fly pesticide that was written on a blog.
The vet said to try it. I sprayed her. Some wiggled out. Now, I see the short feather areas swaying ..like the maggots do. they are under there and I wish I could get them out.
The next Hibiclens rinse will be later ...before bed. Then, I apply antibiotic ointment. Then, clavamox dose.
She ate scrambled eggs. Her eyes are bright. She's strong to wipe her own beak after the eggs. however, she is not standing up today. I'm wondering if all the rinsing is driving the maggots up and in more. : ( making it worse. I just don't want her to suffer.
After reading your posts, if I see her short, tail feather area moving like that tomorrow, I will ask dr to help her pass.

Has anyone else had their hen recover from having maggots inside like that?

 

[jjthink]

I hope Nathalie (three horses) sees your post as she will likely be the best to answer your question. Can you send her a private message here on BYC,as I see her post was made long ago? There may well be a solution for your sweet hen.
JJ

 

[jjthink]

momdeb, Also, if you haven't done so already, start a new thread right away in Emergencies part of the Forum re: this issue. It will be seen by more folks.

JJ

 

[WinterBite]

Here are the steps I took to save our chicken "Chirpy" from maggots. talking about this makes me itchy.

Face this horror. i forced myself to face it, i had to.

you will need:
a) rubber/medical gloves
b) pliers ( something with a long nose most likely)
c) Spinosad ( i used a mixture of A+D, the brand i found was Captain Jack's Deadbug. its a white spray bottle with a red label, and a man with a mustache and sunglasses. cost about $8. but i recommend you read through my post to see if this is how you want to procede.)



1) I bathed the hen, in water, in a large bucket. be sure to dry the bird later.( i used bleach in the water, which i don't recommend, i was desperate to try something, but i was on my way to a wedding) I didn't submerge her completely, only enough to be sure the wound with maggots was submerged. wearing gloves I rubbed the areas to remove maggots. many were seen floating in the water. you may want to kill those.

2) the hen is now wet. its easier to lay her down on some grass ( she was so weak she struggled very little), when her feathers are wet its easier to push aside the feathers and observe the wound(s), it will be huge. don't worry.

3) REMOVE THE MAGGOTS.You will want PLIERS with a long nose. tweezers are too wimpy and precise IMO, you will most likely be have to reach into the chicken's wound where you cannot see. you will want something that can grab strongly and imprecisely. though take care to not rip on your chicken! i did snag the occassional feather and flesh, but i stopped at resistance. i kept searching, even after i thought i had them all, these were mostly big ones i was pulling off. you will see a spectrum of maggot sizes. its the large ones i wanted the most.

4) Now, I soaked her wound by pouring hydrogen peroxide. next day, there were still small maggots. i poured more hydrogen peroxide on, let her dry. still small maggots, and flies were still going after her. i figured i needed to try a pesticide, but i didn't want to spray poison onto a creature's wound, and i didn't want to spray poison in the yard or store poison i wasn't going to use.

I bought something called CAPTAIN JACK'S DEADBUG the active ingredient is SPINOSAD A + D. this stuff seemed pretty mild as a pesticide, it kills a number of bugs, including caterpillars and other larvae so i thought it may hurt maggots.

i sprayed this CJB onto Chirpy's wound. i could see small maggots on her wound again. i didn't remove the maggots. i soaked her wound in this stuff by spraying and i HELD THE CHICKEN UPSIDE DOWN AND SUCH SO THAT THE SPINOSAD COULD FLOW INTO THE DEPTH OF HER WOUND.

next day THERE WERE NO MAGGOTS!!! the wound was dry. i checked her as a best i could. and i sprayed her again the same as the day before to be sure.

she seems to have healed/recovered mostly. its been about 2 weeks since i treated her this way. she has a limp and she was the dominant hen but now she has a sober equilibrium with the other hens. at this point she seems to still be recovering her strength.

5) i also treated the hen's water with an antibiotic.


i will probably edit and refine this.