chicken with open wound

[nicoleb875]

ok first I should put out there idk how to work the picture posting things but i'm goung to try my best... apologies if I do it wrong and you see something you don't wanna see... which would normally be me too but I have a really old hen... she's like 5 or 8 i'm not even sure I got her as a re-home from a family friend... I went to put my girls up and this hen was missing from her box so I went looking and found her behind the coop door.. looked like she was in a patch of diarhhea and I picked her up... smelled to high heaven so of course I freaked and tried to wash it off and realized the problem is much worse than I thought... her bottom side is basically open... idk if she's been attacked... or if something burst... theres no blood... some of the feathers were missing.. I don't see intestines or anything... but its open.. I sprayed it with antibacterial/antifungal spray after I cleaned it..(SORRY for this but..)there were maggots in the wound I got them all as far as I know.. sprayed with the antifungal-antibacterial spray put a wound pad on it and vet wrap to hold it on... she can stand... she kindof shuffle walks.... and she atleast looked toward the food and water like she was interested... I brought her in for the night... i'm not sure if she had cancer and it went thru the skin or if that is even possible with chickens...or if she was attacked and I missed it but if thats what happened I never found blood or feathers and the other birds are fine as far as I know... I just don't know what this is or what to do about it if there is even anything that can be done..anyone have any ideas? again sorry for the graphic picture..

 

[LaFleche]

She is suffering from severe flystrike and going by your description and the picture she appears to be beyond help already.

I would end her suffering immediately and put her down.

Inspect the butts of your other chickens as well and keep them clean to avoid fly strike. Trim overly fluffy but feathers so the droppings will not get stuck and attract flies.
Bathe them to see clearly if there might be a similar issue going on.

 

[Eggcessive]

Fly strike from flies laying maggot larvae on poopy vents (or where there is a wound from pecking,) is a dangerous issue in hot weather. Increased temps make them drink more, and that can lead to diarrhea, which may attract flies. Sorry about your poor hen. You can try soaking her in warm soapy water or Epsom salts twice a day to kill all the maggots that hatch for over 24 hours, but it may be too late for her. Here is some reading about fly strike:
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/fly-strike

 

[nicoleb875]

well I checked the other 2 chickens and trimmed the bigger one's feathers to keep her clean... she was not amused... the other is a silkie but she keeps her butt very clean always has and then attacked my ankle once I set her down... little chicken BIG attitude... .I didn't get the chance to either put her down or attempt any further treatment she died overnight. Thank you for responding to my post... it may not be anything I ever would have expected or wanted for the old girl but up til now she had a good long life i'm not sure of her exact age but i'm guessing between 6 -8 years... she will be greatly missed but i'm glad shes not hurting now.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

I had a case almost exactly like this... She needs antibiotics, soak her daily or better yet, twice daily, in a warm bath with Betadine in the water. Submerge her in the water, the maggots will float to the surface, then pull out any maggots you can find with tweezers. Get some Schriener's and spray that on liberally, it's incredible stuff! Keep her isolated and quiet, give her some scrambled eggs as a boost 1x a day, some Nutradrench or something like it wouldn't hurt either.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Oh dear, I started writing this last night but fell asleep before I could post it! I'm sorry for your loss, <3

 

[Eggcessive]

Very sorry for your loss.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Fly strike from flies laying maggot larvae on poopy vents (or where there is a wound from pecking,) is a dangerous issue in hot weather. Increased temps make them drink more, and that can lead to diarrhea, which may attract flies. Sorry about your poor hen. You can try soaking her in warm soapy water or Epsom salts twice a day to kill all the maggots that hatch for over 24 hours, but it may be too late for her. Here is some reading about fly strike:
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/fly-strike

I should have known that @Eggcessive would know eggxactly (ha ha) what the problem was! The hen I treated about two years ago was a friend's chicken, and we never could figure out what had caused this disgusting and clearly painful condition. I named the hen "Stinky" and to my great surprise, she survived and is still thriving now. At the time, I lived in the downstairs apartment of a two-story house. My own chickens were friendly to the point of annoying, but my friends' hens were all fairly wild, and kept "just for the eggs". When I noticed one of her wild hens standing outside my door with my pet chickens, I thought it was odd. The next day when I opened my front door, she must have been leaning against it because she nearly fell inside! It was clear to me that she was asking for help. I picked her up and saw a raging case of what I now know is "fly strike" and thought we should put her out of her obvious misery then and there. My friend was determined to try and save her though, she even quoted my own words "where there's life, there's hope" at me, lol! We spent many days patiently soaking that hen, picking maggots out with tweezers, spraying her entire backside with the Schriener's and feeding her scrambled egg with penicillin mixed in. The smell was unbelievable, oof, hence the name "Stinky"! At first, we both thought it was probably hopeless, but this chicken obviously wanted to live so we tried our best. Slowly, she started to get better, and when the day came that I couldn't catch her... That was a wonderful day!!! Now that I know what caused it, I'll be keeping a closer eye on my flock in the hot months! Your wisdom and knowledge are always appreciated @Eggcessive, and I mean that sincerely! Thank you!

 

[HowIsItDone]

Trim overly fluffy but feathers so the droppings will not get stuck and attract flies

Dumb Newbie question. Do you just cut feathers back with scissors?

 

[LaFleche]

Dumb Newbie question. Do you just cut feathers back with scissors?

Yes.