My heart sank as soon as I opened up the coop doors to let everyone out for the morning. Every morning the routine is the same and this morning was no different. Wake up, pad downstairs, throw my particularly ugly Crocs on ... and let the chickens out for the day.
The chickens wake up about 2 hours before I do so by the time I get downstairs they're all waiting by the door anxious to get their jam packed day of scratching, pooping and lounging underway. Chickens: the men of the animal world.
So when there were only 3 chickens instead of 4 at the door this particular morning I knew something bad was waiting for me. If it had been Cheez Whiz, Mabel or Josephine that was missing I wouldn't have thought a thing about it. I'd know they were just in the nesting box laying an egg. But the missing chicken was Cuddles. Cuddles doesn't lay anymore, giving up on that after her near death experience last summer. She now spends her time like most retirees do. Snacking and napping. And playing golf.
I let the other chickens outside, then took a peek inside the roost where the chickens sleep. Cuddles was still up on her roost with her head down looking sad. But she jumped down when she saw me and slowly made her way outside.
Because it seems like she has issues with laying internally she gets icky feeling the odd time, but once she passes a hunk of solidified egg yolk, she's back to normal. It usually takes a half a day to a day and I figured that's what the problem was. So I went about my day checking on her the odd time. She was not active, just sitting all day in one spot looking very lethargic.
You have to keep in mind that chickens can go from sick to dead in 24 hours so if one isn't feeling well you really have to pay attention. By 3 in the afternoon or so I noticed she was standing up and picking at her bum. Which is good, because if a chicken can be bothered to groom themselves then they aren't in that bad of shape. A chicken about to die doesn't dust bathe or groom, they just sit and wait to die.
When I went over to take a closer look at her, happy she was standing, I was in no way prepared for what I was about to see.
As it turns out Cuddles didn't have what I thought. She wasn't sick from laying internally. She had Flystrike. What that means is when I picked Cuddles up to give her the once over I was in for the kind of shock normally reserved for page 284 of any Stephen King novel.
Coming out of Cuddles' vent were hundreds of worms. Only they weren't worms. They were maggots. And her entire back end was COVERED in them. I was holding a chicken that had a mass of pulsating, writhing maggots.
Holy shit.
You know how you feel about maggots? That's how I feel about maggots.
Seriously. Who the F*CK decided keeping chickens was a good idea? WHOOOOO??? Ack. Me. It was me. (Sorry about the disguised swear word there Betty, but I dare you to say anything different with an ass full of maggots inches from your face)
Luckily it was a really hot day so I could run the hose all over Cuddles at full blast to get rid of the maggots. I also had to don a pair of surgical gloves to hand pick them out. Getting rid of the maggots took over half an hour because they'd crawl INTO her to escape the water.
Finally they were all gone and I could get a good look at her. The maggots had eaten a hole in Cuddles, just below her vent where they were literally eating her from the inside out. Not dead tissue. LIVE tissue. Flystrike normally hits sheep but can also attack chickens. Obviously. I dried her off, wrapped her in a towel and applied WonderDust wound powder to keep it dry and unattractive to more flies.
Flystrike is deadly for a few reasons. The maggots will literally eat the guts out of the chicken AND the maggots have a toxin on them that poisons the chicken basically. There's also the risk of infection etcetera, etcetera. I kept my eye on Cuddles for the next few days and she was fine.
Until she wasn't.
You see these maggots have several stages of pupation and before I knew it, she was being eaten by maggots again. Lesson to you ... if you have a chicken that gets Flystrike, check them several times a day for at least a week to make sure they aren't infested again.
The second time I realized she had Flystrike was around 5 days after the initial attack. I had to go through everything again, removing the maggots and washing her completely. This time it wasn't warm out though so I had to keep her inside the house to make sure she stayed warm. The maggots gave her a fever probably from infection so she needed to be extra warm. I don't know when the last time you blow dried a chicken but I can tell you it takes about the same amount of time it takes to find a bathing suit that looks good on you after the age of 17. Hours. HOURS.
The next morning I went to see a local vet that advises me the odd time something goes wrong with my chickens. He told me to keep her inside for a few days so I could keep a close eye on her, so she wouldn't be picked on by the other chickens and so she'd be away from alllll flies (more on my hatred of them later).
I also decided to give her antibiotics. I had some left over from her episode last year, plus got a new prescription from my vet.
To get her to take the antibiotics I diluted them in water and then put scraps of spinach and raisins to soak in it. She would both drink the antibiotic water and eat the antibiotic laced raisins and greens.
By the next morning she was a bit better but still obviously sick.
By that night she was feeling well enough to know that laying on the floor wasn't fun and hopped up into my pantry when it came time to roost.
By the third night she was feeling perfect, had a great appetite and the only trace that maggots had been around was the plum sized scab under her vent where the maggots had attacked her. I knew when she jumped up on my shoe cabinet to roost for the night she would be O.K. to put outside the next night.
This all happened a few weeks ago. I don't have any pictures of the maggots because my concern was fixing Cuddles, not taking photos. Also, I was 90% sure this was going to kill her and didn't really want to document her death walk if I didn't have to.
Which brings us to this question.
HOW DOES A CHICKEN GET FLYSTRIKE?
Flies are attracted to crap. Chicken coops/runs are filled with crap no matter how often you clean the run. Certain chickens have a tendency to have poopy bums. Cheez Whiz and Cuddles are two such chickens.
No matter how hard they try, these two always have poop on their bums. They always have and I imagine they always will.
My two copper Marans on the other hand have never once had poop on their bums.
You could literally smash your face into their puffy bums with no fear of feces.
Flies are attracted to the poop on chickens bums and if given a chance will lay their eggs right there. The eggs then hatch into the world's most hospitable maggot condo: the chicken anus.
Once they're there, they aren't leaving until they've eaten a big hole in your chicken, made you a gagging twitching pile of goo and generally turned your life into a horror movie of a maggoty mess.
In fact the only thing more revolting than the maggoty mess is the homemade fly trap that I made to combat the fly problem. More on that and the other 2 fly traps I tested in the next post.
The moral of this story? There are very few situations a little cuddle and the word f*ck can't fix. And of course in certain situations a round of antibiotics can't hurt either.
Update: Since this post, little Cuddles has died, but it wasn't from Flystrike. She had a long term bout with egg yolk peritonitis. The last day of her life had the potential to be one of the worst days of both our lives, but the world's kindest vet came to the rescue.
Evette peterson
What kind of antibiotics did you use, I have my 7 girls left list one to the same thing, my little granddaughter loves them
Gazza H
Maggots don't eat fresh flesh, it has to be infection... Maggots suck up juices not chew flesh.
Glad your chook survived.
I use a fly zapper and remove the tray, then the dead flies fall to the floor and my chickens eat them. Win win!
Karen
I'm sorry to correct you Gazza H, but that's untrue. It's a common misconception. Maggots absolutely will eat through live flesh as anyone who has seen a case of Flystrike in either humans or animals will attest to. If you still don't believe me, I think if you Google images of Flystrike you'll be convinced. ~ karen!
James B
If that's true, then wouldn't flies lay there eggs on any living animal not just dead ones...?
Phylicia Mann
Oh my GOSH! I was laughing so hard at your explaination of the F word I atarted crying! I completely agree! I could not think of a more perfect use of the word in that situation!
Meanwhile, my husband thinks I have completly lost my mind because your posts make me laugh out loud!
Phylicia Mann
...and I was amazed that you were able to save her! Good on you!
Karen
:) That's my job. Make ya laugh and learn! ~ karen
Nancy@littlehomesteadinBoise
I'll add a link back on my blog
Nancy@littlehomesteadinBoise
Excellent info! I lost a hen to that as I was a novice. I've never heard of WonderDust wound powder but will add to my chicken 1st aid kit!!!
Fk
Thanks for info tomorrow the d.e. powder is getting reapplied and I'm hanging those Stinky jugs to catch flies... again
Paula
One of my four chickens is definitely my pet, she comes when I call her and sits on my lap when I sit down outside. She was injured about four weeks ago and has taken up residency in my kitchen because I didn't want the other chickens to eat her (as they had started to do). She is in a rabbit cage in the evenings and she seems quite content and not stressed because she is laying well. I let her outside during the day to run around. Now my concern is re-introducing her to her 'sisters'; I have considered getting another couple of chickens to take the pressure of off her. lol
The warmer weather is coming (hopefully) so I will have to keep watch for flystrike; I read this post last summer but I had forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder.
esther
I was so happy to see her perched in the pantry!! Bless her, sweet girl! I'm so glad I read this, had no idea they could get maggots! My Ameraucanas tend to have poopy bums. One of my girls had an incident with my dog, and she lived in my master bath tub for 3 weeks while I nursed her back to health! My husband thought I should've given up on her that first night. Why would I have animals and not do all I could to make them well?! People think folks like us are crazy, but I sure love my girls, all 11 of them!!
Karen
Hi Esther! You're right. People don't think of chickens as pets but they are! Well ... some of them are more like pets than others. ;) ~ karen!
Cyndi L Collinge
Happy Boxing Day, fellow chicken nut!
I thought only myself (and my friend Patty-who also happens to be a vet) would bother to do such things for our chickens! You my friend are a saint! Funny as h*ll too, (tho a little crude). It truly warms my heart to know your pet chicken got to come into your house and "rule the roost" so to speak when she was unwell. I most recently raised 2 chicks inside (Sonny&Cher), who's mother had abandoned them. It was 8 "short" months to me, and 8 "long" months to my husband.
They would spend all day outside with me, then come in at night and after a snooze and cuddle and a curl-up on my dog Neil, I would put them in their crate for the night. So I totally get it! I look foreward to more great stuff on your site, and thanks so much for doing it. All the best, Cyndi L.
Susan
7. Dust your chicken coop
I thought of you when I read this article about diatomaceous earth. I had never heard of this before.
#7 is
dust your chicken coop
Many chicken keepers add diatomaceous earth to their chicken coop and chickens’ dust bath to protect their chickens against lice and mites. Even if you coop currently doesn’t have this problem, a regular regime of diatomaceous earth can prevent these problems from cropping up. the article is at
http://eatlocalgrown.com/article/13670-uses-for-diatomaceous-earth.html?c=NSM
Christal
Gross, gross, gross! I'm glad she's ok, though! You are a maggot-exterminating warrior woman!
On an unrelated note, you used the phrase "the odd time" three times here, twice in one paragraph. Do I sense a new favorite phrase? I totally do that. My friends still tease me about the summer of 'amazing!'...
Julie
I thought the article about "flystrike" on Wikipedia was horrifying, and then I read the rest of this post.
Daphne
Lost my 7 year old hen Dorothy to this cheap horror story two months ago. She had some problems pooping for months so I had to clean her behind every now and then. When it was time for her weekly bum bath I noticed she didn't want to eat. When I picked her up and checked her butt it was pretty obvious why she wasn't feeling well. I might be Dutch, but I've used the same F-words you did. Sadly, Dorothy was too far gone and I had to do the right thing. She seriously laid an egg and was still bitching her girls (and rooster) around two days before she died. Such weird but amazing animals.
Teresa Jennings Richardson
I love chickens, but can't have them in my small backyard. So I enjoy other people's . Naturally, when I saw this article, I thought of you and how you pamper your girls. You may have seen this already, and it may not be anything you would like, but I wanted to share this neat chicken feeder made from PVC pipe with you just in case you did. http://www.budget101.com/showthread.php…
#DIY #MYO #Chickens #Backyard #home #DoItYourself #Budget101
Karen
Thanks Teresa! The link isn't working but I'm guessing it's based on my chicken feeder which I posted about in 2013. :) ~ karen!
Teresa Jennings Richardson
Yep! Found it on August 26, 2013. See? I knew you would love it.
Karen
Ha! ~ k
TERRI
Never had fly strike on my chickens but I will tell you that in the years of chicken keeping I quit trying to give them antibiotics in their water or food. I now give shots and its the fastest I have seen chickens recover.... I highly recommend the injection, esp being most of the time they are to sick to eat or drink. Then you can blog about giving your first injection.... easy peasy after the first time.
Karen
I've given horses shots, I'm sure I could handle a chicken. I'll ask my vet about it! Thx. ~ karen!
Itzy
Hi Karen,
Congratulations !
Flystrike can also be deadly to goats.
I think any 'pet' can be plagued with it. Daily inspections are essential. I was thinking DE might be great to sprinkle on sores or cuts that flies love to find. I sent you info on Ziploc bags with water in them. Add strip of blue painters tape. Around barn and chicken coop. Amazing results ! 'No Pest Strips' are great in food containers and closed in areas. NC Dept of Agriculture approves their use.
I do swear by DE but am careful during application. Do not breathe dust or get it in eyes. Also stops squash bugs ! We often have a white garden ! LOL. It is effective after getting wet. Rain washes it down into soil where grub worms flourish. There moles/voles ruin a smooth yard and make it dangerous for horses etc. Step in deep tunnel and snap a leg bone. Very expensive vet bill, sometimes worse. It dries with soil and is effective again. Pool DE does not work, been over processed for that.
We buy the Food Grade of DE. We add it to all feed.
Goats, Horses, Dogs, Cats, even birds. You can find several articles online.
So glad Cuddles is doing great. Been there, done that.
Not an easy task.
I even used a bleach mixture. Life with 'critters' is not easy. Daily inspections are vital.
Leslie
Cuddles is a fighter. And good for you for knowing your flock's habits so well. She has a good home.
Shauna
You need Spalding Fly Predators: https://www.spalding-labs.com/products/fly_control_products/fly_control_for_backyard_chickens/default.aspx
Seems pricey at first, but works wonders and only need to replace every 4-6 months if I remember correctly.
I'm still gagging over here. Maggots (and roaches) are the F**#ING worst!
Shauna
p.s., you just reminded me to place my 2015 order. They provide a 6 month schedule with the full cost, but you can opt to pay per shipment before each one is sent out. I have 4 chickens and ordered 6 shipments starting in July for $127.38; each shipment is $21.23. Each shipment is 5000 fly predators, except the first one where you get a bonus of 10,000 fly predators.
Karen
Thanks Shauna! I'll take a look. I don't think $127 is a bad price if they work. Mind you. It's a bunch of bugs that rapidly reproduce for free for the suppliers, lol. Chances are they don't ship to Canada but I can look into it here. ~ karen!
Phylicia Mann
I use fly preditors and the work fantastic with horses. I wonder if the chickens would eat the cocoons the little guys hatch from though?
Karen
Thanks for the reminder! Other readers said they use fly predators last year and I wanted to remember to order some. I'll look into it today! ~ karen
Teddee Grace
I didn't know this had a name. I had this happen to a cat and had to have her put down. It was terrible. I'm so glad you were able to help Cuddles recover. She is not having an easy life.
Maggie
So glad to hear Cuddles pulled through! Thankfully, my hens have never been plagued with flystrike. Please know that rabbits can be targets for flystrike as well. (Just in case you ever get them.)