This is when I started to lose it! They weren’t coming off of Alma and they were killing her! Yup, I am 100% one of those people that cries for her pets! Thankfully, Vito is not this way because he was able to think clearly through this disaster. I had read a post about Fly Strike a few months before, but all it said was hose off the maggots. I was determined to save her life… But I didn’t know how. Yes, it’s incredibly gross and I wish it didn’t exist. Fly strike is when flies lay eggs on your hen (or other animals), the maggots that hatch will then begin eating the hen. Fly strike is notoriously difficult to get rid. For those who don’t have to worry about Fly Strike, brace yourself or skip this next sentence. In summer, this can end in a bad case of fly strike, and you might have to put your hen down if its bad enough. But I have to explain what it is for those who will need to know how to treat it. If you don’t know what fly strike is, it’s probably for the best.
I grabbed some gloves, the hose, and the hen, lifted her tail feathers to hose her off and there they were. “I should really clean her off now before she gets fly strike.” The DE will help to dehydrate droppings and kill. When I got home, I almost forgot I had planned on cleaning her up until I saw her standing by herself with flies swarming her. If youre a fan of using Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth, sprinkle it around on the floor of the coop and run.
