![]() ![]() Sometimes, all it takes is for a broody hen to poop in her nesting box on a hot day with flies present, and they’ll swoop in and start laying their eggs on her. They look like grains of rice, although a little bit thinner, but aren’t hard to see with the naked eye when laid externally on a chicken. Adult blowflies emerge from the pupae and the life cycle begins againĪ female blowfly can lay literally hundreds of eggs.The larvae feed on their surroundings and become pupae within days.Within 24 hours the eggs hatch into first-stage larvae (maggots).Laying eggs around wounds, fecal matter, or similar.The lifecycle of a blowfly, for example, looks like this: But it’s something we absolutely must be aware of when raising chickens. ![]() It’s one of the grossest things to think about, and even more so to see in person. Or they’ll lay their eggs where feces is present, again, there is often some poop around the vent. That somewhere is ideally an open wound, sore, or cut in the flesh of an animal (a chicken’s vent is also ideal). Related - Chickens do eat maggots - but not in the case of flystrike! Why Do Chickens Get Flystrike?Ĭhickens - and other animals for that matter - get flystrike because flies, most typically blowflies, screw flies, and botflies, need somewhere to lay their egg where they can hatch and immediately feed off of their surroundings. It will often kill chickens within days, and at the very least cause them some serious pain in the meantime. See also Do Chickens Eat Mosquitoes? (Is It Dangerous?)įlystrike is a very serious condition. Meaning you may not even notice until it’s too late. Obviously, I don’t need to go into details of how painful and uncomfortable that must be.Īnother issue is that flies often lay their eggs inside the vent of a chicken. If it does go unnoticed for 24 hours, your chicken will have live maggots literally eating away at them. One of the main issues in regards to chickens is that with the eggs only taking around 24 hours to hatch, it can easily go unnoticed. It's easier to spot flystrike in domestic house pets though. ![]() I noticed almost right away as it was happening, fortunately, and was able to clean her up. She was really old, about 21 years, not very mobile, and some blowflies took advantage and laid hundreds of eggs around the base of her tail one day. I had a cat that was victim to some serious flystrike once. Almost all animals are at risk of this condition, although it's known to affect guinea pigs and rabbits in particular. How Do You Get Rid of Flystrike in Chickens?įirst of all, flystrike doesn't just affect chickens.Their eggs then hatch into maggots, and those maggots will start to eat your chicken alive! Jump to: Also known as myiasis, flystrike is caused by flies laying eggs on a chicken. Seeing flystrike in chickens is one of the most shocking sights I’ve ever seen. ![]()
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