# Maggots



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Just a heads up to all my goatie friends. Keep a close eye on any wounds and make sure flies are not getting at open sores. We had 3 pets come in today at the clinic with wounds with maggots. YUCK. GROSS. PUKE. I spent 2 hours today cleaning them out. And just when you think you have them all gone another one hatches. or 12 or 20. It's really bad and you don't want it to happen but it does happen quickly and easily.


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## QoTL (Jun 5, 2008)

How did you clean them out?


I haven't seen this in my housepets or the goats, But I had a roo a few years ago that was attacked by my dog. I didn't realize he had been until a few days later, when he was acting really droopy. Was totally disgusted and appalled when I saw what had happened. We put him down


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

QoTL said:


> How did you clean them out?


Flush, flush and more flush. Using diluted Chlorhexidine. 
And some picking...EEEWWWWWW!!!!


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

maggots serve a purpose but they are still gross. I had a friend bring me a baby goat that had gotten her hoof caught in a big goats horns and long story short the hematoma burst and before she noticed it it was dead but I still spend 2 hours flushing the hoof out. However without them the foot would have went septic and the goat would have died. That is about the only thing that still can make me sick to my stomach.
Feeding tubes are good for more than just feeding they are great for flushing out wounds as well


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## Creamers (Aug 3, 2010)

Sterile maggots can serve a good purpose in wounds that will not heal, but medical grade maggots and run of the mill maggots are different things. . .Wrap if possible - air is good, but maggots aren't . . .you can also buy a wound safe SWAT cream if wrapping isn't possible.


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

I have allways used turpintine to clean maggots out of a wound. Works great, and my Father says Grandma use to use it on him also, when he got scrapes. >Marc


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

springvalley said:


> I have allways used turpintine to clean maggots out of a wound. Works great, and my Father says Grandma use to use it on him also, when he got scrapes. >Marc


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!

Turpentine in an open, maggot-infested wound??? OUCH!!!

There are other flushes to use that are far less traumatic to already damaged tissue.

Betadine, saline, chlorhexadine, plain water... 

Please, please, don't use turpentine.


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## Reauxman (Sep 14, 2002)

I had a Barbados ewe that was attacked by dogs when I was out of town for a week in May. The person feeding didn't know, as she and the other ewe tend to stay in the back of the pasture away from people.

When I got to her she was full of maggots. I cannot catch her(even with 3 legs at that time) and it would have stressed her out too much to try. I let her be as I figured it wouldn't be good to spray anything and kill the maggots and have them stay in her.. Within a week the wound was healing and within 10 days there were no more maggots. Now besides a limp there is no way of knowing what the wound looked like.


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## Guest (Aug 23, 2010)

We had to get our buck, Ron, dehorned in July. He was dehorned at least twice and the scurs were growing in in such a way they were growing into his head. I had to have the vet come out and surgically dehorn him. (My kids all sat on buckets and watched-ewwww!)

Anyways, after the surgery he had to have his head wrapped and packed with gauze. I had to leave it on a week and then take it off. A day before I was to take it off I noticed that he rubbed it back about an inch. Since I was going to take it off in 12 hours I let him be. 

The next morning I found out that he moved his helmet back 3 more inches and his head was crawling. :grit:

I had to have the vet come out and flush his head-something no reasonable goat likes. I spent the rest of the week flushing his head out with water, antibacterial soap, soaking it with liquid pennicillan stuff, and spraying it with some anti fly spray. THEN I got to give him a shot of pennicillan in the heiney every night with a special large shot of something or the other 3 days after the vet left. 

Lots and lots of work for some teeny tiny bugs! Oh, and the second vet visit cost me another $149. :grit:


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

Pony said:


> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
> 
> OOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!
> 
> ...


Well pony, weather or not it`s painful it works great, saline and plain water will do nothing. When I was young, we had a ram that stuck his head through the woven wire fence alot. well one day I noticed him not acting right. Sure enough he had a sore on the underside of his neck full of maggots. My father said go get the turpintine, and that is what we used. The maggots just boiled out of his sore. We did this for several days, he healed up nicely, and lived a long life with no ill effects. What I can`t figure out is Grandma using it on my Dad. >Thanks Marc


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Flea shampoo will kill them almost instantly


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## Lada (Jun 7, 2008)

It takes 24 hours for them to hatch, so if you just use water and maybe an antibacterial soap and flush it everyday, that should take care of it. Water therapy is good for healing anyway.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

When my dog got fly struck..(and these are LIVE flesh eating maggots rather than dead flesh cleanup); I soaked a papertowel with liquid pyrethrum/rotenone and placed it over the skin in the struck area. I spazzed out tho and took the dog to the vet to be sure they were all gone. I did such a good job they tried to tell me it was tapeworm larva I had seen. Right..on the dogs back above the tail eating her hide and causing extreme itching! Anyway, pyrethrum/rotenone is my choice.


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

bee said:


> When my dog got fly struck..(and these are LIVE flesh eating maggots rather than dead flesh cleanup); I soaked a papertowel with liquid pyrethrum/rotenone and placed it over the skin in the struck area. I spazzed out tho and took the dog to the vet to be sure they were all gone. I did such a good job they tried to tell me it was tapeworm larva I had seen. Right..on the dogs back above the tail eating her hide and causing extreme itching! Anyway, pyrethrum/rotenone is my choice.


I have a dog who gets this every year. He is partially paralyzed on the hind end and cannot raise his tail. I had never heard it called "fly struck' the first year was the worst because I didn't know what was going on till the hair started falling out. I had no Idea maggots would eat live flesh ICK it was so gross. I took him to the vet and they shaved his back end.Took a while to clean it up. Now I do the the same as you when he starts to act like he is getting it I use a paper towel soaked in "rayvap" Wipe the hair in that area and what maggots are there boil out and drop off. It also keeps the flys away. Maggots are disgusting!!!


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

chris, swat works great at keeping that from happening and I know you must have a jar somewhere with all them hosses


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I always thought that fly strikes were when dogs got bitten by flies and it left a little owie that turned into a small scab...on the ears and nose mostly.


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## FunnyRiverFarm (May 25, 2010)

This reminds me of when I was a pet groomer...this Cocker Spaniel came in...it always had really nasty skin but this time there was a smell that was down right awful! I figured it would come off in the bath so I contined to with the pre-bath shave down...when I lifted the dog's front leg I got a whiff of rotting flesh and saw something fall onto the table...it was moving. I looked under the dog's armpit area and to my horror there was black/green rotting flesh and maggots everywhere. I called the owner and told them to come get the dog and take it to the vet! I am still puzzled how they could have been around the dog all the time and not become concerned about the odor...GAG!


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## chris30523 (Jun 11, 2005)

We just call it maggot butt. Cannon Farms I do use fly spray on him but Can't lift the tail and spray under very often. He runs when I pick up the bottle.:shrug:but he will let me wipe his butt(something by the way I never thought I would do)


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## Goatsandsheep (Jun 7, 2006)

Screw worm spray works great. Couple of spray should clean everything out. You should only have to clean a few out by hand if any. 

http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=2&pf_id=11807


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

then it sounds like swat would work, you can even be mean and use the original and make him have a pink butt.
Im sure there are many things we never thought we would do before we got animals, aint life with critters grand


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Cannon_Farms said:


> Im sure there are many things we never thought we would do before we got animals


Ain't that the truth!!


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

chris30523 said:


> We just call it maggot butt. Cannon Farms I do use fly spray on him but Can't lift the tail and spray under very often. He runs when I pick up the bottle.:shrug:but he will let me wipe his butt(something by the way I never thought I would do)


I have used good ol' Pet Guard gel for years. (More years than I care to admit... :hysterical

It sure helps when I'm milking. I make sure to hit the doe every few days with a bit of Pet Guard on her back legs; keeps the flies off so she's not inclined to lift her dainty little manure and bacteria-laden hoof into my milk bucket.


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## PotBellyPigs (Jul 27, 2010)

Pony said:


> I have used good ol' Pet Guard gel for years. (More years than I care to admit... :hysterical
> 
> It sure helps when I'm milking. I make sure to hit the doe every few days with a bit of Pet Guard on her back legs; keeps the flies off so she's not inclined to lift her dainty little manure and bacteria-laden hoof into my milk bucket.


I just dust my goats backs with a dust that is made for dairy animals, and it is good for flies, fleas,mites, and lice.....
You can find it, in a dusting can @ TSC.


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## HappyFarmer (Jun 17, 2006)

We use Ivermec for live maggots & swat for prevention of maggots. Works well for us.
HF


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

springvalley said:


> Well pony, weather or not it`s painful it works great, saline and plain water will do nothing. When I was young, we had a ram that stuck his head through the woven wire fence alot. well one day I noticed him not acting right. Sure enough he had a sore on the underside of his neck full of maggots. My father said go get the turpintine, and that is what we used. The maggots just boiled out of his sore. We did this for several days, he healed up nicely, and lived a long life with no ill effects. What I can`t figure out is Grandma using it on my Dad. >Thanks Marc


Pure turpentine is one the ingredients in a lot of old time wound salves. It is suppose to work miracles with burns and such.


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## rhaige9 (Oct 31, 2010)

FunnyRiverFarm said:


> This reminds me of when I was a pet groomer...this Cocker Spaniel came in...it always had really nasty skin but this time there was a smell that was down right awful! I figured it would come off in the bath so I contined to with the pre-bath shave down...when I lifted the dog's front leg I got a whiff of rotting flesh and saw something fall onto the table...it was moving. I looked under the dog's armpit area and to my horror there was black/green rotting flesh and maggots everywhere. I called the owner and told them to come get the dog and take it to the vet! I am still puzzled how they could have been around the dog all the time and not become concerned about the odor...GAG!


I have So been there. Dog groomer also. Found maggots all up in a girl dog's parts when shaving her for her bath. Tail was matted to the back end and she was full of maggots. They took her right over to the vet and put her down. First dog at the new place here in Idaho, and a Large Old cocker was in for his once a year. His ear was matted down to his neck. I finally freed it up and there were maggots in the ear. /puke My vet once left maggots up in a horses chest at the clinic. The wound kept closing up, there was a lot of dead flesh. It was also rather gross.


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## Old Swampgirl (Sep 28, 2008)

My grandmother made a mixture of turpentine & sugar. She would put this on a wash rag wrapped around her index finger & swab my throat out in a New York second.
Needless to say, I rarely complained of sore throat.


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## secretcreek (Jan 24, 2010)

Head and Shoulders ( reg) has Pyrithione Zinc. That active ingredient just so happens to kill "critters" like fleas, etc on dogs and cats. The vet I worked for suggested it all the time as a cheaper fleas shampoo than special "Vet office" kinds. Ahem....sometimes "dandruff" is a critter of some kind and the shampoo kills it/them.


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