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Sorry about using the M-words lol. I thought maybe Mycoplasma was a culprit because of the similar symptoms with the turkeys and the swollen joints. And they are so prevalent in the environment. Though necropsy has not revealed any gross synovial fluid, it's hard for me to tell on chicks, and I didn't look at the hen's legs last week. We do have a lot of wild birds around here, and squirrels.. Lots and lots of squirrels. I am thinking I inadvertently brought in whatever it was when I got the turkeys, even though that was months ago. It may have been picked up by the bigger birds (who ranged next to the turkeys), but they carried it and only got sick when the weather cooled off? I was also thinking Mycoplasma since all the baby turkeys were affected but the adults seemed fine (if rude and just plain belligerent), since it can be passed to young through the eggs. If it was already here before the turkeys arrived, then the chicks we raised this year (such as Sumo, who was 4-5 weeks by then) would have been affected. At least that's one theory. Those turkeys apparently came from a NPIP flock too, that raises rare breeds and show birds, among other things. Maybe the previous owner had trouble raising birds and that's why she was getting rid of them. Parents looked fine, so I would not have known until hatching out the poults.
I don't think the new chicks we got last week had brought it in. They were all fine at first, and most still seem ok. I have been keeping them separated but I suppose I could have been a carrier myself between them and the big birds, though I have been sanitizing my hands and shoes, could have come in on my clothes. Then there was Wicket, our little bantam EE hen that died last week. She started acting sick a day before the chicks arrived, but I didn't notice until she was really bad. She was one that would stay clear of me. i managed to catch her at night when she didn't go into the coop. By the next morning she couldn't walk and was gasping for air. By that afternoon she was dead. The chicks didn't start showing signs of illness until a couple days later.
Are you familiar/comfortable with necropsies at all? I could share some pics but don't want to offend.
I don't think the new chicks we got last week had brought it in. They were all fine at first, and most still seem ok. I have been keeping them separated but I suppose I could have been a carrier myself between them and the big birds, though I have been sanitizing my hands and shoes, could have come in on my clothes. Then there was Wicket, our little bantam EE hen that died last week. She started acting sick a day before the chicks arrived, but I didn't notice until she was really bad. She was one that would stay clear of me. i managed to catch her at night when she didn't go into the coop. By the next morning she couldn't walk and was gasping for air. By that afternoon she was dead. The chicks didn't start showing signs of illness until a couple days later.
Are you familiar/comfortable with necropsies at all? I could share some pics but don't want to offend.