Sick Turkey Chicks! Runny/Swollen Eyes and Fluid in Throat :(

momo18clara

Songster
7 Years
Dec 15, 2012
273
22
108
Missouri
Please Help! I think our turkey chicks may have some sort of respiratory infection! :(

Long story “short”, my little sister has recently taken over caring for our animals and picked up 5 turkey chicks from a swap meet on June 3rd. They couldn’t have been more than a few days old when she got them (one still had his egg tooth), which would make them about 3 weeks old now. Anyway, about a week ago, I checked on them and noticed that two of them had watery eyes, but no other noticeable symptoms. I helped her clean out the brooder really well and then gave them electrolytes, probiotics, and some apple cider vinegar (we’ve given that mixture to them for several days now). However, they have not improved, and in fact seem to have gotten worse.

Their symptoms are as follows: very watery eyes, abnormal noises due to apparent fluid in their throats/noses, and slightly swollen faces. There poo seems ok, but I believe it did smell a little stronger than usual last night. Both seem a little worn out and one of then keeps trying to bury his head in my hands/his buddies’ feathers. They seem to be eating and drinking fine though.

I believe we have 2 Narragansett, 1 royal palm, and 2 blue slate chicks. But only the blue slate chicks seem sick. The other 3 seem perfectly normal and are bigger than the blue slate chicks.

They are in an old rabbit cage at the moment (I have raised many chicks/ducklings in it before) and they were in one of those big metal brooders like hatcheries have before we moved them over to the hutch. Both brooders are in our basement. Chicks were on towels for the first week or so and then moved to wire. We are using a heat lamp right now. They had a rough trip from the swap meet to here, but have had it pretty easy since then. The only thing I can think of is that I did back the heat off a little faster than I usually do in order to get them outside sooner. We are feeding them a non-medicated chick starter.

I`m afraid they may have some sort of repertory infection… they have been isolated since we got them. However, they were in contact with several ducklings and chicks for a few days at one point. My sister is extremely attached to these turkeys and has spent a lot of time making sure they’re friendly, so I absolutely want to do everything I can for these guys. However, we currently have a healthy flock of ducks and chickens on our land and we cannot keep these turkeys quarantined much longer. We don’t have any other turkeys, but I have heard that chickens can get many of the diseases turkeys can. What should I do?! They are only 3 weeks old and they are so sweet now; more pets than anything else at this point, but I dont want to kill my healthy birds with their sickness.

 
This is what the first chick looks like. Only one eye is swollen.


This is the other chick. Both eyes are watery, but not really swollen.
 
So my main questions are:

Should I get them on an antibiotic? If so, what kind, how much, and for how long?

Will they make my other animals (ducks/chickens) sick if I let them out once they seem better?

What would you recommend I do in general?
 
@casportpony ? @Eggcessive ?

I'm sorry sweetie, I know nothing about what illnesses/diseases that Turkey's may have or how to treat.
Hopefully this will bump the post so someone with the right knowledge can help.

Anyway you can take one to a vet?
 
Do you have any place locally such as your county extension agent or even a local vet where you could get one or two tested for mycoplasma? Mycoplasma (MG) is very common in turkeys and chickens. Coryza does not usually affect turkeys, so I would suspect MG, but other bacteria could also be a factor (such as E.coli.) MG is contagious to chickens, so your chickens may get it or be carriers. So, important to get testing. I would get some Tylan Soluble Powder or oxytetracycline to put in their water, and make sure they are drinking it well. Put out some plain yogurt with some feed daily for probiotics during and after antibiotics. Let us know if you need dosages.
 
Thank you!!! That makes me so nervous that our chickens could get it. :( I think at this point we are going to put the two sick ones down and then try and decide what to do with the seemingly healthy ones. :/
 
I would recommend getting a necropsy done by your state vet on one if you are going to cull them, just to document it is MG. So sorry about your turkey poults--they look sweet. Where did you get them?
 
Thanks for the advise. Does it cost much to get a necropsy?

Its such a bummer all the way around (they are really sweet birds and my little sister is very attached to them). They're still contagious even if they never showed signs of being sick right? I hate the thought of putting them all down, but we were on vacation last week and unable to medicate them until now, so now two of them are in pretty bad shape. I`m just not sure its worth it at this point to medicate them if they are only going to get out and make my chickens sick. :(

My little sister got them from a swap meet. :/
 
When I looked it up, it costs $115 in your state. Usually multiple birds are the same cost as one. Getting one tested however is only around $3. Contact your state dept. of agriculture for avian necropsy and testing.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom