Turkey Poults Flip Over Syndrome-F.O.S.-My experience and what I did.

[kuntrygirl]

I am a turkey farmer new to this forum but I thought il give it a try. I am currently raising just over 8000 poults in one of my 11 barns and am having this problem but it isn't something new. My male line toms are the worse. Every 15 mins I am pulling out 20 more flippers and keep them in a separate ring until they are strong enough to go back in with the flock. I have found this is the only thing that will work and yes it does suck and take a lot of time but it will keep your birds from dying. Feel free to msg me questions about your turkey problems

 

[TamTurkey]

Ok I have been silent because I see all sides to this. We raise show Turkeys so the best bird wins, weaker birds become culls for our own consumption. I am the first one to try to save the babies. Most of the time I fail and it's heart breaking. My hardest battle is not becoming attached to these animals. (Who have such wonderful personalities) Once you put in the time to save them your heart is in it. Many times once I get them better and introduce them back into the flock the flock will turn on them. BBW will turn on any injured or weaker bird. I have seen them gang up and take out a bird that broke a tail feather. It's horrible! I have come to terms with separating the weaker ones but I don't let myself or my boys put that much effort into saving them anymore as they have a really hard time when their prayers go unanswered. I know it sounds cruel but it's more cruel to watch my sons be heart broken. I suggest everyone just do what they feel is right in their own farms. On another note since we started adding vitamins to the water from the beginning it's very rare we have any flippers. Either Polyvisol Drops (liquid infant viamins) or they make a vitadrench for poultry. Good luck to you all losing little ones is always sad.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Ok I have been silent because I see all sides to this. We raise show Turkeys so the best bird wins, weaker birds become culls for our own consumption.  I am the first one to try to save the babies. Most of the time I fail and it's heart breaking. My hardest battle is not becoming attached to these animals. (Who have such wonderful personalities) Once you put in the time to save them your heart is in it. Many times once I get them better and introduce them back into the flock the flock will turn on them. BBW will turn on any injured or weaker bird. I have seen them gang up and take out a bird that broke a tail feather. It's horrible! I have come to terms with separating the weaker ones but I don't let myself or my boys put that much effort into saving them anymore as they have a really hard time when their prayers go unanswered. I know it sounds cruel but it's more cruel to watch my sons be heart broken. I suggest everyone just do what they feel is right in their own farms. On another note since we started adding vitamins to the water from the beginning it's very rare we have any flippers. Either Polyvisol Drops (liquid infant viamins) or they make a vitadrench for poultry. Good luck to you all losing little ones is always sad.

Jump right on in.

I agree with you. When you put the "mended" ones back in the others fight with them. Mine have never killed any - thank goodness.

For people who are breeders and have show birds, I totally understand culling the weaker ones. I would do the same thing.

I'm always a sucker for trying to save them. Just call me "Captain Save Them All". :/ I have lost a few in my time but not many at all. I think because I keep them as a hobby is why I jump through hoops to save them.

But I agree with you, we have to do what is right in our farms. I would hate to see my kids heartbroken as well . We all get so attached.

And the Polyvisol Drops are excellent! I would definitely recommend any turkey breeder/raiser to have that on hand.

The last time that I had a flipper was back in 2009 or 2010 (if im not mistaken). I have not had any after that. I can't explain why I haven't but I haven't. So, I don't think it was genetic because I would have more that flipped over ever year but I didn't. So, I don 't know.

 

[TamTurkey]

I think the BBW tend to have more flippers than most breeds.

 

[TattooedMama]

I know this is an old thread but I have to say reading through it is quite interesting. There are strong opinions on both sides of the fence, which there always will be. I am currently having this problem and I am hopeful my poults get better soon. They can walk much more than everyone else has described here and only occasionally fall down and need help up. I originally came for ideas on how to help save them but as I read I questioned my wisdom in this endeavor. The first posts made sense in regards to not resorting to extraordinary measures to save babies because it does not help to perpetuate each breed. This is an important factor as many breeds, or strains if you prefer, have reach very low numbers and are on the critical list for the Livestock Conservancy. I was almost convinced until @kuntrygirl returned each year to express her delight in having no more "flippers." This is my first Turkey hatch and it has been a disaster. I am convinced however that if these guys do survive that adding them to my flock, even for a breeding program, should not be a problem. Thanks

 

[rjoschko]

Aaaaaah, My 1st little poult that hatched on the 4th of July, I named her "Freedom" I didn't hardly sleep for 2 days because she kept flipping over. When it happened she would lay there on her back and cry very loud. And I would go flip her back over. After the 2 days she was fine. As a matter of fact, the rest of my poults that hatched 3 days later had a good start! Little Freedom taught them how to eat and drink! Here is Freedom today!

 

[DePan]

I have noticed a few posts about turkey poults that were not able to stand up and kept flipping over. I decided to post about my experience with what I call the F.O.S. (Flip Over Syndrome). So here goes.

My turkey hens hatched a total of 12 poults and out of those 12 poults, 3 poults had what I call the the F.O.S. (Flip Over Syndrome). When 3 of my poults were born, they could not stand for anything. They would try walking and would immediately fall on their backs and would kick their poor legs up and around to try to get back over on their feet but they were unable to get back up. I immediately removed the 3 poults from the other poults that were able to stand. I placed the poults in a medium sized box. I got 3 medium sized hand towels and rolled them up and shaped them like a “doughnut hole”. I placed each poult in their own doughnut hole towel so that the towel could support them. There was no room in the hole for them to fall back on their backs or sides. They remained in a standing or sitting position all day. They slept in a sitting position and sometimes in a leaning position. I did some research and the little information that I found told me that this is “normal” for baby poults. In my mind, I figured that I had to allow them to gain strength in their legs. Because they were unable to stand, they were unable to eat and drink, so I had to hand feed them. I also used a dropper to drop water and vitamins in their mouths. Due to the fact that I know that it is so very difficult to raise turkey poults and they can easily die if there is any early life threatening signs, I worked effortlessly to get these babies up and walking. I placed the box in the bed with me on the first night so that I could roll over and check on them throughout the night. I didn’t want to take a chance and have anything happen to them on my watch. Once I felt that it was okay to leave them alone on the side of the bed, I was able to do that on the next night. I also placed a heat lamp in the box for warmth being as though they were days old. The night that they were in bed with me, I placed a light blanket on top of them for heat. The towel itself kept them warm as well. Throughout the course of the next days, I would take them out of the doughnut holes for a few minutes to see how they were progressing. They were still flipping over after 24 hours. Around the 3rd day, I could see improvement. They were able to walk although they stumbled a bit. They flipped over a few times but they were able to get back up after a few seconds. On the 4th day, the F.O.S. (Flip Over Syndrome) was gone. They were able to walk straight with no more flip overs. I put them with mama and sisters and brothers about the 5th day. They were able to keep up with no problems.

I have read somewhere that their chances of surviving when they experience flip overs are slim to none but I always try my best to beat the odds. These little girls and boys survived with a lot of hard work and time. They wanted to live and I desperately wanted them to live.

I am in no way a turkey whisperer or a turkey expert. I can only explain my experiences and what I did. I hope that this can help someone who is experiencing or will experience this problem with their turkey poults.

 

[DePan]

A very informative compilation: It is this experience that drove me to search the net for solution. Thanks to BYC for this forum! I began to experience the abnormal behaviour in one of my 6 months old turkeys, a female, eventually a male began the same thing. I isolate them and began to ask questions to which no satisfactory answer was obtained until now. Though you experienced it on very young poult, I am convinced
your explanations address my curiosity. Thanks

 

[BuckeyeBirdies]

@kuntrygirl THANK YOU!! Your post was a life saver! We just hatched out 2 flippers. I had never seen it before and didn't know what to do. I stumbled across ur post. I did basically what you did but with a hair bun doughnut, then placed that in a measuring cup. Presto!! 2 healthy strong poults!!Thank you!!!

 

[MeganAshby]

Thank you for this! I had a "flipper" that was an assisted hatch. I was at the point that i was waiting for it to cull itself. But by day 3 it was still hanging in there. I found your post and tried the "donut", but that didn't work for me. I got a water bottle and cut it just short enough for the poult to reach it's head over the top when standing. By hour 4 it was walking, but unable to get up if it fell. Spent the night in the bottle, and now at hour 24, it's unsteady, but is getting around and is able to get back to its feet if it stumbles. Still a small chick and may eventually be a failure to thrive, but it has much better odds now that its on its feet. THANK YOU!