Turkturktime
In the Brooder
- May 22, 2021
- 2
- 10
- 18
I was really thankful to find your post. I helped one little poult out of his shell because of shrink wrapping but he hasn't been able to get up. I took your advice and put him in the doughnut hole towel in a box and he seems really happy. I'm really really hoping he makes it. Thanks so much for posting!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 didnt 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.
. I can’t get it to stay upright.
