Turkey Sudden Lameness

[NCFDeanna]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a 2 yr old BBB hen Who was suffering from a respiratory infection, which I was sure was caused by Mycoplasma. I treated for 5 days with Tylan, and had a surgical nurse friend help me drain her sinuses. She made a full recovery within that five days. No swelling, no problems breathing, no drainage, she was doing great.
She has been living in my garage, as we were hit in Michigan with an extreme cold snap and I don't want to put her back out during this. I went out yesterday morning, and she is suddenly unable to stand up. From all of my research, it looks like myco is the most common cause of lameness, and it would make sense, because she just had the respiratory infection.

Does anybody have any solutions for me? Is there anything I can do to get her back on her feet? When I try picking her up to help her up she lays right back down. I am currently working on a sling/brace/wheelchair to get her up, but is there anything I can do to HEAL her? She was extremely strong and healthy before this. The lameness is very sudden and I just feel like there has to be something.
Does anyone else have any experience with this and is it permanent?


Thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[NCFDeanna]

Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a 2 yr old BBB hen Who was suffering from a respiratory infection, which I was sure was caused by Mycoplasma. I treated for 5 days with Tylan, and had a surgical nurse friend help me drain her sinuses. She made a full recovery within that five days. No swelling, no problems breathing, no drainage, she was doing great.
She has been living in my garage, as we were hit in Michigan with an extreme cold snap and I don't want to put her back out during this. I went out yesterday morning, and she is suddenly unable to stand up. From all of my research, it looks like myco is the most common cause of lameness, and it would make sense, because she just had the respiratory infection.

Does anybody have any solutions for me? Is there anything I can do to get her back on her feet? When I try picking her up to help her up she lays right back down. I am currently working on a sling/brace/wheelchair to get her up, but is there anything I can do to HEAL her? She was extremely strong and healthy before this. The lameness is very sudden and I just feel like there has to be something.
Does anyone else have any experience with this and is it permanent?


Thank you for any help you can give me.

I should add that she is a pet, I understand that that this is possibly not the best life for her if she continues this way. But, at the moment, trying to heal her is my main goal.

 

[kfelton0002]

Is she a broad breasted variety of turkey or heritage? Broad breasted turkeys can suffer from lameness as their legs struggle to support their unnaturally large weight. They are bred for use as a meat bird and aren't meant to be kept as pets. They are intended to be butchered at just a few months of age. Not saying they can't be kept as pets, but their lifespan is shorter and require special considerations like feed rationing and free ranging to keep to a manageable weight.

Otherwise, it could be the illness is overwhelming her body and making her too weak to stand. It's hard to speculate without laying hands on a bird. I had a juvenile that got bullied and her head was beat up pretty bad yesterday. She went from standing to lethargic, to dead within a few hours.

 

[R2elk]

Is she a broad breasted variety of turkey or heritage? Broad breasted turkeys can suffer from lameness as their legs struggle to support their unnaturally large weight. They are bred for use as a meat bird and aren't meant to be kept as pets. They are intended to be butchered at just a few months of age. Not saying they can't be kept as pets, but their lifespan is shorter and require special considerations like feed rationing and free ranging to keep to a manageable weight.

Otherwise, it could be the illness is overwhelming her body and making her too weak to stand. It's hard to speculate without laying hands on a bird. I had a juvenile that got bullied and her head was beat up pretty bad yesterday. She went from standing to lethargic, to dead within a few hours.

She stated in her first post that it is a BBB (Broad Breasted Bronze).

 

[kfelton0002]

On a positive note, turkeys are robust creatures once they are grown and past the tender juvenile age. I had a hen that recently was quite brutally and severely attacked by a dog. We contemplated putting her down because her injuries appeared grave, but I just wanted to try. So we put her up in our building that stays warm and dry and we've been nursing her through it. She is eating, drinking, preening, and seems to be healing well. It's quite remarkable.

 

[kfelton0002]

She stated in her first post that it is a BBB (Broad Breasted Bronze).

Excuse my oversight. Been studying and my eyes are crossed.

Unfortunately there may not be a good prognosis for lameness in a BBB.

 

[NCFDeanna]

I just wanted to give an update on Tina. I do believe the myco spread to her joints. After three days of laying down, unable to even stand, she suddenly started trying to stand up. After about a day of that, she started taking little steps, and is now walking again, admittedly slower than she was, but she's getting stronger every day.
I don't know if it helps anyone but while she was unable to stand I would hold her up several times a day and at least get her feet underneath her where they belong, then gently lay her back down. It was back breaking work to say the least, but I do think it helped her. I also gave her vitamins, and made sure that they included vitamin a. She is also getting prebiotics, lactob, to restore bacteria after her antibiotic treatment.
All of that being said, I do fully understand the complications that come with having a broad breasted breed. I raise heritage turkeys, but I have a soft spot when a broad breasted needs a home, I think they are the sweetest, most docile birds. And I don't think it's their fault that humans have created this breed. So when I have them, I will do everything in my power to give them the best life possible. I completely understand that not everybody thinks it's fair to keep them alive, bit like I said it's not their fault.
Thank you for the replies and I hope this helps somebody.

 

[arazla]

Is Tylan the best medication for turkeys with mycoplasma? Our neighbor's turkey has been hacking and wheezing for months. Some of our chickens have also been coughing and sneezing off and on, but nothing as severe as this turkey which snuffles all night. More recently, the turkey has been limping. However, I think it's most likely related to what looks like a cut on her foot which I tried dressing a couple times, but not sure it's better. After a very cold day this past week, the turkey must have been disoriented and started sleeping in our garage. So we've been treating the garage group with Tiagard 12.5%, which is what we had on hand. It's been 6 days now and we see no change in the turkey's respiratory symptoms. However, it does seem to have more energy. It is a white wild turkey mix, so I can't imagine it's resistant to antibiotics, but maybe? Could this be something other than Mycoplasma? Trying to think of what nexts steps to try since at this point, it's a grey area as to whose turkey it is. The neighbors will most likely cull it if I insist it go home and they think it's acutely ill. That's their prerogative, but while it's with me, I'd like to give it a chance, plus make sure I'm treating my chickens for anything it might pass on.

 

[NCFDeanna]

Is Tylan the best medication for turkeys with mycoplasma? Our neighbor's turkey has been hacking and wheezing for months. Some of our chickens have also been coughing and sneezing off and on, but nothing as severe as this turkey which snuffles all night. More recently, the turkey has been limping. However, I think it's most likely related to what looks like a cut on her foot which I tried dressing a couple times, but not sure it's better. After a very cold day this past week, the turkey must have been disoriented and started sleeping in our garage. So we've been treating the garage group with Tiagard 12.5%, which is what we had on hand. It's been 6 days now and we see no change in the turkey's respiratory symptoms. However, it does seem to have more energy. It is a white wild turkey mix, so I can't imagine it's resistant to antibiotics, but maybe? Could this be something other than Mycoplasma? Trying to think of what nexts steps to try since at this point, it's a grey area as to whose turkey it is. The neighbors will most likely cull it if I insist it go home and they think it's acutely ill. That's their prerogative, but while it's with me, I'd like to give it a chance, plus make sure I'm treating my chickens for anything it might pass on.

That turkey went to the right garage, poor thing.
I can't say what's considered the best, but in my experience, Tylan or Liquamycin always works. I always do a subcutaneous injections, even with Tylan. I spent literal hours researching studies and found Oxytetricycline and Tylosin are recommended. Tina was really sick, after 2 days of treatment, started showing improvement. Do you have a vet that would prescribe it?
Are the turkey's sinuses swollen?