About one month old turkey with weak legs and other problems

[Habibi1214]

I got two turkeys from the feed store a couple weeks ago and they have been eating and drinking fine. I think they are about one month old. This afternoon one of the turkeys seemed to lose the strength in its legs and can’t walk or stand. The turkey acts lethargic and has been sleeping most of the day, it's pretty quiet (if it talks its very soft, not loud at all) and I haven't seen it poop since it started to act lethargic. Also, it seems to be breathing more heavily, you can see its "cheeks" moving in and out as it breaths and it acts like its panting. Does anybody have any suggestions with what I could do or what is wrong?

 

[Dogfish]

Separate from the other, see if it improves. If not, cull. Might want to get a few more poults.

 

[Habibi1214]

I have seperated it from the others. Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[lilchick]

It might just be weak from lack of eating and drinking. They sometimes lose interest and you need to help them out.

Mix sugar in warm water and try to get it to drink. Scramble an egg and force feed it. Easy to do. Pull gently under it's chin and it will open it's mouth and you can shove small pieces in.

A syringe or eye dropper can be used to give water if it refuses to drink.

Keep it warm and quiet and keep it fed and watered. Hopefully it will pull thru.

Been there, done that. good luck!

 

[Dogfish]

Regardless of how many birds you raise, culling is always the hardest part.

 

[Habibi1214]

Thank for those ideas! It is still drinking and eating. We have been giving it egg yolk and corn syrup occasionally these past couple hours to try to give it a sugar rush but it hasn’t seemed to do any good.

Also, it finally pooped and it looks normal.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I hope your turkey is doing fine.

 

[Stormy Autumn]

If this were posted in the duck forum, everyone would be suggesting that maybe it's a niacin deficiency (because of the leg problems). Are you feeding your poults game bird starter or something else? If they're eating game bird food, then it probably isn't a niacin problem.

 

[Habibi1214]

We have been feeding them medicated chick start and lots of others things such as tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, broccoli, and have taken them outside and taught them to eat bugs. Yesterday lesions started to form on the backs of both the legs where it bends. After doing more research online we found a web site that told us that lesions, leg weakness, and Paralysis of the legs are symptoms of vitamin deficiency, specifically vitamin E and Selenium. So we bought a multivitamin and added it to the water and most of the stuff we are feeding her. Grapes so far are her favorite food, so we roll the chopped up grapes in the vitamin mix. We are now also trying to feed her flax seed, grass leaves, and Alfalfa. So far she has actually regained some movement in her feet and legs!

 

[Stormy Autumn]

I'm glad the vitamins are helping! Leg paralysis can also be a symptom of vitamin B deficiency.

I would definitely switch to game bird starter if you can. It has extra niacin (a type of B vitamin), and other nutrients that turkeys need. It also has more protein, because turkeys need more protein than chickens.

Good luck!