Assistance: how to tell if a turkey has a staph infection & needs antibiotic?

[PureBigBird]

Have made several posts about a turkey hen symptoms. Some have said it could be heart disease; another says it might be something else, but am concerned it might be a staph infection
History:
1. turkey has been panting for a very long time, but more rapidly this year. She went to the vet in Spring because appetite issue and stools changed, but vet said "couldn't SEE anything wrong." VET Never did blood chems nor x-ray-just clipped her nails and did a fecal -when vet did nails had to use quick-stop (so hand fed her until July-she took it with ease, but wouldn't eat independently, then started eating on her own with her hen friend nearby-both hens wouldn't eat pellets for a few months-reason unknown; they both remained broody for way too long and then hard molt came-the other hen would eat fresh foods without assistance thank goodness)
2. poops are firm and normal with good white urine on top and with a few stinky browns eat day; stools can be green from kale or pellet colored or black from eating dirt, but they are elongated or round and firm.
3. lameness in right leg, has trouble walking or standing for a long time; when getting up in am and many times in day, has to find her balance and leans forward and holds tail upward; also will hold tail up when sitting; when stands up, hunches way over and lets wings hang down, but mostly hangs that RIGHT wing down as if to let of pressure on right leg with lameness-shuffles the right leg when walks. And will also, extend just that right wing all the way out and flutter it like a baby chick? Reason?
4. wants to sit most of the time. Enjoys being near hen friend. Does not graze, but just sits nearby while her hen friend grazes; nearby she makes clucks and purrs and pecks at the ground to participate.
5. currently enjoys eating and drinking (makes slurping and yummy sounds)
1/2 cup pellets + blueberries and peas in am and 1/2 cup of pellets and kale in pm plus a watermelon snack
6. has been walking slowly for a long time--since just before I took her to the vet in Spring and then, vet said "nothing is wrong", and sitting much (she has always been a sitter), but lameness came about 2 weeks ago. She stumbled a few times. May have fallen or jumped when shouldn't have?
7. have another post where I mention the extreme panting-someone mentioned possible heart disease? Could be both lameness and heart disease?
8. Hen is 3 years 3 1/2 months old, and is vocal-lets us know when she doesn't want to go into the coop at night, and also calls to other hen, if out of sight or chats to her when nearby.
9. climate is humid and hot-have little wading pools and plenty fresh water and a forest canopy; windows, vents and fans in coop.
10 have checked for swollen belly - none; have checked body for wounds - none (but a previous wound that healed might cause staph infection-there is no scab or site of injury anywhere).
11. deworming in due in a few day; the flock was dusted about a month ago for parasites
12. she preens her feathers, but not like she should-she went through a MAJOR molt and has blue feather shafts encased everywhere, and long tail feather encased in blue shafts still emerging--so she is feathering well.
13. Hen is taking either Aspirin (1/2 baby aspirin 3 times daily) OR .4 ml of banamine per 20 lb weight daily (never to give both at same time), for 3 days now, but the hen still pants. She is slightly more mobile and content, but not much and is still panting all the time. She is stressed when has to move and has reluctance. Because of the lameness, I carry her into the coop so that she doesn't have to use the stairs. The other hen uses the stairs.
14. Neither turkey hens are laying now; they lay in the Spring.

THUS, between the right leg lameness, the strange tail holding upward for balance upon rising with right wing hanging more downward in this position (the hen can hold the wing close to her body too, but prefers not to do it), the stooped or hunched over when standing with tail upward, the preference to sit, and the panting non-stop-the bird seems stressed-could it be a staph infection? and should I try to treat the symptoms with penicillin? Recently, I asked the vet if there could about heart disease and the need for antibiotics and the vet negated it...have read different data about antibiotics and heart disease online-so am baffled, AND
am at a loss on how to help her, myself. How would I hurt her by using penicillin? Need to do something to help her. Vet just advised on nsaids: aspirin and banamine. The hurricane will bring storms and wind, and a vet visit (if the vet is even available), could not take place until later next week or the following week-far away. Am not confident that the vet will find the cause for some reason. Please assist. What are the symptoms of staph? If it is soft tissue inury, how long does that take to heal? What about infection with arthritis?

 

[azygous]

All I have are wild turkeys, but I do have two dozen chickens and I've had several go lame in the manner you describe.

At the time it baffled me, too. I spent months trying to rule things out, hoping to arrive at the cause so I could treat it and make them well. I ended up euthanizing them because they never improved, but got worse instead.

Then I had a four-week old chick come down with sudden symptoms of wing drooping and lameness. There was no doubt that the chick had gotten into some sort of neuro toxin. The chick declined in just a couple hours to the point I knew it could never recover, and I euthanized it.

I spent the next two days combing my premises for the source of the toxin. I hadn't used insecticides in ages. No paint thinner or gas. I looked everywhere at the plants that were growing for anything toxic.

It was as I was searching for toxic plants at the end of the second day I spied the log splitter with its messy fluid leaks. The soil was greasy with hydraulic fluid. That was the last place I'd seen the broody and her chicks. I concluded that the chick had picked up contaminated grit, and just a tiny bit would be enough to kill.

Then, thinking back to those hens with the lame legs, one wanting to sit all day on her haunches like a dog, I knew that they too had probably picked up contaminated grit, but not enough to kill, just enough to wreck the part of the brain that controls motor function.

It's something for you to consider. If it was staph, you'd probably see a pussy wound. Of course, there are poultry viruses that can produce tumors that can cause similar symptoms, Marek's for one. You would need expensive DNA tests to diagnose or a dead body for a necropsy.

First search for a source of neuro toxin. It could be your culprit.

 

[PureBigBird]

All I have are wild turkeys, but I do have two dozen chickens and I've had several go lame in the manner you describe.

At the time it baffled me, too. I spent months trying to rule things out, hoping to arrive at the cause so I could treat it and make them well. I ended up euthanizing them because they never improved, but got worse instead.

Then I had a four-week old chick come down with sudden symptoms of wing drooping and lameness. There was no doubt that the chick had gotten into some sort of neuro toxin. The chick declined in just a couple hours to the point I knew it could never recover, and I euthanized it.

I spent the next two days combing my premises for the source of the toxin. I hadn't used insecticides in ages. No paint thinner or gas. I looked everywhere at the plants that were growing for anything toxic.

It was as I was searching for toxic plants at the end of the second day I spied the log splitter with its messy fluid leaks. The soil was greasy with hydraulic fluid. That was the last place I'd seen the broody and her chicks. I concluded that the chick had picked up contaminated grit, and just a tiny bit would be enough to kill.

Then, thinking back to those hens with the lame legs, one wanting to sit all day on her haunches like a dog, I knew that they too had probably picked up contaminated grit, but not enough to kill, just enough to wreck the part of the brain that controls motor function.

It's something for you to consider. If it was staph, you'd probably see a pussy wound. Of course, there are poultry viruses that can produce tumors that can cause similar symptoms, Marek's for one. You would need expensive DNA tests to diagnose or a dead body for a necropsy.

First search for a source of neuro toxin. It could be your culprit.

Thank you very much and am sorry for your birds. I will investigate-it is awful for them. Did they have panting all the time too? She sits on her haunches at feeding time - am and pm as if ready for feeding (as she was hand fed - see list), but mostly just plops down after a small effort to travel from one location to the next. The morning off balance upon uprising are difficult for her--and I think that she gets scared about it, then she finds stability enough to eat from her bowl. Have it setup where there is a small bowl inside a large higher bowl so she can lean on it to support her when she eats. As a matter of fact, balance seems to be a problem more upon rising up. She limped around for about 5minutes today outside while trying to find a place to plop.

 

[azygous]

If it's an avian virus that is causing these symptoms, it's possible tumors from the virus are growing on lungs and heart making breathing difficult. I also have one of these viruses in my flock and a rooster inflicted with tumors from it had a two-pound liver on necropsy. He had trouble breathing and that's why I euthanized him. It was his necropsy that told me I have lymphotic leucosis in my flock, incurable, sad to say.

As I mentioned above, this is one possible cause of what ails your turkeys.

 

[PureBigBird]

If it's an avian virus that is causing these symptoms, it's possible tumors from the virus are growing on lungs and heart making breathing difficult. I also have one of these viruses in my flock and a rooster inflicted with tumors from it had a two-pound liver on necropsy. He had trouble breathing and that's why I euthanized him. It was his necropsy that told me I have lymphotic leucosis in my flock, incurable, sad to say.

As I mentioned above, this is one possible cause of what ails your turkeys.

Thank you again. There is no sound with the breathing - just rapid respiration...as if there is pain. Early in the morning when I open the coop, she isn't panting--should put a camera on her for the night time to see if she is panting too? Today, she decided to stand part of the time rather than sit all the time. Who knows what is in the mind of a turkey, but still the panting or rapid respiration continues. The other hen isn't panting. With the hurricane, it reached 55 degrees last night instead of 70s, and today, its 78 - 82 with a strong cool breeze. When in the coop, she will stand in front of the fan too as if too cool herself, but so does the other hen. Who knows what is in the mind of a turkey; is she cooling herself now as she stands? Turkeys generally pant before going to sleep and to cool themselves, but not all the time. The vet hasn't really given much care or diagnostics. Rather odd. Prior to taking her into vet in the Spring, I asked the vet if I needed to withhold food before and he said no--so I drive an hour 1 1/2 and stress her--and when I ask for the blood chems to be done, the vet says "Sorry, my error, the hen should have been fasted." Thus, even a baseline was never done. After a phone call, he gave a prescription of metronidazole for stools, but it never firmed it--large amount of probiotics did. Why do I lack confidence? Recently, brought a turkey into the vet for sour crop-filled with water, and he palpitated and gave x-ray; showed a tumor in intestine; they did not sedate the bird before removing a tumor, and the bird peed yellow urine all over and went into shock on the table, and then, I asked if they were going to sew the hen's digestive track up, and they said "not if you are going to euthanize her." Tears came heavy. Then, I rushed to her side, and held her head and she didn't move nor was she being held or contained by any tech, just stared at me. I was in disbelief--they forgot to sedate her. She had never felt pain by a human. As I am holding her head, the vet tried twice to insert a needle to sedative by injection into her veins on wing and saed, "oops, I burst the vein-darn, I did it again." It turned bluish and darkened in the regions. The second sedation took -- her eyes went heavy, and then, he gave her the injection to euthanize. 17 days later I called about the histology--it was a terrible report from a lab that clearly could not tell the difference between a polyp or a neoplasm! At first the report said it was a polyp and then later said it might be a neoplasm in the report-wtheck?--on the telephone, the vet apologized for what took place before she was euthanized and also mentioned how bad the report was. The day before this hen went to the vet's office, she had been grazing happily clucking and purring and dust bathing. She was always happy and full of energy, and when we opened the gate to our long driveway, would call to us as part of the flock. WOW. So I just don't know what to do for this wonder hen--I need to assist her, but I do not know how? What would you do?