Babies dropping & dying!

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Sara Ranch said:
Thank you.

The picture (showing the babies outside) was to show the first signs of the illness. They are hunched over. It was 95+ outside. A little less in the shade. I don't think they were cold, but they could have been. (I know when I am exhausted, I am so cold, even in 95 degree heat. So it's possible the babies were cold from being sick.)

The pictures of the poop were from one of the already sick babies, who was not eating or drinking, and was near death. It would make sense that the baby was dehydrated.

Not sure if it had coccidia or not. The lab work will give a definite answer. I am not sure how they would have contracted it, since the first death occurred before anyone had ever set foot on the ground. (I know it spreads quickly.) None of the other animals have the symptoms of coccidia.

That being said, based on the recommendation of replies, I did switch everyone from acv water to corid water regardless of how great their poop looked. (Thank you for the poultry dosages. I was super close to that based on the instructions.)

The sick babies were being given garlic/acv water and syrup water to help them fight whatever it was that was making them sick. It seemed to help a little bit. Now, everyone is on corid water. I have the nutria-drench but couldn't make sense of the dosage. (Like for corid, it was to be mixed with 125 gallons of water. Uh - I don't have a container THAT big!)

TSC has not had waterfowl feed since I got the turkeys. Yes, my helper asked specifically for it. I have been doing the chick starter feed. I have offered additional sources of protein. The babies simply were not interested (and still aren't.) The babies would eat grass and maybe bugs once outside. I do additional protein for my duckies.

One of the babies has been autopsied. No signs of illness or injury internally or externally. I'll know more tomorrow when the lab results come back.

The story is not over with yet.

I want to thank EVERYONE who has been through this thread with me. I am always learning. The hugs are appreciated.
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New to the thread, but I've read through it. My deepest condolences to you in this time of loss. Maybe you could (To up the protein in the feed) crush up dried mealworms into a powder and mix it into their feed so they have no choice but to eat it with the feed?
 
James White said:
New to the thread, but I've read through it. My deepest condolences to you in this time of loss. Maybe you could (To up the protein in the feed) crush up dried mealworms into a powder and mix it into their feed so they have no choice but to eat it with the feed?
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Welcome to BYC! Adding mealworms is a great suggestion, but part of the problem is that poults need a different amount of other vitamins and minerals, too.
Compare the tables:
Turkeys - https://www.nap.edu/read/2114/chapter/5
Chickens - https://www.nap.edu/read/2114/chapter/4#20

Disclaimer:
I am not an expert on nutrition. :D
 
Last edited:
casportpony said:
I just do lots of searching. Hey, for all I know those tables are completley wrong, lol.
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I recommend two books. "Commercial Poultry Nutrition", Second Edition by S. Leeson and J.D. Summers and "Feeding Pasture Raised Poultry" by Jeff Mattocks. Its a dry read but lots of good info.
 
I, the OP, DO want to keep all of the animals here alive and healthy. It's one of the reasons I turned to you guys for advice and for resources.

I've never had turkey poults die before. I've never had babies die before. I've never had ANY animal die before old age claimed them.

I have been crushing the meal worms and adding it to the feed. I've also added onion greens to the water. I've dried some and added it to the feed. The sulphates in the onion greens act as antibiotic says the vet. (When I had a sick chicken, I gave her a big plastic container of fresh stuff from the garden that includes herbs. The ONLY thing she wanted was the onion greens. I feed that to her for five days. She went from not eating/not moving to back to normal & hey, I can outrun you mommy in 4 days! Vet said it might have been the sulfites in the onion greens. I've been feeding another flock onions. They are devouring the whole thing as fast I can throw them in.) **Note to self - next year, grown 20x as many onions!

The necropsy was done by the state vet. The lab work has been sent to the state lab.

The state vet found the situation (regarding the babies dying) unique and concerning. It's been documented (pictures & words & medical).

The best case scenario is to find out what pathogen has caused this, find a way to treat anyone with it, and learn how to prevent it.

The worse case scenario is that we do not identify the pathogen & the rest of the babies die.

TSC has not had any turkey food.

I would appreciate any leads on getting the proper nutritionally balanced food for my turkeys. I don't mind making it myself either.

I have another turkey flock that is thriving. If I can make life better for them, I'd love to.

I love my animals - ALL of them. It doesn't matter where they came from - I love them.

** I got that - no nutria-drench while on corid.
 

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