bbb turkey failed to hatch eggs now depressed and very weak/unstable

[Dust Bunny]

somebody PLEASE tell me my turkey will be ok,

she is a broad breasted bronze about one year old and 27lbs, and lives with chickens and ducks, she unsuccessfuly tried to hatch some chicken eggs and now she is listless, depressed and can hardly walk and her stools are loose, she is eating and drinking and was very excited to get a dust bath after setting eggs for 3 weeks but im very worried for her,

she was clumsy before but now its bad, and she is just not herself, im praying she is just sad about loseing her babies and weak from setting for 3 weeks, ive given her electrolite/vitamin/mineral stuff in her water and ive put her on a diet, can sombody give me some hope that she will improve? or give me some advice? i love her so much, she is my first turkey and im not prepared to cull her

 

[gypsy2621]

I have to ask why is she on a diet?
is she over weight?

she should straighten around in a few days. electrolites and vitamins are a good idea.
keep in mind Broad Breasted Turkeys are heavy and larger than heritage breeds and the extra weight takes toll on leg muscles and tendons.
keep and eye on her but she should bounce back quickly.
what we take for depression in birds is not a true depression, sometimes they become weak for no reaason, the heavier built birds more so than the smaller heritage birds.

 

[Dust Bunny]

Quote:
shes on a diet cuz she is massive, everybody loves her so she is always getting treats so i replaced her scratch with oats (she eats layer as her base diet) and no more junk food like bread, so ive been scouring the yard for dandylions and other yummy greens cuz she is still to cute not to give her something, i was very unprepared for just how attached i would get to her, i just love her, our local feed stores only carry bbb and bb whites and no heritage breeds so i will need to order some, cackle will let me only order 5 poults long as i get chicks.

 

[Cacklin" Hens]

With her being that big, when she was on the nest she probably got very weak because she didn't get to eat and drink much because she was on those eggs and she is probably malnutritioned because of that time of little feed and water. That is a big turkey to fill up! And yes she prob. is depressed about her babies! Just keep her on those vitamins and stuff and giver her treats until she gets better. Keep us updated! Hope this helps!

 

[1-duckling]

Yes, keep the vitamins and feed to her. She'll get stronger. Mine would do the same thing with whatever eggs she could find. She was like one of my dogs. When she was young she followed me around and churttled to me and let me pet her. She was a sweetie. As the years went by, her weight caused her legs and feet to become very large and it got hard for her to walk. Her feet would swell and become hot to the touch. Pretty sure she had arthritis. You could tell it was painful when she walked/wattled. She couldn't keep up with the flock and rarely came out of the coop these last few months. Unfortunately, after five years, I culled my bbb.

 

[One Acre Wonder Farm]

Dust Bunny - how is your girl doing?

 

[Dust Bunny]

my girl seems to be much better, walking better, stronger and much more interested in being outside, she was sooo poopy from setting eggs i gave her a warm bath, blow dried her and kept her warm in the house with a space heater for the night, that really perked her up, then i cleaned the coop and rearranged the nest boxes to keep her from "setting" where the eggs were, that helped, BUT i have noticed my hens laying right next to her, and im sure its on purpose! today i found my bantam hen totaly under turkey, so weird!

 

[Dust Bunny]

turkey RAN today!!!

came runnin for food AND made nice solid poop!

im so happy for her i think she is compleatly recovered! thank you all for your good advise and encouraging words!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

 

[chickenannie]

Glad to hear she's doing better!!

The bath and blow-dry may have cheered her up (I could use one myself!)