Birds with Disease

[Sara Ranch]

Commercial poultry (to include turkeys) often have mycoplasma and are sold to customers. The poultry is not treated for the disease.

If your turkey has mycoplasma, chances are the chickens do too. The chickens will have it for life and probably be without symptoms.

There are three types of mycoplasma. All fowl with mycoplasma are safe to eat if NOT treated with antibiotics 14 days before harvest per the state vet and my local vet.

While waiting for lab results to come back on my animals, I had long informative conversations with my vet regarding the what ifs. Then went to the internet to do more research. (My baby turkeys suddenly died earlier this year. It was due to birth defects.)

Someone else had suggested getting the turkey tested to get a confirmation on the diagnoses. Is that a possibility?

Will you post pictures of the turkey's eyes?

 

[blm]

Thank you everyone for your help, this is a great site and glad it exists and to be part of it!
As of last week, the turkey was slaughtered... heart strings... she's in my freezer right now. We, the community, will cook her up right for a winter solstice dinner celebration.
With no Vet consultation, we are most certain it was Mycoplasma and not Blackhead. I see no visible symptoms with the chickens and maybe never will, but they appear to be healthy and their eggs look normal.

'She', because her name was Lola... the name given by a young granddaughter of the man who bought her at a flea market. So we all referred to the turkey as female, but never knowing for sure, and the song Lola by The Kinks was sung a lot because of that... and when we discovered 'she' was in fact a 'he', that melody rang out even louder.

Anyway... the pic below is of her eye with foamy bubbles, #1 symptom of mycoplasma. And this is on a good day... some days the whole eye would be completely covered and she would stumble around, tripping over the ground and having difficultly eating because she couldn't see.

Had a dream about her the other night...it was a visit. She was in a tall grass field, slim like a wild turkey, foraging and running about. She had a half quail half pheasant bird friend flapping above her, guiding and protecting her. She was happy.

Thank you all again!

 

[RodNTN]

Hi there! And It is wonderful to have you here with us, best wishes!

 

[ronott1]

Thank you everyone for your help, this is a great site and glad it exists and to be part of it!
As of last week, the turkey was slaughtered... heart strings... she's in my freezer right now. We, the community, will cook her up right for a winter solstice dinner celebration.
With no Vet consultation, we are most certain it was Mycoplasma and not Blackhead. I see no visible symptoms with the chickens and maybe never will, but they appear to be healthy and their eggs look normal.

'She', because her name was Lola... the name given by a young granddaughter of the man who bought her at a flea market. So we all referred to the turkey as female, but never knowing for sure, and the song Lola by The Kinks was sung a lot because of that... and when we discovered 'she' was in fact a 'he', that melody rang out even louder.

Anyway... the pic below is of her eye with foamy bubbles, #1 symptom of mycoplasma. And this is on a good day... some days the whole eye would be completely covered and she would stumble around, tripping over the ground and having difficultly eating because she couldn't see.

View attachment 1175546

Had a dream about her the other night...it was a visit. She was in a tall grass field, slim like a wild turkey, foraging and running about. She had a half quail half pheasant bird friend flapping above her, guiding and protecting her. She was happy.

Thank you all again!

I am sorry for your loss!