Good Morning, Turkey Folks.
I've noticed many threads over the last few years asking about blackhead disease when raising turkeys with other poultry, but I don't recall seeing any photos to help folks know the signs. Most folks include pictures of turkey poults with dark spots on their heads...naturally. The dark spots really don't develop unless the bird has survived the disease for sometime. Unfortunately this disease would be better named "liver ulcer" disease. Because it is caused by a parasitic worm (cecal worm), the early signs and symptoms will really mimic any other parasitic problem like large round worm or coccidiosis.
The only real way to diagnose black head is to open a bird that has died and examine the liver. I found a young female poult dead in our pen this morning, so I investigated and sure enough, it was blackhead. I'm including some pictures so you'll know exactly what to look for; notice the yellow ulcers and inflammation. She had shown no signs of lethargy or loss of appetite. But when I walked the whole pen, I found a few piles of yellow droppings.
So now what??
Everybody gets .5 ml of Safeguard for Goats this morning and 3 tablets of flagyl (antibiotic) in their drinking water for the next three days. Both of those are heavy doses, but one bird has died, everyone else is on a short road to the same destination. Hope this helps folks in the future.
I've noticed many threads over the last few years asking about blackhead disease when raising turkeys with other poultry, but I don't recall seeing any photos to help folks know the signs. Most folks include pictures of turkey poults with dark spots on their heads...naturally. The dark spots really don't develop unless the bird has survived the disease for sometime. Unfortunately this disease would be better named "liver ulcer" disease. Because it is caused by a parasitic worm (cecal worm), the early signs and symptoms will really mimic any other parasitic problem like large round worm or coccidiosis.
The only real way to diagnose black head is to open a bird that has died and examine the liver. I found a young female poult dead in our pen this morning, so I investigated and sure enough, it was blackhead. I'm including some pictures so you'll know exactly what to look for; notice the yellow ulcers and inflammation. She had shown no signs of lethargy or loss of appetite. But when I walked the whole pen, I found a few piles of yellow droppings.
So now what??
Everybody gets .5 ml of Safeguard for Goats this morning and 3 tablets of flagyl (antibiotic) in their drinking water for the next three days. Both of those are heavy doses, but one bird has died, everyone else is on a short road to the same destination. Hope this helps folks in the future.
Great pictures, thanks for sharing. If you still have the body you might want to look at the cecal pouches too.
