Blackhead disease question

[Frosty]

Is that the paste wormer for horses? If it is, I wouldn't give it to him. I think I heard somewhere that it has ingredients that aren't good for birds.

Editing to add that the normal poop looks like chicken poop only bigger. Though once in a while they do a cecal dump that looks like a splat of dark chocolate pudding

 

[Rachel's Hobby Hatchery]

its a paist wormer for horses, yes but i use it on my rabbits with no ill effects at all, i have used it on my pet rats before too and it worked with out them getting sick...
my turkey's poop looks like a clump of chocolate pudding all of the time. and smells much worse than chicken poop.

 

[LBejaran]

As a preventative measure, I've been adding 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper to my turkeys' water and occasionally a sprinkle to their feed. I don't know if blackhead disease is prevalent in our area (I live in the Rio Grande Valley, TX), but I have to keep my standard bronze turkeys with my chickens. I've been lucky, though, that our yard has stayed lush and green, so the birds are spread all over.

I've let my poults out with the rest of the flock a couple times to ensure that all is well and there have been no symptoms yet. So far, I think worming has helped prevent other problems, but I'm not entirely sure. Either way, it's an inexpensive way to give me some peace of mind.

 

[junkprospector]

i've been doing the same thing with the cayenne pepper; mainly when turkey has some runny poop, i'll bust out the pepper and load the birds up with it in their food and water.

 

[LBejaran]

It certainly is a way to keep your turkeys happy. I sometimes throw out jalapenos for them, since wild turkeys around here do tend to eat a lot of peppers. They love them! Before I put the turkeys with the chickens, I also wormed the chickens with peppers and cayenne. They all seemed pretty pleased after a week of that spicy stuff in their water. ^_^

 

[wcah]

What is it with cayenne pepper? How does it help an work as a wormer? When you mention peppers do you mean chilli peppers or narmal salad peppers? Who much pepper per gallon or lb of feed. Iv just put garlic in my turkeys water, could i mix them?

 

[LBejaran]

Chilis and peppers are something that wild turkeys eat often when they are available. The capsaicin in the seeds of the peppers are what deworms your birds. It also helps kill off any of those pesky little worms inside your birds' bellies. Any pepper with a high amount of capsaicin in the seeds will work.

So, if you had to choose between some, I'd recommend some hot ones like jalapenos. They are decently spicy and pretty inexpensive. You can used jarred peppers, but some people just prefer to buy the dry ones because they store well and don't involve a lot of fishing them out. Cayenne powder works, too, but sometimes it can get a bit pricy to keep buying the powder. If you have a Latin food market around where you live, you can buy loads of dried peppers for your birds and it won't cost very much. I live in Deep South Texas, so we have what we need at WalMart or HEB.

You can mix garlic and peppers into your turkeys' water. Though, if you don't mind me asking, what is the garlic for? I've never heard of someone putting it in their turkeys' water.

 

[wcah]

I was under the impression from reading various chicken forums that crushed garlic in there water improved there imune system? Could be old wives tales though?

 

[Goronson Chicks]

There is a specific medication called Nitarsone that can be added to feed to prevent blackhead. Unfortunately, it's hard to come by in small quantities.

I bought medicated feed from Blue Seal Feeds in Maine through their online site/e-mail. The product is called "Turkey Grower - HS Medicated", and it contains (I believe this is the right number, but I'm not trudging out through 6 inches of snow to find out right now, sorry) 0.175% Nitarsone.

The Turkey Grower - HS Medicated is the very last product on the bottom of the following webpage.

http://www.blueseal.com/livestock/poultry/feeds.php

Alas, the only problem with this product -- the feed was $10 a bag, and the shipping was close to $30!

Is this used only for grower turkeys that you want to fatten? Ours is a heritage breed and a pet. We want him to live a long time.