Coyote attack

[c4ck4]

This morning around 4:30am I heard some thumping. I listened for a sec and thought maybe one of the turkeys fell off the roost or something. I didn't hear any alarm noises and thought it might be fine, but then heard some chirping and flapping.

So I ran outside and found a coyote on top of my flapping ~12lb 5mo old bourbon red. I hissed to alert him of my anger and spotlighted him with the flashlight and he was over the fence and gone.

My turkey was missing almost all his tail feathers (do they defend with their butts ever?) and had a big chunk of neck feathers torn out with a few chunks of missing skin and/or? small punctures. The largest was a little bigger than a quarter in size. He was stunned with his head on the ground. I held him and checked him for injuries and after a minute or so he tried to stand on his own. This seemed like a good sign, but I didn't know what to do, so I moved him under the little shelter they have in case of rain and tried to go back to bed but couldn't sleep.

Around 6am I heard something and ran out full speed to find the other turkey trying to fight him, yanking on his uninjured neck skin because he was sleeping standing head down and looked vulnerable I guess (they are just at the age where they scuffle a lot and test each other's dominance often).

I've got them separated now and the injured turkey is in a private box, I washed the neck gently with warm water on a rag and dabbed some neosporin around the openings. He's been sleeping standing up, sometimes head up sometimes head down since about 5am this morning so 7 hours so far. He hasn't shown any interest in food or water, and I'm hoping for the best.

Any other tips would be much appreciated.

 

[Whittni]

Maybe a liquid band-aid. Your biggest worry will be infection and shock. Maybe try some good treats to prompt him to eat.

 

[Michael Apple]

You found out the Turkey must be separated from the others with that wound. Check his whole body to make sure you didn't miss anything detrimental. Clean the wound with Betadine. If there are punctures, I'd suggest Cephalexin or Penicillin @ 250 mg caps morning and evening for 5-7 days. Use some vitamins and probiotics in the water and keep food in front of him. I did this with one of my roosters who suffered a bobcat attack trying to defend his hens and he bounced back quickly.

Trap that coyote and cap it between the eyes. It will be back.

 

[c4ck4]

I had to go to work for about 6 hours and nobody was here to watch him. He's still alive and still standing with his head down, the wound looks different but I'm not sure if it's any better or if it's worse. He doesn't look like he's moved much and I doubt he's had any water. It's been just over 13 hours so far.

Is something like bactine spray as effective as betadine? How do I get him to take the penicillin? If he's not drinking water should I force his head back and put some in his mouth with a dropper or something?

If I wasn't in the city I'd be able to take care of the coyote. We'll just have to put up more wire and/or get our electric fence going again.

 

[Michael Apple]

I had to go to work for about 6 hours and nobody was here to watch him. He's still alive and still standing with his head down, the wound looks different but I'm not sure if it's any better or if it's worse. He doesn't look like he's moved much and I doubt he's had any water. It's been just over 13 hours so far.

Is something like bactine spray as effective as betadine? How do I get him to take the penicillin? If he's not drinking water should I force his head back and put some in his mouth with a dropper or something?

If I wasn't in the city I'd be able to take care of the coyote. We'll just have to put up more wire and/or get our electric fence going again.

Bactine is Lidocaine, so i wouldn't recommend using it. Even hydrogen peroxide could work. Mix up some vitamins-electrolytes in water. Feed it to him by hand with a syringe or dropper. It may take time but encouraging the bird to eat and drink is important. Once the bird is eating and drinking on its own, you can then give antibiotics. You can gently pinch open the beak and place the capsule in the mouth. The bird will swallow it on its own. The other option is to give the bird a 1 cc injection of Duramycin or Penicillin with a 22 guage needle in the breast muscle morning and evening for 5 days.

If you are uncomfortable with taking this on, or think the bird is in dire circumstances, take the bird to an avian vet.

 

[c4ck4]

Thank you very much for your suggestions so far, I really appreciate them.

The biggest main wound seemed to be gelling over, but some of the skin was turning bright pink and some was turning more white, more like cooked chicken vs healthy pink skin. I wasn't able to get any injectable antibiotics on labor day at this hour, so if he's still alive tomorrow maybe I'll be able to scrape some up.

I pulled him out of the box while dressing his wound with non-stick gauze and when I put him back in he didn't seem to want to stand or maybe he couldn't. I left to do some things and came back and he was standing again (seems to be his most comfortable position) but with his head down still.

 

[applecore]

Subbing, as we just had a coyote attack here too. Best of luck with your little guy.

 

[c4ck4]

Quote:
So since he's still not eating or drinking or barely moving I shouldn't give him any injected penicillin until/unless he starts eating and drinking on his own? My girlfriend found a farm store that was open and was able to buy some penicillin just before they closed and will be back this way shortly.

Thanks again for all the help, I'm googling how to administer penicillin to turkeys but not getting much in the way of instructions or recommendations.

 

[Michael Apple]

So since he's still not eating or drinking or barely moving I shouldn't give him any injected penicillin until/unless he starts eating and drinking on his own? My girlfriend found a farm store that was open and was able to buy some penicillin just before they closed and will be back this way shortly.

Thanks again for all the help, I'm googling how to administer penicillin to turkeys but not getting much in the way of instructions or recommendations.

Well, you want to get some food in that bird before administering antibiotics. Like chickens, turkeys have a keel bone at the center of the breast. Locate a muscular flesh area to the right or left of that bone. That is your injection site. I prefer to swab the area with a cotton ball moistened with alcohol before injection. Make sure you shake up the penicillin before drawing it into the syringe. The solution is thick, but with a 22 gauge needle or larger, it should draw up into it. Hopefully the bird is just weak from stress and there's no internal damage. Keep us posted.

 

[Michael Apple]

The antibiotics will hold off infection, but won't get the bird on it's feet. It's too bad you don't have some Poultry Nutri Drench. It gets nutrients in the bird quickly. Most Tractor Supply and feed stores carry it. I'm sorry if I sound like I'm mentioning too many things. I keep these products on hand all the time as well as antibiotics. Haven't had to use any in awhile. I sure hope you can save your Turkey.