Do my Birds have BlackHead ?

[Chuckfriedrice]

Ive noticed lately the backs of 2 of 3 of my turkeys heads have been getting a blueish black color . Im afraid its blackhead but I cant find any pictures to go by . The poo seems normal . So weve started the cayenne pepper treatment to be safe .

Heres a picture from may 5th . They look fine .



But lately they look like this .





This guy looks fine .



We have had some serious ran 2 weeks ago . Ive read that it makes it appearance alot of the time then . Theres no chickens close to them . But I do have some on the property. Should I worry or not ???

 

[wncpalm]

The blue head coloring looks like a normal part of growing-up-turkey! Despite the name, head coloration is not a symptom of blackhead in turkeys. And if the poop looks normal, and there are none of the behavioral symptoms, then there is likely nothing for you to worry about.

Contrary to some online reports, there is an effective medication to treat blackhead - metronidazole - that is available by prescription from a veterinarian. But the good news is, you don't need it!

 

[Girl43]

Hi. I don't think you really have to worry. Altho I've never had a problem, Blackhead will go through in about five days and take out most of them or so I've read. My turkeys' head changed too as they matured.

I have white beltsville turkeys and they actually range around with the chickens. I was very leery of doing this as I had read quite a bit about the disease... but then I got to thinking that in the olden days they didn't separate the birds and so I allowed the birds to mingle. I was very nervous for many days but everything worked out ok. My chickens obviously don't carry the disease. I've also read that any wild bird flying by could poop in your turkeys' pen and infect them. I'm opting for a great albeit short life for my birds. They get to free range and do their thing. I'm not saying to go out and do what I did as your outcomes may be different.

Hope all works out well.

 

[lindseyd]

Hello,

Please keep us posted on your birds. I've come to the site today with the same question. First time with turkeys and this got me pretty nervous. thanks!

 

[Girl43]

I sure will. My guys have been running with the chickens now for two months. They've even been inside the chicken's pen...that's when I thought that I'd see blackhead for sure. I've even gone out and seen my wyandotte in with them...and then there's the ducks too. One big happy (so far) family.

 

[junkprospector]

I've got a BBB - and he runs with my checkens too... about 3 weeks ago i saw the black dots in his carnacules and started freaking out, thinking the same thing - he's got blackhead. he had runny stool for about a day - and i thought he was done for. I started loading up on the cayene pepper after that. i don't think he has or had blackhead, but it still scared me pretty good.

 

[Girl43]

I know how you feel. Everyday, when I first allowed them together, I inspected and imagined I saw all the symptoms of blackhead. I think this disease is more prevalent in certain areas. I'm in Nova Scotia and I think the risk here is lower than most. I mentioned earlier that in the older days, when people just learned from experience, everything just did its own thing and everyone intermingled. I'm taking that (lazy me) route. There is always someone flying into the turkey pen or flying out or flying above so there isn't much I can do. All seems good with my guys. I guess you just have to trial and error your way along, cross your fingers, and trust your instincts.

 

[Girl43]

Hi. Just wanted to let everyone know that my turkeys are still disease free after three months of constant intermingling with my chickens and ducks. I'm going to breathe a sigh of relief, for this year anyway, and start the panic next year with the new birds

 

[casportpony]

The blue head coloring looks like a normal part of growing-up-turkey! Despite the name, head coloration is not a symptom of blackhead in turkeys. And if the poop looks normal, and there are none of the behavioral symptoms, then there is likely nothing for you to worry about.

Contrary to some online reports, there is an effective medication to treat blackhead - metronidazole - that is available by prescription from a veterinarian. But the good news is, you don't need it!

X2!

 

[casportpony]

Hi. Just wanted to let everyone know that my turkeys are still disease free after three months of constant intermingling with my chickens and ducks. I'm going to breathe a sigh of relief, for this year anyway, and start the panic next year with the new birds

Don't want to scare you, but it wasn't until about this time last year and the year before that my blackhead problems began.

-Kathy