Eat sick turkeys? HELP NEED ANSWERS PLEASE

[taras.farm]

su i got 3 narragansetts about 10 weeks ago...was told they just were vaccinated for ilt and having a possible reaCtion....SINUSES were starting to swell and got worse within a week of arriving...thay've been quaranteened the whole time but get worse on colder wet days....I tried penacillan injections in their sinuses (recemended by other turkey people) One improved...others did not...tHEN I ORDERED ANTIBIOTICS...no vet here will help. Waited for it for 2 weeks....
Mycoplasma?
Now they are on tylan soluble....its' been 7 days...nothing has changed....i'm a little sad.
This trio is running out of time...i won't put them with my other 2 turkeys of chicken flock....but snow is coming and they need to get out of that enclosure soon.

CAN WE EAT THEM?....WELL AFTER THE ANTIBIOTICS WITHDRAWAL TIME...A WEEK....
THEY ARE CARRIERS FOR LIFE RIGHT?....SO NO CHANCE OF LIVING WITH MY OTHER CREW?

ARE THEY SAFE TO EAT...SINCE THEY HAVE SWOLLEN SINUSES...NO OTHER SYMPTOMS....THEY ARE PROBABLY 5MONTHS OLD NOW AND I NEED TO MAKE A DECISION ASAP.

PLEASE HELP

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

What dosage of Tylan are you giving them? Check your lable but I'm thinking the withdrawl is 2 weeks or a month? If it's MG yes they will be carriers but there are other illness with sinus swelling that are cureable. Only a vet test can tell for sure. I have read of people eating sick birds but I won't myself.

Steve

 

[taras.farm]

I've never even thought of eating a sick bird either...really bothers me! Hubby is just kinda ticked that I made the buy and fed and raised useless birds for 2 months...oh well...C'est la Vie
My bottle says 5 days withdrawal for turkeys...but I'd likely do 10 or more...

anybody else know what to do...?
Also I cannot remember where I got dosage from for tylan but is was like 1 tsp/5gallon of water.............so In my 1 gallon fount I;m giving them a smidge under 1/4 tsp....
I found it online I think at a med site....anyways the bottle does 50gallons and cost a fortune! I'll look for the link tonight.

So anybody think my dose is off or any other tips to get these turkeys looking okay?....as for vets none will touch chickens or ducks around here....real frustrating...kinda my first run in with disease in five years and I have alot of birds....Happy birds! I treat myself for minor things...guess I've been lucky and prevented alot with proper management,


These turkeys act normal too...spunky,talkative and eating well...jumping up to roost ...normal poos...Just look crazy puffy cheeks...pics tomorrowNights are down to 1-5 degrees celcius now..highs to 12degrees during day....snow should be only a couple weeks away...its been raining almost everyother day here in Southern Ontario for 2 months...yucky

 

[Olive Hill]

If they're acting normal, eating, drinking, etc. why the hurry to butcher them? They don't have to be moved back inside for the cold weather. You can keep them in the quarantine pen and just see how it goes. My narrs roost outside in the trees at night and free range all day. We are having the same temperatures as you. A few weeks ago we were colder -- it was in the 20s F in the mornings -- they did/do just fine.

Personally, I don't/won't eat sick birds. But, like Steve, I've read of those that have without consequence. While it's frustrating to put the time and money in and get "no" return I just see it as part of the risk of raising livestock. There is never truly zero return, after all, at the very least you chalk up experience and knowledge with every bird.

 

[taras.farm]

[oh...i'm in n o hurry...just don't know what to do with them! I have real big top netted enclosures i use for the winter for my ducks....and planned on having the turkeys set up in there during snow months as protection from coyotes visitting from the forest across the creek during winter months....they hunt wild rabbits and pick off cats around here. I've never lost ducks or chickens but free ranging ends when the snow stays.soooo...here is the thing

I have 2 turkeys...very much pets i love em and wanted more....my narry and white guy free range all day and roost in the spruce trees....then i got the narry trio and isolated them in the chicken run off the chicken coop . All turkeys outside and intend on keeping them out....they are hardy i hear.
The chooks free range too until the snow has them cooped up with access to that big run all winter. the new turkeys are still in there!
they are supposed to move in with my other 2 turkeys in the netted enclosure under the nice spruce trees they love to roost in. When the snow stays my chickens need their run back. I've been worried about making my 1st turkeys sickif the puffy crew was contagious...i'd be pretty sad. But it does look like i'm going to take the risk anyways!

Originally the deal with my man for turkeys was keep my faves as breeders and 2 would go to the table....now the 2 that are healthy are my awesome birds...i'm not eating them!

Would you just put the turkey crews together and hope for the best? i guess we buy our turkey dinner for christmas....
Or do i cull those guys that are sick? it wouldbe crummy to build another area right now (4 kids,newborn and woking hubby)....but man lugging another seperate waterer out all winter will make me cry. Time to hire some help....giggle

I'm up to 25 ducks,35 chickens, 5 lurky turkeys and my little quail...oh dogs cats gecko and krazy kids....Help me giggle

Anyways back to eating them...I told him just now I should build another area to top net and he said "I'll eat em...." a worry for sure.
Do I move em in with Turkey Ted and Little Miss now or keep babying them until the very end hoping for a recovery...will the sinuses recover ...what do people do when they come across this...

Should i be concerned about all my other birds or does this seem like a vaccination reaction?
I cannot have them tested
I'm not the only one!

 

[Olive Hill]

Temporarily housing them in a run intended for use for other birds in the near future isn't quarantine. Pathogens can survive in soil, bedding, cracks between wood, on roosts, etc. Regardless of what you do with those turkeys, if what they're carrying can be passed to chickens when you move yours into that run so soon after moving them out the chickens can be infected. Many illnesses can be passed from turkeys to chickens and back again; turkey illnesses do not only affect turkeys. Quarantine quarters need to be that and only that to be effective. You can't rotate other birds through after you've used them for quarantining ill birds and be safe. Lesson learned, unfortunately it sounds like the hard way. Hopefully it doesn't get harder.

Personally, no I would not just put them with the other turkeys and hope for the best. My main flock is entirely too valuable to me to risk them.

How long do you have before you have to utilize the run the sick turkeys are in for the chicken flock? If it were me I would make a real quarantine area for the turkeys, something that the other birds do not have access to and will not need to use in the near future. For relatively little you can make an 8x8 tractor out of cattle panels. Two cattle panels bent to 90 degrees in the center and zip-tied together in a square can be covered with a tarp from a surplus store for less than $50. Chicken wire can be wrapped around if you feel it necessary. It's not perfectly predator proof, but it will work for quarantine in a pinch without spending too much.

 

[Frosty]

If you don't want to eat them right away, I would either see about getting injectable Tylan or find something that they really like to eat (bread, grapes, etc) and put the dose of Tylan on that to feed them. I am not a fan of meds in water since you really don't know how much they are getting. I think the injectable works better than the powdered. For temporary relief I use a needle and syringe to suck the gunk out of the sinus. If it is Mycoplasmosis, I believe I have read that it's life outside of the host is a matter of days, and it gets spread from infected birds sharing feeders, waterers, sneezing, things like that. If that is what it is, the antibiotics will treat underlying infections, not the virus itself. The few sinus cases that I have ever had to treat never spread to the flock even though due to limited space I didn't isolate the sick bird. I have injected the Tylan right into the sinus, but have been told on the peafowl site that it isn't a good idea. And of course the problems never show up here until it's around -20F

As far as eating the turkeys, they said that it's safe to eat birds with swine flu... any virus behind the sinus problem probably wouldn't survive ageing and cooking but the infection might make me a little squeamish. Or I might be able to convince myself that it's just a visible sign, and who knows what non-visible infections lurk in other meat... cut the head off and it won't look like a sick turkey anymore.

 

[taras.farm]

So thanks guys for your input and experience on thiss matter..

I've decided to hold out and work with the puffy turkeys longer....

There are always other options just means more work and I'm a toughy!

So I have moveable panals I use for my ducks in pasture...and since the grass time is just about up for them...I will put together a new spacious yard for the sickturkeys and find a way to cover it from weather....okay problem solved. Keeping these guys away from the others....they still are puffy but otherwise very healthy....boggles the mind. guess time and stronger meds should do it?

The chicken run they're in will be as sterilized and cleaned as human-ly possible and then left to sit as long as possible....a month or more.....then I cross my fingers my chooks don't catch whatever this is....when they get their winter freshh air.
I'll do my best....

I realize things pop up and I'm willing to try my best and at least learn from this....from now on isolation means a completely diffierent run for only that reason....Never had an issue...with health I mean...guess I'd forgotten what it woould mean if I actually got sick birds from friends..i'm still cool with them though as they sourced them from ssomewhere else ....yes lesson learned.

I will post when i see progress as i trudge along with these birds to help others overcome sinusitus? if they come across it....we all learn here!
In the meantime please feel welcome to share your tjoughts or experience about turkey meds and what worked fore you or didn't as well as your take on culling sick turkeys meant for food or breeding. What helps a person make this decision...turkeys quality of life or a persons own dedication to the life of an animal that may recover?
I've culled before...you must for line strength and to be humane in emergency situations...but this feels different....
How did those pretty turkeys get a hold of my heart...
Sooooo,...until i write again...take care of your birds....healthy birds are so much easier to enjoy.
T

 

[DCS]

My turkeys caught MG from the chickens (stupid me quarantined but didn't recognize subtle symptoms)... anyway, we enjoyed "Mr Sinus" for Christmas last year. He had intermittent sinusitis for months, but grew like a champ and dressed at 32 lbs. Their swollen sinuses seemed to fluctuate, and yes, I treated them all with tylan as babies when they first got sick.

 

[marquisella]

I don't have experiene with turkeys but, many chicken breeders us Denagard to treat MG and other respiratory diseases.

It works like a miracle.

Its used off label for chickens, as it was created as an antibiotic for pigs.

You can get at QC supply. Go to medications for poultry. Its $39 for a quart plus shipping, but a quart lasts a long time.

Dosage in the water is : to treat a respiratory problem-15ccs per gallon of water, for 5 days, changing water & denagard each day.

If you think you have Mg and want to try & irradicate it, the process is: 12 ccs per gallon of water for 5-7 days. Do this each month for 6 months. This is for adult birds.

To treat chicks use 8 ccs per gallon of water. Make sure that they get this in their first drinking water for 5 days. Then once a month for 4 months.


There is no withdrawal time for eating either eggs or meat.

I have heard,,,,that several farms that were tested positive for MG, used Denagard and after a year their birds tested negative.

Sue