Andersonflora
Chirping
Hi there we are extremely concerned about one of our 8wk old chocolate poults. For the sake of writing this post effectively and because I suspect so, their gender is female.
I realize many people might refrain from posting about these sort of problems out of fear that they will be shamed or given a bad rep but the reality is if this is a more serious matter, we need to inform/report the source because we have nothing to hide here, this farm is meticulously well-kept, bio sanitation maintained and we do right by our critters all day every day. Like so many of you, this is our life. We aren’t a hatchery and can’t afford lab analysis - we just want to do what’s best for everyone, this poult, her flock and ourselves.
This BYC community is highly valued and respected by us and we’d greatly appreciate your community’s expert guidance on this sudden, sad situation.
So here’s the deal, we went into the corral in the morning as usual and found this little poult standing with head keeled over and wings drooped. I immediately removed her to quarantine for further inspection while my husband assessed the coop and remaining flock which all seem to be in order.
Being in rural east TX and only a year into raising turkeys, my first instinct was to give the bird 1ml of children’s Benadryl because her head and neck was outlandishly swollen. So much so that I couldn’t tell exactly what was happening with her eyes until some of the swelling went down. I initially thought one of her eyes had been pecked out only to realize it was just hiding below her eyelid and a bit of mucus. She’s now able to open one of them and her head swelling has gone down. Neck swelling has not and is extremely hot to touch.
* We’ve been told there are no cases of blackhead or viral infections in the area. We realize this could still be an issue because of etiology.
Here’s the following information about her symptoms, followed by other relevant information I noticed many experts on here like to know about when others make similar inquiries:
*cyanosis (oxygen loss) of the head. More red than blue. Some blue at top of head/around eyes.
*swelling and conjunctivitis in both eyes - worse on right (currently all swelling has gone down over 60%) eyes are improving
*swelling starting behind ears around throat, extremely hot to touch, seemed fluid filled. Before administering Benadryl top of the head was very very swollen.
* Her head is up, alert and she’s walking around normally. She’s currently laying down after spending a few hours standing with drooping wings before significantly reanimating
*poops have ranged from slightly yellow watery to distinct food coloring-like emerald green watery to more solid white with a tiny bit of green to very dark solid after feeding her some plain nonfat yogurt she happily took.
*she’s making normal turkey noises, swallowing, no wheezing but had labored breathing earlier seemingly from intense swelling, also some mouth opening which also subsided - has drastically improved since this morning.
*Shes finally laying down, sleeping comfortably. Still has significant throat swelling. Cyanosis. struggling to open eyes. Less mucus or any eye discharge.
*no signs of pests on her
*no nasal discharge, no blood
Flock info:
*she came to us at a few days old from a local breeder who got her from Cackle in Idaho - they were meant to be Spanish Blacks but are clearly Chocolates.
*she’s housed luxuriously in a big enclosed custom turkey corral with 10 fellow poults and two adult hens.
*the corral she lives in has a river sand floor and some hay which is cleaned/cleared regularly. The vicinity is regularly treated with diatomaceous earth and permethrin. Fly traps enforced. Ammonia was used throughout after thorough cleaning prior to them going into the corral because chickens had been housed there temporarily before. They have also been given Amprol in their water as a preventative because of the chicken factor and the older hens exposure to those chickens prior.
*they have two water options, hanging and large bin both of which are carefully monitored.
*30% protein Purina starter for food. Kept clean/dry. Served in goat trough which is also cleaned out daily/ deep cleaned regularly.
*also given some 17% all flock pellets for probiotics
*no vegetation present to forage.
Environmental Considerations:
*Although her accommodations have been generally ideal, it’s extremely hot and humid here - we’ve also been experiencing unusual rainfall and wind since introducing them to the corral a few weeks ago. Wet from wind and humidity are a bad combo - hay and feed not moldy.
*she is housed with three groups of turkeys that have been monitored and gradually integrated with one another per all guidance given. Her initial flock of chocolates, a group of slightly younger Spanish blacks from a different hatchery and our original Spanish black hens. The two young groups were housed indoors together and treated for cocc. Upon pickup from a local hatchery which claims they have all clear credentials on no cocc. Spanish black poults had shown signs of cocc. So they were treated, kept in separate crates from Chocolates (also treated and given diluted apple cider vinegar) for weeks until major improvements were clear & present. My two Spanish black hens were also treated as we knew they were going to be integrated.
Please help us figure out what might be going on? Seems like such a sudden, extreme shift one we hope to remedy - she was just running around normally being a spunky little poult, voraciously pecking at a corn cob I hand fed them as a treat the night before. I am gutted to think I’ll have to cull her and that there may be a flock-wide issue that could mean we will lose some or all of them. We are trying our absolute best and running ourselves into the ground trying to navigate the murky waters of disease and disorder. I also don’t want to breed sick birds. This whole turkey idea was for heritage bird conservation efforts. Out of love for country and nature. We still aren’t getting lab work for one bird though. It’s not feasible for us at the moment - we the humans don’t even get precautionary lab work! Obviously if more start showing any signs of illness we will likely cave and figure out a place to go but until then your assistance would be incredibly helpful
Thanks so much in advance for your time and effort taken to help us. Sharing your wisdom with us will help us learn and continue to help others in a similar position.
I realize many people might refrain from posting about these sort of problems out of fear that they will be shamed or given a bad rep but the reality is if this is a more serious matter, we need to inform/report the source because we have nothing to hide here, this farm is meticulously well-kept, bio sanitation maintained and we do right by our critters all day every day. Like so many of you, this is our life. We aren’t a hatchery and can’t afford lab analysis - we just want to do what’s best for everyone, this poult, her flock and ourselves.
This BYC community is highly valued and respected by us and we’d greatly appreciate your community’s expert guidance on this sudden, sad situation.
So here’s the deal, we went into the corral in the morning as usual and found this little poult standing with head keeled over and wings drooped. I immediately removed her to quarantine for further inspection while my husband assessed the coop and remaining flock which all seem to be in order.
Being in rural east TX and only a year into raising turkeys, my first instinct was to give the bird 1ml of children’s Benadryl because her head and neck was outlandishly swollen. So much so that I couldn’t tell exactly what was happening with her eyes until some of the swelling went down. I initially thought one of her eyes had been pecked out only to realize it was just hiding below her eyelid and a bit of mucus. She’s now able to open one of them and her head swelling has gone down. Neck swelling has not and is extremely hot to touch.
* We’ve been told there are no cases of blackhead or viral infections in the area. We realize this could still be an issue because of etiology.
Here’s the following information about her symptoms, followed by other relevant information I noticed many experts on here like to know about when others make similar inquiries:
*cyanosis (oxygen loss) of the head. More red than blue. Some blue at top of head/around eyes.
*swelling and conjunctivitis in both eyes - worse on right (currently all swelling has gone down over 60%) eyes are improving
*swelling starting behind ears around throat, extremely hot to touch, seemed fluid filled. Before administering Benadryl top of the head was very very swollen.
* Her head is up, alert and she’s walking around normally. She’s currently laying down after spending a few hours standing with drooping wings before significantly reanimating
*poops have ranged from slightly yellow watery to distinct food coloring-like emerald green watery to more solid white with a tiny bit of green to very dark solid after feeding her some plain nonfat yogurt she happily took.
*she’s making normal turkey noises, swallowing, no wheezing but had labored breathing earlier seemingly from intense swelling, also some mouth opening which also subsided - has drastically improved since this morning.
*Shes finally laying down, sleeping comfortably. Still has significant throat swelling. Cyanosis. struggling to open eyes. Less mucus or any eye discharge.
*no signs of pests on her
*no nasal discharge, no blood
Flock info:
*she came to us at a few days old from a local breeder who got her from Cackle in Idaho - they were meant to be Spanish Blacks but are clearly Chocolates.
*she’s housed luxuriously in a big enclosed custom turkey corral with 10 fellow poults and two adult hens.
*the corral she lives in has a river sand floor and some hay which is cleaned/cleared regularly. The vicinity is regularly treated with diatomaceous earth and permethrin. Fly traps enforced. Ammonia was used throughout after thorough cleaning prior to them going into the corral because chickens had been housed there temporarily before. They have also been given Amprol in their water as a preventative because of the chicken factor and the older hens exposure to those chickens prior.
*they have two water options, hanging and large bin both of which are carefully monitored.
*30% protein Purina starter for food. Kept clean/dry. Served in goat trough which is also cleaned out daily/ deep cleaned regularly.
*also given some 17% all flock pellets for probiotics
*no vegetation present to forage.
Environmental Considerations:
*Although her accommodations have been generally ideal, it’s extremely hot and humid here - we’ve also been experiencing unusual rainfall and wind since introducing them to the corral a few weeks ago. Wet from wind and humidity are a bad combo - hay and feed not moldy.
*she is housed with three groups of turkeys that have been monitored and gradually integrated with one another per all guidance given. Her initial flock of chocolates, a group of slightly younger Spanish blacks from a different hatchery and our original Spanish black hens. The two young groups were housed indoors together and treated for cocc. Upon pickup from a local hatchery which claims they have all clear credentials on no cocc. Spanish black poults had shown signs of cocc. So they were treated, kept in separate crates from Chocolates (also treated and given diluted apple cider vinegar) for weeks until major improvements were clear & present. My two Spanish black hens were also treated as we knew they were going to be integrated.
Please help us figure out what might be going on? Seems like such a sudden, extreme shift one we hope to remedy - she was just running around normally being a spunky little poult, voraciously pecking at a corn cob I hand fed them as a treat the night before. I am gutted to think I’ll have to cull her and that there may be a flock-wide issue that could mean we will lose some or all of them. We are trying our absolute best and running ourselves into the ground trying to navigate the murky waters of disease and disorder. I also don’t want to breed sick birds. This whole turkey idea was for heritage bird conservation efforts. Out of love for country and nature. We still aren’t getting lab work for one bird though. It’s not feasible for us at the moment - we the humans don’t even get precautionary lab work! Obviously if more start showing any signs of illness we will likely cave and figure out a place to go but until then your assistance would be incredibly helpful
Thanks so much in advance for your time and effort taken to help us. Sharing your wisdom with us will help us learn and continue to help others in a similar position.
