Help Please, sick turkey

[clhbubba]

I have an 8mo old Holland White hen. She is a pet to us, not going to eat her. I say that incase it make a difference in antibiotics. She is not eating for 2 days now, will not follow us around as usual and seems to have difficulty breathing. I believe I may have heard her 'sneeze' but no discharge that I notice. I did pull a chicken about 3 days ago for isolation that was having a similar problem. My DH is gettin Tylan 50 as I type this and I also have access to Amoxicillin 100mg tabs. Any help would be greatly appreciate PLEASE. I also have VetRX and am willing to get anything else I need to to help this girl.

 

[jhm47]

Try the vetrx first. Rub it liberally on the turkey's beak, snood, and head. Put a couple drops down it's throat. do this at least twice a day for a couple days. I'd also get an insulin syringe like the diabetics use, and give it the recommended dosage which should be listed on the bottle. There won't be a dosage chart for turkeys, but use the dosage for swine. Give the shot in the breast. Won't hurt her a bit. Be sure to not hit the crop. Good luck!

 

[clhbubba]

Thank you so much, I will try that. Appreciate your help.

 

[lilchick]

A sick turkey usually means a dead one cause they give up easily and die... My pet bourbon tom got sick all at once and refused to eat... He drooped and laid around in yard too weak to follow me.
I made up vitamin/electrolyte and sugar water and used a syringe to water him.. I fed him soft cooked eggs and dog food. Just forced his mouth open and fed him.. I gave him 4 ccs. of L.A. 200.
He was so bad that at one time he left the yard to go off to die out in the pasture.. A buzzard was circling him and he laid out on his side.. That is when I got "mad" at him and started the force feeding and drinking.
He is now alive and well and his name is Tyke...

 

[clhbubba]

Oh MY, I found her last night laying out in the pasture next to the fence line all by herself in the dark......to die I guess. I will force feed her today. I may even try to tube feed her as I have tube fed chickens and pigeons. Thank you so much for the information.

 

[deerman]

Would give her 1cc shot of the tylan 50, again two days later. If she has been running with chickens could have pick up blackhead.

Has she been wormed? Gape worms are a big killer of peafowl and turkeys. So is blackhead

 

[clhbubba]

Thank you so much for your info. I went out this morning and force fed her some scramble egg and dog food. I gave her an injection of Tylan 50 and smeared some VetRX around her nares and snood. We are going to put a crate in our laundry room and bring her inside so we can be more attentive to her. Also it freezing cold outside. We'll get some electrolyte water into her as well. Thanks a bunch for your help!

Yes, we wormed them about a month ago with Wazine and Sulmet. Don't want to sound too ignorant, but I'm not that familiar with blackhead. What would I look for? I'll google it. She had no weeping around her eyes and no nasal discharge. The soft tissue behind her nares so to speek, I can see it puffing in and out when she breaths and hear her inhaling. But she doesn't breath open mouthed.

 

[lilchick]

I hope she makes it! Sounds like you're doing all the right things... Just like us when animals get sick they get cold and chill easily. Keeping her in until she gets well is a good idea...
I also think easy to digest food like you are giving her works too. Grains and hard to digest stuff is not good while she is ill.
I am so glad you found her out beside the fence before predators did.
I know when I found Tyke I was so upset with him and worked hard to save him.. He is a sweetie now and follows me around the yard and gobbles at me when I enter the barn... Good luck!

 

[clhbubba]

Well, we've got her in the house now where it's warmer. We made up some electrolyte water and she drank really well. So that's good. She really likes dog food so I've got a dish of that in there with her. Will force feed her again in a bit if she doesn't want to eat. Keeping our fingers crossed.

 

[clhbubba]

Well, my turkey is still alive today. She drank about a pint of water yesterday(with electrolytes) on her own. I force fed her some more dog food, which she is really good about. She is open mouthed breathing some. I have heard her sneeze twice but still no visible discharge. The soft tissue behind her nares still puffs in and out when she breaths. I'll rub her head again with the VetRx, and feed her some more dog food this morning. She'll be due for another shot of Tylan tomorrow morning. She's in a wire crate in my laundry room on a pile of straw so she's not cold anymore. I've got 5 other turkeys that I'm keeping an eye on but so far(fingers crossed) they're all alright. (thank God, my laundry room isn't that big!!!) Is there anything else I can do for her? Anything else I can try on her? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.