Help Please, sick turkey

[lilchick]

Sounds like you are doing everything right for her... Only thing I can think of is to be sure she gets plenty of rest. Especially at night keep her room dark ...
Hoping for a speedy recovery... Please keep us posted...

 

[clhbubba]

Grim news. She didn't make it. She died yesterday afternoon. She was a very heavy meat turkey that I got from a friend(who bought her as a chick to eat but she was too friendly). I do not eat my birds so she asked me to take her. She was just a sweet turkey. I was reading up on them some and seems they aren't bred to live long. I'm wonderining if her heart just gave out. She never had any nasal discharge, or anything. Just became imobile and was breathing out of her mouth. Will probably never know. My other turkeys are(cross fingers)all doing well. Her buddy is also a meat Tom and at 8months is already having trouble walking. It's really sad. My other turkeys are Bronze mixes and much leaner and much more athletic turkeys. Thanks for all the help and support.

 

[bramblebrae]

Sorry for your loss

You did a lot to help her, and the big meat breeds are just not engineered to live long lives. I have had very mixed success with sick turkeys. I seem to do better rehabbing skin and tissue injuries (predator attacks) than with infectious issues. Often by the time we are aware they are ill, they are already shocky and compromised. Animals usually try to hide their illness (don't want to be the weak one in the flock/herd) as long as possible.
Shocky turkeys usually die. Keeping them warm (most important), quarantining, antibiotics all very important. By the time they are ill enough to require force feeding, they are usually too stressed to salvage. You really did try valiantly. Hoping the rest of your birds stay healthy - good luck, Andy