Help! What's wrong with my turkey?

[Tmangan]

I'm not sure what's wrong with my turkey. She started losing some feathers, and now it's much worse. She's lost patches of feathers on her wings and back. She has scabs on her head and the spots where the feathers are gone. Her face is now swollen and she's weak. I brought her into my porch to keep a better eye on her, but I don't know what to do.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I'll try to get some more experienced turkey people over here for you. I raise turkeys myself but have never dealt with anything like this.

 

[casportpony]

I'm not sure what's wrong with my turkey. She started losing some feathers, and now it's much worse. She's lost patches of feathers on her wings and back. She has scabs on her head and the spots where the feathers are gone. Her face is now swollen and she's weak. I brought her into my porch to keep a better eye on her, but I don't know what to do.

Welcome to BYC! Looks to me like your turkey has a very bad case of fowl pox. Can you take her to a vet so the vet can show you how to give her fluids and tube feed?

It's also possible that she now has a secondary bacterial infection under the scabs. Check the inside of her mouth for wet pox.


There is no treatment for pox, it's a virus, but some people do give antibiotics to prevent or treat secondary bacterial infections. If she is not drinking and eating she will need supportive care (tube feeding and fluids), so this is why I recommend you contact a vet, especially if she's a pet.

If you're up to it, we can teach you to tube, it's really quite easy. Thread on tubing:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-go-team-tube-feeding.805728/


Link about pox:
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/fowlpox/fowlpox-in-chickens-and-turkeys

 

[Tmangan]

Is fowl pox contagious? She doesn't have wet pox. I can tube feed her. What do you feed them though? I'm not sure what to put in the tube. Thank you for all your help.

 

[casportpony]

Is fowl pox contagious? She doesn't have wet pox. I can tube feed her. What do you feed them though? I'm not sure what to put in the tube. Thank you for all your help.

Someone on the turkey chat thread suggested that the injuries could have been caused by an aggressive Tom. Is she with any other birds that could have done that?

Is she drinking? If not, you will need to make sure she is warm, then you will want to tube warmed fluids (Pedialyte or water) at 8-12 ml per pound, repeat in 60-90 minutes, then one more time in 2-4 hours. Once hydrated, you can tube Kaytee Exact baby bird food. The amount I tube is ~8-12 ml per pound every 4-6 hours.

Please tell us more about your set up and other birds so we can help you better.

Another thought... Check all of her wounds and make sure there aren't any maggots in them.

 

[Tmangan]

She's with one other female turkey. They were with chickens, but I just separated them. She was actually standing up in the crate when I got home. She's pooping so I think she's eating.

 

[casportpony]

She's with one other female turkey. They were with chickens, but I just separated them. She was actually standing up in the crate when I got home. She's pooping so I think she's eating.

How's she doing today?