Is Blackhead common in southern West Virginia?

[overeasywv]

Because of my hilly terrain and the expense and difficulty of fencing, I'd like to let proposed new turkeys mingle with chickens, Guineas, and ducks (coming soon). Each would have its own species-specific shelter, barricaded against night-time marauders. I certainly don't want my turkeys wiped out by disease, though. Would chicks hatched in a mid-west hatchery have come pre-infested? If they eat earthworms here (we have plenty), would they likely get infected? Guineas tend to go where they please--would they cross-contaminate even separated turkeys?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's best to check with your local extension office to see if blackhead is in your area. Sometimes you won't know until you try. Mine all free range in the same pastures without troubles. Day old chicks won't be carrying blackhead as they have had no contact with any soil.

 

[casportpony]

It's best to check with your local extension office to see if blackhead is in your area. Sometimes you won't know until you try. Mine all free range in the same pastures without troubles. Day old chicks won't be carrying blackhead as they have had no contact with any soil.

Did you know that a newly hatched chick can get blackhead by sitting in poop?

Source: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...d-organic-poultry-blackhead-in-turkeys-part-1

• Ingestion of soil or earthworms containing eggs of the caecal worm Heterakis gallinarum, infected with H. meleagridis
• Uptake of H. meleagridis directly into the lower digestive tract through the process of 'cloacal drinking'
• Oral ingestion of live H. meleagridis protozoa when stomach is not acidic enough to kill the pathogen.

"Cloacal drinking is the reflexive intake of fluids through the cloaca in order to inoculate the young bird’s immune system with the microbial fl ora of the surrounding environment."

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Because of my hilly terrain and the expense and difficulty of fencing, I'd like to let proposed new turkeys mingle with chickens, Guineas, and ducks (coming soon). Each would have its own species-specific shelter, barricaded against night-time marauders. I certainly don't want my turkeys wiped out by disease, though. Would chicks hatched in a mid-west hatchery have come pre-infested? If they eat earthworms here (we have plenty), would they likely get infected? Guineas tend to go where they please--would they cross-contaminate even separated turkeys?

Are they going to be pets or will you be eating them? If pets, you should probably get a bottle of metronidazole (Fish-Zole) just in case.

-Kathy

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Did you know that a newly hatched chick can get blackhead by sitting in poop?

[COLOR=333333]Source: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...d-organic-poultry-blackhead-in-turkeys-part-1[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]

• Ingestion of soil or earthworms containing eggs of the caecal worm Heterakis gallinarum, infected with H. meleagridis
• Uptake of H. meleagridis directly into the lower digestive tract through the process of 'cloacal drinking'
• Oral ingestion of live H. meleagridis protozoa when stomach is not acidic enough to kill the pathogen.

[/COLOR]
[COLOR=333333]"Cloacal drinking is the reflexive intake of fluids through the cloaca in order to inoculate the young bird’s immune system with the microbial fl ora of the surrounding environment."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]-Kathy[/COLOR]

I should have specified I meant hatchery chicks who never touch the ground and was what the op asked about. So does that pertain to hatchery chicks?

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Chicks hatched in an incubator, that are raised in a brooder, will not have blackhead, but they can get it once on the ground if they sit in a pile of infected poop. That's all I was trying to say, because someone once told me that my week old poults raised by a broody were too young to have blackhead. Cloacal drinking explains how this happened.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Because of my hilly terrain and the expense and difficulty of fencing, I'd like to let proposed new turkeys mingle with chickens, Guineas, and ducks (coming soon). Each would have its own species-specific shelter, barricaded against night-time marauders. I certainly don't want my turkeys wiped out by disease, though. Would chicks hatched in a mid-west hatchery have come pre-infested? If they eat earthworms here (we have plenty), would they likely get infected? Guineas tend to go where they please--would they cross-contaminate even separated turkeys?

Pets or food? If pets, buy a bottle of Fish-Zole (metronidazole), Baytril (enrofloxacin), and Safeguard (fenbendazole), then read up on treating blackhead, E. coli, and enteritis.

Don't want to scare you, but so many have lost their turkeys to these diseases, so I think it's best to have the medications on hand.

You can try contacting the local extension, but that really isn't a reliable way to know if blackhead is a problem in your area.

-Kathy