Is my heritage breed turkey too big?

[happymom99]

Hi there. Today is the third day My 10 month old pet barred black turkey has been unable to stand or walk. Before this happened he was walking and running just fine. I finally got ahold of a vet who was willing to check him out for me but first she wanted me to text her pictures of him. So I did. she called me back and....

The vet said the problem is he is too big and cannot support his weight. I said I thought that was only a problem with Broad Breasted types, and mine is a heritage type. She said it doesn’t matter and that especially with the males this is a problem for them, even heritage breeds.

This is our first turkey. I’d so appreciate hearing from you who are more experienced and knowledgeable. Is my turkey big? Could that be the issue?

Thank you so much for any feedback.

 

[VictoriaTemple]

Full disclosure, I have no experience with turkeys beyond stuffing and basting, but I just have to say, that vet sounds like she has a crop full of something stinky. Is she an avian vet, or experienced with poultry, or just someone willing to give an opinion? Sorry, maybe I’m being mean, I don’t mean to be.

Based on the examples of turkeys and meat-breed chickens I’ve seen, your tom doesn’t look obese. To have the legs just go out from under him seems very suspicious to me. Is he wheezing, coughing, sneezing, gasping, anything respiratory? Are his eyes watering? His wattles and caruncles look nice and bright, I don’t know about his cute little comb/snood, is it supposed to be light colored? What breed is he, btw? What’s his crop condition? Big and squishy? Small and flat, like he’s not eating anything? What are his poops like? Is he collecting diarrhea around his vent? Is he warm enough? Is his body temp too low or elevated, are his wattles warm or cool to the touch?

The reason I’m asking all these questions is I’m treating my Jersey Giant rooster (my avatar pic) for a respiratory infection, and it happened kind of how you described. Hero came out of the coop on New Years and parked himself next to my feed wagon, and looked me right in the eye and told me “Mom, I need help.” The avian vet helped a little over the phone (I can’t afford him). Preliminary diagnosis of a mycoplasma infection, although it might be salmonella. Treatment plan was simple: immediate quarantine, and keep him warm, breathing, and fed, in that order. After a month in the house with occasional trips outside to the quarantine pen, Hero is on the mend, but definitely still ill.

Heat is the key. If you think he’s sick, get him out of the cold and in front of a heater or heat lamp. If there is any sign at all of respiratory distress or any discharge from the eyes or nostrils, get some VetRx and rub it on his comb/snood, wattles, and breast. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically Vick’s VapoRub for poultry. It’s cheap and remarkably effective, any feed store should have it. Simple high-carb foods got Hero on his feet, things like white bread, rice, and oatmeal. Cornmeal would have been good too. His crop was terribly inflamed, so things that he didn’t have to predigest kept him alive. When he was a little better, I gave him some fodder sprouts- the seeds were softer and packed a bigger nutritional punch than dry seed. Hero loves green, so he graduated to kale and bamboo leaves after that, and started eating his milled feed again. I tried everything, fruit, peanut butter, popcorn, anything to keep him nourished and interested in living. Baby aspirin twice a day helped him breathe until the inflammation went down, once he stopped wheezing he refused to take it, and I didn’t push. He is still in the house, sleeping in my bathtub where it’s quiet and warm. He hates it, but he’s alive, thank God.

I hope your boy gets better soon! The only other thing I can think it might be is a cardiac event or an injury of some kind. You’ll have to check him over carefully for injury. As for a heart problem, it is a fact of life for certain larger fowl, without knowing anything about his breeding I wouldn’t know. I think one of the signs of congestive heart failure is fluid swelling in the chest and legs, kind of like a human with edema. I hope that’s not the problem, I wouldn’t know anything you can do for him then.

Good luck and God bless you, @happymom99. I hope your tom recovers. Btw, you have the most adorable avatar I’ve ever seen!

 

[Molpet]

Hi there. Thank you. Yes, I am questioning the opinion, but I have no one else to take him to. That is why I’m asking here. I live in So California, outside Los Angeles. Not much livestock,
turkeys, or avian vets here.

as for being overweight, I don’t know. I don’t know what is normal. I weighed him today. He is 48#.

I am so sorry
At 48# he is definitely a BBB... not a heritage.....a full grown heritage wouldn't be 30#
The vet is probably correct, he is too heavy for his bones

 

[R2elk]

as for being overweight, I don’t know. I don’t know what is normal. I weighed him today. He is 48#.

Thirty lbs. live weight is normal for a heritage variety tom turkey. It is very likely that your tom is a cross between a heritage variety and a broad breasted variety.

He needs to be put on a diet if you want to keep him around long term. I recommend that you get an all flock or flock grower to feed him and limit his access to feed. If he gets his feet and legs working again, he needs daily exercise even if it means taking him on long walks.

In the meantime, you may want to give him vitamin B complex mixed in his water at the rate of one half tablet or capsule dissolved in one gallon of water. Do not add anything else to the water. It should be made fresh daily.

 

[BReeder!]

@Molpet is my turkey connection. Let's see if she'll weigh in here. I know she has experience with heritage toms.

 

[Molpet]

Could be a nutrition issue. What are you feeding? Chicken feed doesn't have all they need.
Friend had a BBB that the leg turned out. Vet gave him a shot of selenium and vitamins.
@R2elk knows what vitamin and is a turkey expert. Neither one of us keep turkey as pets, more as livestock

 

[nchls school]

In the picture the tom's feet are off to the side or pushed out the front suggesting that they hurt. If he went from running/walking one day and the next couldn't do either I'd wonder about the vet's opinion.

Consider a different vet. Or give it some time and see if his feet improve.
Is he overweight for his breed?

 

[Nay]

Hi there. Today is the third day My 10 month old pet barred black turkey has been unable to stand or walk. Before this happened he was walking and running just fine. I finally got ahold of a vet who was willing to check him out for me but first she wanted me to text her pictures of him. So I did. she called me back and....

The vet said the problem is he is too big and cannot support his weight. I said I thought that was only a problem with Broad Breasted types, and mine is a heritage type. She said it doesn’t matter and that especially with the males this is a problem for them, even heritage breeds.

This is our first turkey. I’d so appreciate hearing from you who are more experienced and knowledgeable. Is my turkey big? Could that be the issue?

Thank you so much for any feedback.

I'm no turkey expert, but how much does he weigh? He looks so much smaller than the Norfolk blacks turkeys around here, they can over 20 lbs dressed weight and look quite a lot bigger than your fellow. So I'm not sure about that.

Have you had a look at the feet and legs? Felt any hot spots? Anything that looks like bumblefoot? Could you take a picture of the bottom of his feet?

I found this thread that looks really useful and might help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-in-turkeys-according-to-the-vet.239859/

 

[happymom99]

I'm no turkey expert, but how much does he weigh? He looks so much smaller than the Norfolk blacks turkeys around here, they can over 20 lbs dressed weight and look quite a lot bigger than your fellow. So I'm not sure about that.

Have you had a look at the feet and legs? Felt any hot spots? Anything that looks like bumblefoot? Could you take a picture of the bottom of his feet?

I found this thread that looks really useful and might help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-in-turkeys-according-to-the-vet.239859/

Hi there. Thank you so much. Yes, I’ve looked at his legs and feet. No hotspots. Nothing that looks like Bumblefoot. His feet are curling though.

I’m sorry I didn’t get a pic of his feet today, and now it is dark. I will take a pic of his feet tomorrow.

I got his weight. He is 48#. I have no idea what is an appropriate weight for him.

 

[happymom99]

Full disclosure, I have no experience with turkeys beyond stuffing and basting, but I just have to say, that vet sounds like she has a crop full of something stinky. Is she an avian vet, or experienced with poultry, or just someone willing to give an opinion? Sorry, maybe I’m being mean, I don’t mean to be.

Based on the examples of turkeys and meat-breed chickens I’ve seen, your tom doesn’t look obese. To have the legs just go out from under him seems very suspicious to me. Is he wheezing, coughing, sneezing, gasping, anything respiratory? Are his eyes watering? His wattles and caruncles look nice and bright, I don’t know about his cute little comb/snood, is it supposed to be light colored? What breed is he, btw? What’s his crop condition? Big and squishy? Small and flat, like he’s not eating anything? What are his poops like? Is he collecting diarrhea around his vent? Is he warm enough? Is his body temp too low or elevated, are his wattles warm or cool to the touch?

The reason I’m asking all these questions is I’m treating my Jersey Giant rooster (my avatar pic) for a respiratory infection, and it happened kind of how you described. Hero came out of the coop on New Years and parked himself next to my feed wagon, and looked me right in the eye and told me “Mom, I need help.” The avian vet helped a little over the phone (I can’t afford him). Preliminary diagnosis of a mycoplasma infection, although it might be salmonella. Treatment plan was simple: immediate quarantine, and keep him warm, breathing, and fed, in that order. After a month in the house with occasional trips outside to the quarantine pen, Hero is on the mend, but definitely still ill.

Heat is the key. If you think he’s sick, get him out of the cold and in front of a heater or heat lamp. If there is any sign at all of respiratory distress or any discharge from the eyes or nostrils, get some VetRx and rub it on his comb/snood, wattles, and breast. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically Vick’s VapoRub for poultry. It’s cheap and remarkably effective, any feed store should have it. Simple high-carb foods got Hero on his feet, things like white bread, rice, and oatmeal. Cornmeal would have been good too. His crop was terribly inflamed, so things that he didn’t have to predigest kept him alive. When he was a little better, I gave him some fodder sprouts- the seeds were softer and packed a bigger nutritional punch than dry seed. Hero loves green, so he graduated to kale and bamboo leaves after that, and started eating his milled feed again. I tried everything, fruit, peanut butter, popcorn, anything to keep him nourished and interested in living. Baby aspirin twice a day helped him breathe until the inflammation went down, once he stopped wheezing he refused to take it, and I didn’t push. He is still in the house, sleeping in my bathtub where it’s quiet and warm. He hates it, but he’s alive, thank God.

I hope your boy gets better soon! The only other thing I can think it might be is a cardiac event or an injury of some kind. You’ll have to check him over carefully for injury. As for a heart problem, it is a fact of life for certain larger fowl, without knowing anything about his breeding I wouldn’t know. I think one of the signs of congestive heart failure is fluid swelling in the chest and legs, kind of like a human with edema. I hope that’s not the problem, I wouldn’t know anything you can do for him then.

Good luck and God bless you, @happymom99. I hope your tom recovers. Btw, you have the most adorable avatar I’ve ever seen!

Thank you so much. No, don’t think this vet knows much about turkeys, but I can’t find anyone else nearby to see him. She called his snood his comb and wasn’t concerned that it wasn’t falling. His mood always falls so, to me anyway, his snood being more like a horn instead of falling down is a concern.

No wheezing or gasping. Actually nothing else that seems a concern. I checked for hotspots and I checked for bumblefoot. I checked for anywhere that seemed broken or inflamed, found nothing. As for his snood (and wattle) being light colored, I *think* that is actually good. When he is excited or stressed it is blue-ish or white-ish. When he is excited or stressed they turn red.

Another vet I got to talk to me over the phone gave me dosage to give him Meloxicam, which is an anti-inflammatory, once a day.

I honestly don’t think I woul be able to tel if he has edema. The vet did suggest the possibility of an aortic embulism though, although she really thinks his size is the issue.

Thank you so much for your kind words and your blessings. And also for your kind words about my avatar. That is Purl, our Cochin. She was broody broody broody!!! So we put a few day olds under anD she was a super mother.