Limping Turkey

[Pyrates4Poultry]

Last evening when everyone was coming in from free ranging, I noticed that one of the females (9wks old) was limping a bit. I fed them and carried her over to their water bath area and had her stand in the water so I could take a look at her clean feet. She doesn't appreciate standing on one foot so the glimpse I got was short lived but I can see no injuries. This morning, she asked for help getting off the roost, (never had a bird ask that of me before!) so I brought her and a bowl of food inside. I spend alot of time walking where my birds walk, making certain that the ground is cleared of any little thing but apparently she found something to stand on that hurt her foot. I have epsom salts, I was wondering about putting her in the bathtub and letting her soak her feet for a while. Any thoughts?

 

[Pyrates4Poultry]

and "Her" is actually a "He" and a Broad Breasted 9 wk old turkey. He gave no struggle when I put him in the bath, he held completely still the entire time. When I took him out, I layed him across my lap and examined his feet. The pad of one foot has a small area that looks tender. I followed up with a squirt of peroxide on both pads just for good measure. I've rigged my compost pile to contain him. He's calling for the flock but is otherwise quiet and resting. It must be sore, he's spending most of his time sitting down. I hope I did okay!

 

[Pyrates4Poultry]

So he's now got really clean feet but that's not the issue. Took me two days to realize this was the bird that fell in the post hole as I was building their new structure. I wish I knew what to do for him! I'm fairly certain he has dislocated a hip or torn muscles or something. He can barely hold his own weight up and will move only a little before laying back down. I've tried soaking him in a tub of epsom salts, I've massaged him several times. He's lounging around being hand fed and really LOVES the extra attention but really not showing any signs of improvement. Wish I knew how to set a turkey's leg....

 

[Pyrates4Poultry]

Oh dear, look it up on the net and you get a ton of articles on hip dislocation on infants in Turkey! :/