Medication for blackhead help

Tia Z.

In the Brooder
10 Years
Jun 23, 2009
54
0
39
Chico
I've read a couple older posts regarding treating turkeys with flagyl or metronidazole for blackhead but couldn't get a clear response. I have about 12 sick turkeys (I've already lost 4) and I finally got the flagyl in the mail. They are 250mg tablets, the turkeys are about 4 weeks old, how much should I treat them with and how? Yesterday I dissolved some in their water and also forced some of the mediated water down their throats with a syringe. I hate to see them suffering and would have put them down if I didn't get that medication yesterday. Any help is much appreciated!

PS. the vets are of no help around here, most wont even see them, I've only found one that will see them and it wasn't helpful.
 
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It is a parasite that affects turkeys. Chickens are carriers but do not get infected. It attacks their livers and they slowly stop eating, lose their balance, bright yellow and green droppings, droopy heads and feathers, it's not a good thing.
 
I like this from a friend of mine on blackhead in turkeys

Blackhead in turtkeys Sandy from australia

Do not range turkeys on ground previously used by chickens unless several ... weeks using an efficient wormer eg. Levamisole at the manufacturers dose rate ...
www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1346 - 48k


Black head

Blackhead (Histomoniasis, Enterohepatitis)

Birds affected
Birds affected are: turkeys, peafowl, guinea fowl, pheasant and chickens

Blackhead is an acute or chronic protozoan disease of fowl, primarily affecting the cecae and liver. called Histomonas meleagridis

The disease is present wherever poultry are raised
It is a parasite organism called a protozoa, and is a distant cousin of the coccidia parasite
For the disease to spread amongst fowl the flock must also be infected with the caecal worm
This worm survives in the fowl yard soil, earthworms
This disease affects the large intestine, then attacks the liver
The chooks bowl is eaten by the parasite and then it attacks the liver
When the chooks die their heads go black, hence the name

Turkeys:
Blackhead is one of the critical diseases of growing turkeys and game birds
It is carried by an intestinal parasite and the symptoms are:- loss of condition, drowsy appearance, ruffled feathers, and diarrhoea, sometimes mixed with blood.
It may cause stunted growth, poor feed utilization and death.

It is of lesser economic importance in chickens since they are more resistant, but the incidence in chickens apparently is increasing

Occasionally the caruncles of the turkey may become dark blue or purple (hence the name black head)

If you have an outbreak, dead birds and their droppings must be burned
All utensils should be disinfected daily and, where possible, quick lime should be applied to the run

To prevent an outbreak, Turkeys should not be run with fowls, and young turkeys should not be run in contact with adult birds

If this is not possible, then chicks and hens should be kept on clean dry, well-drained pasture and move about frequently

Symptoms
Birds develop foamy yellow diarrhoea and sit huddled up
They appear depressed and ill
They stop eating and get very thin
Increased thirst
Droopiness
Drowsiness
Darkening of the facial region
The birds can be so ill, that their wattle and comb goes blue (thus the name blackhead)
If not treated the birds usually die
Any sulphur coloured foamy droppings should be considered as blackhead, even if the bird is not showing any other signs of the disease
Blackhead acts as an immune suppressor, which will allow other diseases to have greater effect on your bird’s health
It may cause stunted growth, poor feed utilization and then death

Continue on next post
__________________
Sandy
http://happyhenhouse.proboards43.com


Sandy




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Transmission

The organism in passed in the fecal material of infected birds. In many instances, the organism is shed within the eggs of the cecal worm of chickens, turkeys and game birds. Free-living blackhead organisms do not survive long in nature, but those in cecal worm eggs may survive for years. Therefore, most blackhead transmission is considered due to ingesting infected cecal worm eggs. Transmission may also occur by the earthworm.

Chickens are frequently infected without showing signs of the disease. These chickens may shed enormous numbers of blackhead organisms, many of which are protected by cecal worm eggs. Outbreaks in turkeys can often be traced to direct or indirect contact with ranges, houses or equipment previously used by chickens. Free-flying birds may also contribute to an infection.

Losses

Most blackhead losses occur in young birds (six to sixteen weeks).
Morbidity and mortality are variable, but mortality seldom exceeds fifteen percent; however, it may approach one-hundred percent in uncontrolled turkey outbreaks. Losses are usually low in chickens

Prevention

Good management practices can do much to control the blackhead problem. Do not keep birds of different species on the same premises. Do not range turkeys on ground previously used by chickens unless several years have elapsed. Rotate ranges periodically if possible. Cecal worm control is necessary to reduce blackhead incidence. Wire or slatted floors reduce exposure.

Good management is the only effective method of preventing this disease since many of the effective drugs used in past years are no longer available commercially. Drugs that reduce the presence of cecal worms, and thus reduce the infection rate, are available but do not have an effect on the Histomonas organism. Refer to the cecal worm section for recommended control practices.


Necropsy
Lesions of uncomplicated blackhead are confined to the cecae and liver, thus the reason for the synonymous term, enterohepatitis.
The cecae are ballooned and walls may be thickened, necrotic and ulcerated.
Caseous (cheesy) cores within the cecae may be blood tinged.
Peritonitis may be present if ulcers have perforated the ceca walls.
Livers are swollen and display circular depressed areas of necrosis about one-half inch in diameter.
Smaller lesions coalesce to form larger ones.
Lesions are yellowish to yellow-green and extend deeply into the underlying liver tissue. Healing lesions may resemble those seen in visceral leukosis.
Blackhead diagnosis is made readily on the basis of the lesions.
Atypical forms, particularly in chickens, must be differentiated from cecal coccidiosis and Salmonella infections in particular.
Medications may interfere with atypical lesions.
Laboratory tests may be required for positive diagnosis in such cases.

Treatment:
Dose birds with EMETRYL (Active ingredient Dimetridiazole) at the dosage recommended by the manufacturer or use Hepzide, Enhaptin –always follow vet advice & read label recommendations before giving any medication
You can only get it these from a veterinarian
It is important to worm your flock every eight to twelve weeks using an efficient wormer eg. Levamisole at the manufacturers dose rate
Do not mix it with any other medication

Treat for blackhead first – EMETRYL
Then treat for worms – Levamisole
Without proper worming treatments, blackhead will be a recurring problem

References used in this article are
Book - A Guide to Keeping Poultry In Australia: by Dorothy Reading
And
http://www.msstate.edu/dept/poultry/index.htm
__________________
Sandy
 
Thanks for the helpful information Glenda! I got the medicine from the hatchery where I ordered the poults. It is packaged as Fish Zole for aquariums but is the same medication (Metronidazole), maybe it's some sort of loop hole. I'm willing to try anything.
 
Wow, is this post timely? I was just prodding Miss Glenda for information about blackhead as I'm concerned about it in my flock of birds as chickens apparently can carry this without being effected and pass it on to turkeys, who are terribly effected by it.

I'm glad you've posted about the metronidazole. I'm going to buy some just in case.

The reason that information is so spotty is that the good medication that was for blackhead has been taken off the market as it was deemed possibly harmful to humans. /sigh

Histostat is the preventative that is commonly used in turkey feeds. Unfortunately for my flock, histostat is highly toxic to waterfowl. So I can't use it.

There's some anecdotal talk of cayenne and other possible anti-protazoal natural products (DE) being useful in killing off the host of the cecal worms. Unfortunately most of them are also very harmful to honey bees and of questionable effectiveness. /more sighs

Ivermectin has been mentioned, but it's not generally been noted as a good anti-protazoal treatment. Mostly it's for other types of 'worms'. So there's another big question mark.

Flagyl (metronidazole) is the only real way still left available to use but there's not a lot of talk of it because, I'm sure, people (like me) are a bit afraid it'll be taken away from us, too. It's a good thing people don't eat aquarium fish!
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