Muddy Turkey

[mamasteelefarm2017]

Hi folks! I have a turkey who got stuck in a mud hole, and most of his feathers are caked in mud. He's a big boy, so when my husband gets home we will move him into our basement to isolate him and keep him warm. He's really tired. He must have been struggling for a bit before I rescued him. My question, do I wipe his feathers down? To get the mud off? Or do I leave it be, and let him work it out?

 

[casportpony]

Can you post some pictures of him? Chances are he's a little hypothermic. Can you put him in a dog crate in a warm room?

 

[mamasteelefarm2017]

Our basement is heated, and I'll keep him down there until he improves. I've been worried I'm going to loose him b/c he has slowed down a lot and loosing his balance. When I supplement him with vitamins, he improves. But this cold weather is really giving him a hard time.
Here is a picture after I coxed him out of the mud hole.

 

[R2elk]

Hi folks! I have a turkey who got stuck in a mud hole, and most of his feathers are caked in mud. He's a big boy, so when my husband gets home we will move him into our basement to isolate him and keep him warm. He's really tired. He must have been struggling for a bit before I rescued him. My question, do I wipe his feathers down? To get the mud off? Or do I leave it be, and let him work it out?

Use warm water and rinse him off.

Try to provide him with a mud free, dry area to prevent this happening again.

It's the wet that is harmful.

 

[turkey dog]

Hi folks! I have a turkey who got stuck in a mud hole, and most of his feathers are caked in mud. He's a big boy, so when my husband gets home we will move him into our basement to isolate him and keep him warm. He's really tired. He must have been struggling for a bit before I rescued him. My question, do I wipe his feathers down? To get the mud off? Or do I leave it be, and let him work it out?

I'm a year late with my comment here, but maybe someone else would benefit from knowing that my turkeys like a warm water rise when they are dirty. Maybe it depends on the bird? If handling them is not too stressful that helps, but once the warm water hits them, they kind of relax into it. I've had easy experiences with giving a dirty turkey a rise off in the shower, but be prepared for the mess is my best advice

 

[R2elk]

I'm a year late with my comment here,

It was posted yesterday, not a year ago.