My turkey is limping can someone with experience please help!!!

[chicgal]

Thank you both for your suggestions.

I checked its foot pads - I can't see anything out of the ordinary there, no splinters, no swelling, no infection or anything of that sort. I tried to massage its legs and it seems fine with it, no screaming out in pain or anything, so I am assuming the joints are fine too.

Come to think of it, this was the last one that hatched and used to bumble around a lot. So it might be a congenital thing or something.

I am going to try the toothpick splint thingy, but I need to find someone to hold the poult first, so I can work on it. Will let you know how it goes.

Thanks again.

 

[java girl 2]

You could use the blow torch. I haven't done it that way. Scalpels are sterile when you buy them in most cases. I wouldn't use Neosporin until the second dressing. The wound needs to dry under the bandage to scab up and close. Neosporin keeps things soft and moist allowing a deep cut to open up again. Good for abraisions and skin but I wouldn't use it for a few days until it's scabby just to prevent a secondary infection.

WOW, YOU SHUR KNOW A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!! I BET IT WOOD BE FUN TO TALK TO YOU!!!!!!!!!

 

[FarmTillURdead]

Thanks for the compliment. I don't think I know all that much. I just stumble through stuff... mostly because vet bills are too expensive. Lots of hard knocks.... I like to help if I can but I try really hard not to be a know-it-all. It's impossible to be an expert in my book. There is always new stuff to learn.

 

[chicgal]

Update on my poult - Good news first - It started to walk fine. By fine, I mean semi-normal. It even was hopping up and down its roost.

And {sigh} bad news now - I let the poults out in the enclosed small garden (with me supervising), after the adults were let out to free range (daily ritual). Somehow the tom got back in, went after this one, picked it up and just shook the hell out of it before I could run to its rescue. Needless to say the tom got the broom treatment.

The little one was bleeding at the base of its wings. I put some antibiotic cream on the wound and it doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore. It is eating and drinking fine. But back to square one - it cannot stand up on its legs and has a hard time balancing even on its knuckles.

It's just sad to watch and I keep blaming myself. May be I didn't close the door tight enough or may be I should have run faster (believe me, I ran) to help. This tom is getting too aggressive. Ít's been picking up fights with my roosters and pecks at my 4-month chicks as well.

All I can do now is watch, hope and pray - again.

 

[chickenlady08]

Oh I hope your little poult gets better. He seems to be a fighter so I would definitley keep trying like you are to help it heal up. Poor little thing. I am crossing my fingers that it gets better.

 

[chickenlady08]

Yep, had the exact same thing on my chicken but it got much bigger and it couldn't walk at all. This isn't to a critical point yet. It should make your surgery a little easier. If you totally chicken out you could try a good medicated feed or put medicine in the water.

Or maybe a little lower... as long as it is directly adjacent to the fattest swelling part but in a good place you can tape it up and keep it out of the dirt to heal.
Get your stuff together first. Alcohol, scalpel, peroxide, clean rags, cotton balls (or gauze pads), and tape. I recommend the paper like tape in the 1/4 inch because it can go between the toes.
Panic is a normal human process when it comes to situations like this. Just stop. Sit. Relax for a few minutes and pick up where you left off.
>>>PRETEND YOU ARE A DOCTOR<<< It really helps!!!
Clean both feet with warm soapy water. Wrapping the bird up tight in a towel will keep it still. If you want it really still put a dark sock over it's head.
Clean area with alcohol. A little swipe with the scalpel under the scale should open it right up. You only need to go deep enough to open the wound. Imagine cutting into a very thin skinned lime just enough to squeeze a few drops out. Look at the scalpel, measure out about where it would be 1/8th of an inch from the tip. This is about how deep you want to go.
If you are patient and calm - the bird will be too and you can take your time.
Secure the bird under your arm with it's head out back and the feet to your front. Someone else to hold the bird between their legs while sitting on the ground if you need too.
After the cut is made lymph fluid should be the first thing you see. Apply pressure to get the gook out. Then change your rag and stop the bleeding or slow it down. Hold it for a minute or two to get the blood clotting. Then soak the entire area with peroxide. Getting into the wound cavity is ok. Keep applying the peroxide until fizzing dies down. I use a spray bottle top screwed onto the whole bottle of peroxide.
When the fizzing doesn't look like the foam on top a beer anymore.
Dry the area off. New blood is ok.
Put a gauze pad or a cotton ball over the incision and tape it on. Get crazy with the tape and you want it snug over the entire area that had the infection. The skin is loose and needs to adhere to the flesh underneath. It won't hurt the bird or cut off circulation in two days if you get it a little too tight. You just don't want air in there and to stop any bleeding.
Tape it up like you would do your own knuckle if you got a cut like that and still needed to use it. SO go between toes and around the whole foot.
Birds don't have a lot of circulation in their feet. (so they can stand the weather) That's why this isn't healing.
Watch the bandage. Blood may seep through... you just dont want to see a soaked bandage. Do NOT attempt to change the bandage unless the soaked through area has gotten BIGGER than a half dollar. The size of a quarter is acceptable.
After two or three days GENTLY change the bandage. Snip it off with small scissors going down the leg on the side you didn't make the incision on. You don't want to rip the wound open.
I will still be around if you need help.
Good Luck! But if you pertend your a good doctor - you won't need luck!

Update on my turkey. We finally were able to do surgery last Friday night. The leg is not swollen at all but it like shifted into the foot and not the leg at all. That is why I waited since it didn't stay swollen in the leg part where you told me to cut. I did cut the top of the foot between the toes and nothing but blood came out, I didn't want to squeeze to hard as to not make the tissue pop out also.

I applied peroxide on the cuts on the foot and the cut. It stopped bleeding rather quickly. I just dont know what to do. The foot is still swollen and I wrapped it up and we had snow over the weekend so I left the bandage on it. Any ideas on what to do next? The foot is twice as big as the previous pictures. I will try to get new pictures soon, I just don't want to unbandage until the snow is all gone and it dries up out there more.

thanks

 

[FarmTillURdead]

My next guess would be worms? Have you tried using a poultry wormer?

 

[FarmTillURdead]

Update on my poult - Good news first - It started to walk fine. By fine, I mean semi-normal. It even was hopping up and down its roost.

And {sigh} bad news now - I let the poults out in the enclosed small garden (with me supervising), after the adults were let out to free range (daily ritual). Somehow the tom got back in, went after this one, picked it up and just shook the hell out of it before I could run to its rescue. Needless to say the tom got the broom treatment.

The little one was bleeding at the base of its wings. I put some antibiotic cream on the wound and it doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore. It is eating and drinking fine. But back to square one - it cannot stand up on its legs and has a hard time balancing even on its knuckles.

It's just sad to watch and I keep blaming myself. May be I didn't close the door tight enough or may be I should have run faster (believe me, I ran) to help. This tom is getting too aggressive. Ít's been picking up fights with my roosters and pecks at my 4-month chicks as well.

All I can do now is watch, hope and pray - again.

Farm life is rough - and no matter how you were involved sometimes God has different plans. All you can ever do is your best. We all make mistakes. I have had to accept losing lots of stuff I have spent a long time caring for. But that is what sets us appart from non-farmers. We have a different kind of drama that is real - unlike TV.
That little booger is tougher than you think. No one ever taught him how to feel sorry for himself so he keeps busy getting by. As long as he is eating and drinking he hasn't given up.
Your Tom must have noticed something was wrong. It's Mother Nature thinning the weak ones from the herd to keep predators from invading the nest to hunt. If it hadn't been the Tom it could have been another chick. Each year I get upset as someone always gets a hole pecked in it's head just because they picked out a weak one. It's life - God's design to make things strong. Perhaps if it lives it will have a tougher time as it gets older trying to support weight.
That chicken I had that walked on its knuckles was miserable as it got older. It's feet absessed after the ankle turned under.
I would have put it out of it's misery had I known this would be the outcome. But your guy doesn't look that bad.
Don't blame yourself. Do the best you can in your heart and let God take care of the rest. No matter what you think you can do with your will - It's always God's final decision. You have done a lot more for it than anyone would have done in a hatchery. I assume those don't last long there or have ANY chance.
These are hard great lessons in life. They make us farmers good strong people!
Give it all you got and give the rest to God! It's about all you can do. : ) Hang in there!
I'm praying for your little peep too!

 

[chicgal]

The whole of its left side, from wing, back down to the leg was bluish black. But now the bluishness has reduced somewhat. I applied antiobiotic cream and gently massaged it through every day. The little one is trying to stand up now and is bumbling around a bit, gets exhausted and then falls on its knuckles or sits down. The funny thing is it can stand on the leg that's hurt (the curled one is the one that got hurt), the other one it keeps at an angle away from the body and hardly rests on that foot.

I had it separated for the past 3 days, today I put it back with the rest of them - it eats sitting down while the others stand around and eat.

I don't know if it will get better, or even if it does, will it be able to sustain itself in the future - but I just cannot bring myself to put it down.

I had another poult which wasn't eating for a couple of days and I tried to force feed it, but it put up such a fight that I ended up drowning it instead, and needless to say, it died - never have forgiven myself for that to this day.

A couple of my chicks (biggest in the group) up and disappeared suddenly (although I strongly suspect someone stole them, and even know who it is, but can't do anything about it), and I was upset about that for a very long time. What I ended up doing was being extra, extra vigilant when that person or his family was around.

Even though I keep telling myself such is life, put up, shut up and move on - but still ...

I have only been doing this for a year and I am getting used to this, little by little.

Thank you both of you for your encouraging words - helps a lot in making me feel better.

 

[SillyChicken]

The foot sure looks like a bumble to me. Did you soak his foot in some warm salt water? get the foot good and clean and look for any spots that look abnormal. Cutting between the webbing above the swelling may be better. Cutting the top of the foot, where it's mostly bone and tendons, can be risky.

It doesn't look like a bb turkey to me, but you'll know for sure when its 6 months old and can't hardly walk.