My turkey poults keep dying and I'm at a loss

[tiffwilhelm]

I just received 6 turkey poults two days ago. I got 3 Bourbon Red and 3 Blue Slate/Bourbon Red mix. They were a full week old when I received them. I put them in a plastic tub under a red 175 watt heat lamp in my daughter's bedroom. They have clean, non medicated water with marbles in it. They have turkey poult starter food. Yesterday morning we woke to one dead, very flat Bourbon Red. I figured it got crushed under the others? But then this morning another Bourbon Red was dead. They appear to be eating and drinking. The Blue Slate mixes do seem a little larger and not quite as lethargic as the Bourbon Reds. But it is curious that they seem to by dying for no reason.

I have successfully raised tons of chickens with no losses. But this turkey death thing is an enigma. I've been told I should get more turkey poults than I want to end up with because they will die for no reason. I took that with a grain of salt. But, seriously, two dead in two days?

Last night the heat lamp burned out. So, that explains one ... but not the other?

 

[Frosty]

How big is the tub? Do they have room to move away from the heat if they are getting too warm? Watch the poults, if they are gathered under the light, they are too cold. If they are staying out towards the outer edges, they're too hot.

 

[tiffwilhelm]

Thanks for your response. I've brooded out so many chickens (historically) in this tub with this light that I don't believe that is it. After further observation, I think that the Bourbon Reds were not drinking the water. They seemed more lethargic and slept more than the mix. They definitely had less vitality. I did observe the light the first night and they seemed cold (probably because they were dehydrated!) and moved it down quite low. Again, the reds were sort of huddling but the mixes were moving around. This morning I woke up to find no dead poults. So, I have one BR left (for now) and three of the mixes. I had no idea turkeys would actually be this tricky.

 

[DavKarm]

Hi - I just wanted to say that I have had the same problem with my turkey poults. I had 13 and only 1 survived. I've raised tons of chickens so know that the light, food, and water source were all okay. I had completely bleached and rinsed all items before putting my turkeys into their spot.

I just got a 2nd batch and sat with them for 2 hours making sure they were drinking and eating. (put down newsprint and scattered the food on there so it wasn't a chance they were eating the pine bedding and dieing). I think that is the key - to make sure they are drinking on their own and finding the food.

I've had 2 poults just get lethargic and die - and they were 2 poults that wouldn't take to the water or food - no matter how much I dipped their beaks. I tried a more concentrated sugar water hoping to give them some energy.

I'd read that turkey poults were hard to raise and now I believe it.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yes, poults are VERY hard to raise. What type of bedding did you use? What is newsprint?

 

[De Wet]

I agree with the people say make sure they eat and drinking this. I always put n chick with mine to learn them to eat and drink and I have so far a 100 % survival rate...

 

[Celie]

Turkeys are a lot harder to raise and more fragile than chickens and ducks. They can not take any sort of draft! I have a brooding room where I have raised hundreds and will tell you what I do, but I do not consider myself an expert and do occasionally loose one or two.
1. I use florescent soft light, non- colored bulbs, left on 24/7. Birds will sleep fine with the light on.
2. No medication in water, just clean water. If in doubt weather your water has too much chlorine(required in all city water)or any contaminates(as in some old country wells), use bottled, distilled water.
3. Use marbles in water as mentioned by others, and a tutor chick to show the poult after your initial beak dipping !
4. Use a bright shinny or metallic container for their food or line it with aluminum foil. Turkeys are attracted to BLING BLING " for some reason.
5. Feed Turkey or Game Bird starter feed. Poults need more protein than chickens.
6. Keep them dry. A wet poult is usually a dead poult.
7. I use old towels on the floor of the brooder bins that are changed daily and washed twice in Hot water and antibacterial soap and dried thoroughly.
8. Do not mix poults that are more than a couple days difference in age or different sizes.
9. Watch the temp. changes. Outdoor temps will swing too much, certain times of the year to keep up with some thermostats. I use electric, oil circulating heaters that have a very fast recovery time and start off at 95 degrees for the first couple of weeks, then reduce the temp to 90 degrees. I put poults outside, in a draft free barn at 3 to 12 weeks, depending on the weather and always put them out in the morning, after the dew has evaporated. Watch them for a while and if they start to shiver, bring them back into warm indoors again. I never put them out when nights are lower than 50 degrees for the next 5 days.
10. Never move where their food or water is put, until they go outside and then show them where it is and make sure they know and are eating and drinking, before you leave them.
11. If I get poults shipped, I put Vitamins and Electrolytes into their water for a few days. Shipping is hard on poults, so whenever possible, buy your poults locally.

I am not saying this is the only way to raise poults, it is the way I do it and I usually raise about 150 a month, all year long at and to one age or another.

 

[Frosty]

One thing that I would like to add... if you have a water softener, use bottled water. A friend of mine got some poults last year and they were dying. She takes very good care of her birds, and has raised a lot of chickens without incident. I found out that she had a water softener, and based on something I read from Kevin Porter (maybe on his website?) I told her to switch the water source. They quit dying. They just can'y handle the extra salt.

I have never found poults to be hard to raise or particularly delicate. I am glad nobody told me that before I got any or I would have never started.

 

[missnu01]

Last year I raised my first turkeys. No issues, no deaths. This year I ordered 15 and got 16 8 blue slate, and 8 black spanish. All the black Spanish are dying. They get all wobbly and start flipping over on their backs and then bicycle kicking to get uo, you set them right and they just flip over again. Then they get to where they can't stand, then they die. Out of the original 8 I got on Friday only 3 are left today which is sunday. So I'm waiting on the remaining 3 to die and tomorrow I'm calling cackle hatchery and giving them a piece of my mind. No reason that only one breed would be Keeling over one after another when kept in identical housing with identical food and water...other than an error in breeding. I got 6 bourbon reds last year from cackle and ended up with 6 adult bourbon reds...so something is wrong with their black Spanish this year

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

I have 4 bourbon red little ones who were a week old yesterday. So far so good. The breeder I purchased them from told me to make sure I kept them on 24% feed for the first 6 months and I should have no problems. Also never to feed medicated food. Only time will tell how well they do but right now they look extremely healthy and seem to be doing fine. Eating, drinking and playing around.