Odd noises from inside the poults

[fairie]

I have been trying to handle our poults (2 weeks old and 3 weeks old) as often as I can to keep them "friendly". I was holding one today and it sounded like it has "gas". The poult just stood there with audible gas noises from about 3 feet away. I anticipated a big poo nothing happened. I had 2 others yesterday in my hands and as they fell asleep on my lap I heard gurgling and weird noises from their stomachs too.
Could it be worms? or is that normal?

 

[nightowl223]

I wouldn't think they could have worms at their age. Where did they come from? A reputable breeder? Do you know the health history of the birds that were their parents? I've never noticed such a sound from any poults I've had, but I may have missed it. I've only been raising turkeys for about 3 years.

A few more questions: How does their poo look - normal, watery, slimy, etc? What are you feeding them? I prefer gamebird starter for my turkey poults, with a minimum of 22% protein. If I can't get that high a protein, I grind and add dried cat food to kick up the protein.

 

[fairie]

Hi All our poults are from our hens. They have been outside free ranging since day 3. We pen them up at night and feed them Turkey Poult Starter. They have access to it all day as well plus some sunflower seeds and whatever they can hunt in our yard (fly's, grass, cherries). Poo looks fine, seen some dark black ones but I am pretty sure it's from the cherries. They have black faces now too, since they eat cherries all day long.

 

[nightowl223]

Hmmm... it sounds like everything is okay as far as feed and poo and their parentage. I'm out of ideas. As long as they are acting normally, not acting droopy, eating and drinking okay, etc., I don't know that it's a problem. Though I do know there are respiratory diseases they can pick up from various sources, like wild bird droppings, etc., so I might be worried about that. Are they breathing easily, with no rasping or other odd sounds as they breathe in and out?

 

[fairie]

They are all breathing fine. I was just in there again with the one that I have in the house (he has a bad leg) and when he is not peeping I can hear the noise from a distance. It's not his breathing. It sounds like thing moving like gas bubbles. He just did a poo and it is normal.

 

[nightowl223]

Well, get some plain yogurt, and see if you can coax them into trying it - even if you have to mix it into their feed. If they're having digestive issues, that would likely help them a bunch, to put in good bacteria in their guts rather than potential bad bacteria.

I would also put a bit of ACV (with the mother) in their water - like a teaspoon in a quart waterer for a day, to see if that will help with digestion, too (again, if that is what they're having problems with). It certainly wouldn't hurt - but, as hot as it is, don't do it for more than that long, as it can potentially cause dehydration. I would normally suggest longer, but it's been so hot that I'd hate to cause another problem.

Then again, since I don't know where you are, if it's not unbearably hot out, you could go another day or two with the vinegar...

 

[fairie]

HI Thanks for the suggestions. We are in Germany should get up to 85 today then back to 70 tomorrow and the rest of the week. I will give the little guy in the house some yogurt now and add some ACV in the water. See if the noises die down. I know that the cherries give me a wee bit of gas as well. Wonder if they are playing up on their digestive system too?

 

[nightowl223]

Oh, and I completely forgot - I'm half asleep (it's late even for me, here, at 3:50 AM, LOL) and I'm on another thread that's sort of similar, so I forgot to mention it here, since I mentioned it there.

Try to find some chick grit for them. It's a smaller grit than the standard chicken grit. That is something birds all need at some point in their young life, so they can grind and digest everthing they eat.

Now, I really am going to bed, LOL! I'll try to check in tomorrow (well, technically, later today for me) as long as there are no emergencies here... (we have an elderly neighbor friend who's had to go to the emergency room or the doctor a half dozen times this month alone, and we're really the only people he can count on. *sigh*). Best of luck with your featherbabies!

 

[Trotamundos]

Sounds like the cherries are working their magic, especially if they are eating the pips as well.
A friend dropped us off about 3lbs this morning. His cherry tree is absolutely full and he had been eating them for the previous few days, his stomach sounded like a cement mixer.