OMG HELP! Bourbon Red Tom cannot walk

[TheJ6]

We live in the Houston area and it has literally rained for days. Everything is wet. After dropping my son off from school, I noticed that my Tom turkey was huddled by an Oak tree in the yard. I think he must have flown over the fence in the run. We don't trim his flying feathers because we want him to be able to roost in the trees or get away from predators should he need to. He doesn't like sleeping in the coop. Anyway, he NEVER lets us hold him or even get near enough to him to pet. But as I walked over to him, he didn't even move.

I rolled him on his side to see if maybe he had broken something. Didn't appear to. I picked him up out of the water and the wet ground and put him on the patio where I could see him from inside the house. He looks almost like he is sitting on a clutch of eggs but his tail feathers are sticking straight up. He is holding his neck very close to his body. Ever so often, he gets up, but with extreme difficulty. He will walk a few steps and then he will sit down. When he sits, he is sort of at an angle but not really on his side. He is seeming to just sort of lean a little bit. Nothing appears swollen or out of the ordinary. He has no lesions or bites. His foot pads are fine. When I picked him up and carried him, his legs were working and going back and forth as we walked to the patio. He has very bright yellow poop.

I literally wore him when he was a few days old. I would put him in my front shirt pocket and walk around the house with him. We call him the "Guard Turkey" because any time a person walks up our driveway, he starts stomping and gobbling and letting us know a stranger is in our yard. Please tell me that keeping him warm inside and some antibiotics will help him. Please don't let it be histomoniasis. If it is, can he be cured???? What about my other turkey and the 10 chickens???

 

[MrsBrooke]

I hear you about the rain... I live just north of Houston, and it has been OUT OF CONTROL.

Sorry about your turkey.

I'm unsure about turkeys specifically, but it's possible he's either got worms or Coccidiosis (if turkeys can get that). Foamy, yellow poops are a sign of Cocci.

As for dosing and all that, I hope someone more experienced can help you!

MrsB

 

[TheJ6]

Thank you. I have him in the bathroom right now and have a little bowl of water with Corid in it. We just bought 20 chickens from our feed store and they had Coccidiosis. We lost 18 out of the 20 in 3 days just last week. We were able to save two of them. I really hope he doesn't have that but at least if he does, maybe we can save him. But he is refusing to drink right now. This just makes me so sad. Thank you for the supportive words.

 

[MrsBrooke]

You may have to tube him liquids to help him survive long enough for the medicine to work.

Have you tubed a bird before?

MrsB

 

[TheJ6]

I have NOT tubed any animal before. This is only our second year with chickens and turkeys. I originally put him in the bathroom on towels with a heat lamp, but he has diarrhea all over my bathroom and even with bleach, it wasn't all coming up. We removed the tiles. They were linoleum anyway and we have been wanting to replace them. I tried giving him the chick started with antibiotics in it, and he picks at it.

I noticed today that he is trying to stand, though. That's a good sign, right? I am pretty sure he got blackhead disease. The prognosis is not great but I have never given up on a bird until it was absolutely obvious that it would not live no matter what measure I took. He does not seem to be in a lot of distress. He has been gobbling up at a storm at us all day. I also put him in our bathtub with several towels underneath him.

I go in to check on his and gently hold his head back and sprinkle water from my hand onto his beak. He will seem to drink it when I do that. As I type this, I can hear him fluffing his feathers up and stomping in our bathroom! And he is just gobbling up a storm. I don't think he's loving the bathtub but it's our best option right now. I want to keep him a little immobile so I can clean up after him right away without worrying about transferring germs from my feet throughout the house. I will update probably tomorrow or maybe tonight if things begin to change.

Thanks for commenting. It helps to know that even just one more person is out there wondering about "Guard Turkey."

 

[MrsBrooke]

I'm very happy to hear he's drinking from your hand. That's the main issue - keep him hydrated.

I have zero experience with blackhead... Very sorry for your troubles.

MrsB