Pet turkey with swollen legs, feet

[kcwaldrop]

Hi, all. In June, we had four "volunteer rescue" juvenile wild turkeys wander up and lay claim to our house/yard/cars/fence/roof, etc. Thinking they were too big for predators and not having any advance notice of their arrival, I didn't have an enclosure in which they could sleep. On day 2, something got one of the little girls (or she ran away, we never found feathers or any other signs of her), leaving us three. My husband immediately constructed a make shift pen that we weighted down with water jugs. We used that until he recently finished the chicken/turkey duplex tractor (but that's a whole other post). Now my birds run free during the day and have the Ft. Knox of Poultry in which to sleep soundly and safely.
Enter new turkey - about two weeks ago, a friend of ours was complaining about a turkey they had gotten about two years ago. The turkey was pooping on their brand new concrete and staining it and they were going to go ahead and put her in the freezer. Ignoring my husband's protests, I drove over and shoved the offending turkey into a cat carrier (spatial relationships aren't my thing, I'm an English teacher) and rushed her home to safety. Bertha, as we named her, is a B I G girl. She dearly loves to eat just about anything and has a lovely disposition, loving her feathers to be finger combed. The previous owner said Bertha walked funny (waddled like a duck) because she was fat but as she became part of our family, I started thinking something is wrong with her legs. Her legs are much shorter than the other three's legs and they're very thick. Her feet look like she has edema. She will come running for meal worms, but it's more a side to side endeavour than smooth, ice skating stride of the others. The skin on the front of her legs is almost human flesh colored but the color changes around back on on her feet. Taking a picture of her feet has proved to be a chore but if someone thinks they can help us, I will hold her down for a photo.
As mentioned above, I was not planning on falling in love with turkeys so I did not do the research I would normally do before bringing home a new animal. I have 5 Serama chickens that I DEARLY love and the turkeys don't bother them one bit. Any help or suggestions for reading about Bertha's affliction would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kevin565]

Is she a broad breasted breed? They are very prone to leg issues. Are her legs very warm to the touch?

 

[kuntrygirl]

Could she have bumble foot? Have you checked under feet?

 

[PekinBantam]

What breed? If it's a BB then it's not that rare, they are prone to leg issues...

 

[laturcotte1]

We rescued a blue slate a few months back, I think he's about 1.5 now. He was in a very small pen for about 6 months. We had to break the pen around him to get him out. He "waddles" when he walks. Both legs and feet were extremely swollen and red I think due to the urine burns. The pen was also to small for him to stretch so I'm thinking he didn't do much walking either. I've had him now for a few months and all the redness and swelling has gone down. He's able to go in and out of his coop without help but he teeters from side to side when he walks, like Charlie Chaplin . And its definately more prominent when he runs. Not sure what damage has been done to the legs but otherwise is very healthy.

 

[kcwaldrop]

She does have a huge chest (we joke.that she needs a bra). I don't know what breed she is and neither do the previous owners. What types of leg issues do they have?

 

[kcwaldrop]

I will check under her feet. What do I look for?

 

[ivan3]

Description is of a Broad Breasted hen (the adult hens, in the best of shape, `waddle'). They are prone to just about every insult to the `undercarriage' imaginable. The link below is pretty comprehensive in its descriptions (with illustrations). You might try giving regular feed for a prescribed interval, once a day (meal worms/grapes/etc are fine for treats - NO cornbread ).

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pouls...ngs/nutrition_conference/2007/oviedo_2007.pdf

Swelling (edema) could be result of poor circulation/gout and/ or pododermatitis (bumble foot). Swollen/weepy scabs on pads of feet - along with marked swelling redness on margins would indicate infection. However, often, these guys will have flat black scabs on pads of feet with no other signs of infection (best to leave them be).

 

[kuntrygirl]

I will check under her feet. What do I look for?

Check to see if it looks like this or similar to this.

 

[kcwaldrop]

Thanks for the great article! I think Bertha is a big breasted turkey with the mentioned leg issues. Her center of gravity is the same as the illustration; it's in front of her feet. I looked at the soles of her feet and I don't see anything like sores or blisters. We're going to the vet for pain medicine and I'm going to control her diet to keep her weight manageable. Thank you SO very much for taking the time and energy to help.