pamelageier
In the Brooder
- Sep 2, 2021
- 15
- 10
- 46
I am having a problem with my turkey (think it's a hen but this is my first time having turkeys and Lucky was part of a straight run). No eggs, about 8 months old. She doesn't "gobble" (makes a purring sound). Lucky was purchased at 2 days old from a local store with three other turkeys. They were put out in their coop (with top cover and 6 foot tall fencing) at about four months. Just a few weeks later, a neighbor's dog jumped the fence, fell through the roof and killed the three other turkeys and then left Lucky with pretty nasty puncture wounds on her back and under her wing, plus one eye almost put out. She also had a bad case of shock. I took her in the house and was able to save her life. She grew to be a fat, healthy, happy, and very spoiled bird. We originally bought the turkeys as meat birds to feed out, but after nursing Lucky back to health and moving her to our back yard to be closer to us she has become a pet instead of food
She sits in my lap or next to me on the swing and lets me rock/pet her. She follows me around the back yard, let's my two year old pet her and even sits at my feet next to our 65lb black lab and begs for grapes and cherry tomato's (her favorite) just like a dog would. I knew that she was strictly a meat bird when we got her because of her breed, but after the situation with the dog attack, I became attached to her and she has become part of the family. She has been fine for several months, in fact we were just out there with her on Sunday and she was her normal perky self....I have been busy the last couple of days with Christmas decorating so I had my older son feed and water her for me. He said he didn't notice anything was wrong, but when I went out to say hi to her yesterday she was laying on the ground and wouldn't get up. She was pretty dirty and her underside was covered in poop so I brought her in, gave her a bath to see if I could find a wound or anything that might be causing the behavior.
After I bathed, blow dried her and got some of the feathers clear, I noticed that the tip of her wing is missing and bleeding but other than that she appears fine. She is missing most of the feathers on her belly (this could be because we had her pinned up for the recent cold snap but we still let her out during the day). The skin looks fine but the feathers are missing. She's done molting for the winter I think and she gets healthy food (layer pellets). She also free ranges in a fenced yard that is just under an acre and we don't over feed her (at least I hadn't thought so). She is very large though.
The pic above is of her this summer. She is almost double that size now...I'd guess between 30 - 40 lbs. I know that the issue could be her weight but I wasn't expecting this to be an issue so soon. I've also read that some turkeys (even this breed) live several healthy years with the right care.
She refuses to stand or walk and is reluctant to move her legs, but will grasp my finger when I place it in her foot. She seems to want to lean forward (unable to even hold herself straight - leans to one side or the other) and either one or both legs out behind or beside her. She is free of mites, fed healthy food, is not around other birds, does not appear to have been attacked, and has fresh hay, food, and water regularly. Her feet don't appear swollen or injured, I rubbed around on her belly, behind her legs and under her bottom and felt no lumps or other abnormalities. She has not started laying yet either. I have her on a powdered antibiotic and she is eating, drinking, and pooping just fine.
She's actually in my kitchen right now on a pallet I made with my toddler's old nap pads. I had her in a plastic tub with hay but it was too hard for me to pick her up and put her back because she's so heavy, and I don't think she's going anywhere anyway. My husband asked me what we are going to do if we wake up in the morning and there's poop all over the house and a turkey running free....I told him I'd be relieved because she'd be walking. I have a carpet shampooer and know how to mop my floors. I just want her in with us right now so that she is not alone.
He also thinks that if she is lame and won't recover that we should put her to sleep. There are no poultry vets anywhere near where I live (I checked it out before I bought my turkeys and chickens)....even the wild bird/exotic pet vets wont see them. If putting her down is the best option, I would rather do that than expect her to live like this. I just thought I'd try here first. I always see such helpful posts on here and haven't ever posted before so I thought I'd give it a try. Please help if you can. I'm sorry this was so long....I guess I'm just upset and needed to vent. I'm going to try some baby aspirin and see if that helps ease her discomfort. Is there anything else I could try? Here are some pics I took of Lucky this evening. They show what her legs look like, etc.
How do you make a turkey sling? My bird is down with the same issues and I can not put him down until I have tried everything.
