poults

[DonnaK]

Are all poults this hard to raise? Mine keeps flipping over on his back and is unable to get up. His legs seem weak, but he's only 3 days old and it seems like he's not drinking enough water.My first two chicks died from dehydration and someone told me to put coins in the water which seems to have helped. I have several more due to hatch soon and do not want to lose them.

 

[rubyrogue]

Someone once told me that turkeys are not the brightest and to get some chicks to put with them to teach them how and where to eat and drink

 

[Plain_View_Farm]

We keep marbles in their drinking water. Be it a jar lid or a chick waterer.
The colors and shiny marbles get them pecking it and they get their beak wet.
They eventually learn to drink then..

David

 

[MandyH]

Turkeys are not born very smart. You either need to put a couple chicks in with them to show them the ropes, or be available to dip their beaks into the drinking water 3 or 4 times a day. After doing this for several days they get the hang of it. The flipping over on its back thing is not normal.

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
I know several people who have observed this turkey flipping thing including myself. On the one hand we worry that it may be some genetic thing and if you save the baby and breed you're passing this trait on. On the other hand, they are easily saved if you just check on them every once in awhile and stand them back up, give them a little drink (without getting water in their lungs) and in just a couple of days they grow out of it. Me, I saved mine because I needed every turkey I could get. If you suspect the baby is actually sick and/or weak a little unflavored, unsweetened yogurt helps immensely.

 

[turkey guru]

your poult has spradle leg ( can't balance on own) some legs will get better most don't, prop the poult up and give a small amout of honey water !1 table spoon of honey in a quart of warm water! kinda jump starts there system! most of the time this is a birth defect ( egg not being turned enough) would be nice if they made an adjustable turner you could turn it up so it turns the eggs more often per hour! tom!!!

 

[Struttn1]

I have a seven month old BR hen that did that the entire time I had her in the brooder in fact I even considered euthanizing her to get her out of her misery. She would fold her head and neck back wards onto her back and stagger backward until she ended up on her back. When I moved them out of the brooder and into the rearing pen she stopped doing it and now looks and acts as normal as any turkey I have ever dealt with. Out of hundreds of turkeys I have owned she is the only one I ever had to exhibit such odd behavior.

 

[greyartist]

I have my first poults, 6 I got at the feed store, bronzes. All seem to be doing fine, almost 2 weeks now. Except the runt. Beaker is half the size of the rest. What can I do to help him catch up or is it a sign that he won't make it?

 

[turkey guru]

get him on some clean soil, not beding, feed him some greens, grass,lettce ,ect. cut the greens up in small pieces! bottle cap full of honey water-1 table spoon in quart warm water! thats a start!!! keep heat high 90% for 4 weeks! if he can't walk make sure no one walks on him! tom

 

[greyartist]

Beaker is still making it. I found him upside down yesterday so I gave him some medicated water with a dropper and put him on a heating pad. He was back up eating and drinking later. Then the same thing happened again. Now this morning he is back up eating and walking around. I cut up grass and sprinkled it around they all loved that. It's hard to keep the heat up, the air is running in the house. I have the vent closed with a blanket on it. A space heater in the room, the light, and the heating pad where they all like to lay down now. I hope he makes it.
I have them on webcam
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/my-turkey-poults