puffy face turkey

[xdmsd3d]

I pruchased two turkey hens in Sept and within a few weeks one had a swollen feet and seemed very dull. she died relatively quickly. The other seemed healthy until the weather changed. then her face got puffy and there was mucas coming from her nostrils and seemed like her eyes. (her face was so swollen that her eyes seemed to disappear). A vet friend said it was probably lymphoma and she should be put down. However as she was a gift for my ten year old whose pet turkey just died, I had to try something. So I tried Taylon 50 for a month. This saw little relief. She has a heat light and two duck friends for company. As the weather got colder the drainage seemed to clear up but the swelling is still there. I gave the Tylon by mouth. as the weather warms a bit the drainage is returning. I am looking for a last minute suggestin before I put her down.

 

[Welshies]

A picture would help.

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

Without seeing a pic it sounds like it may be Swollen Head Syndrome. I'm dealing with it in one of my quails. The whole head or one side of the head become grossly deformed and enlarged. It's a hard swelling, it can't be lanced and drained. It spreads to the mouth, throat and lungs like a tumour. There may or may not be discharge from the eyes, nostrils or mouth. Despite the fact that my quail's head is twice the size on one side, she's blind on that side and she can't close her beak anymore, she still behaves normally including eating, drinking and laying eggs.

So far with my quail I've tried penicillin ("Super Booster", also contains vitamins) which didn't make a difference. Now she's on Trimethoprim/Sulfa which is a potent respiratory and skin antibiotic. However, many cases of Swollen Head are caused by a virus, and no antibiotic will work on a virus. Nobody knows for sure how they get it, though they think it can be caused by a peck or trauma to the head. The condition doesn't appear to be contagious. My quail is in the same cage as the others with a mesh partition to separate her (for her protection because of her blindness) and none of the others show any sign of swelling.

I'd suggest you contact a vet and see if they can take samples to find out which bug is causing it. Then you'll have a better idea if, and how, you can treat it. If the antibiotic I'm using doesn't cure my quail then I will just let her live until she's in distress or unable to function normally. It's a shame, because she's my friendliest and favourite quail.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be mycoplasma. There are 3 types that can affect turkeys, MG, MS, and mycoplasma meleagridis. More than one type can be present. A necropsy should be performed after death to determine the diagnosis. Tylan50 is one drug that can be used to treat symptoms, but since these are chronic diseases, they can come back. I would probably cull, and start over. The problem with mycoplasma is that if one bird in the flock has it, the others will be carriers. Once all birds are gone, however, you can wait a week or two, and get new healthy birds.