Questions about Terra-Vet 10

[mommasoybean]

Two of my turkey poults died three days apart with similar symptoms: unable to walk, weak, followed by seizures and death. I couldn't find much online, but from what I read it may be an infection that affects the brain. I have 11 more poults and the momma to worry about now. I bought Terra-Vet 10 but the instructions are not very specific about dosage for poults or how long to continue treatment. I have some questions for those more experienced with turkeys:

1. The instructions for turkeys say 400mg per gallon per day, is this four poults as well as adults?
2. How many days do I continue treatment?
3. Is there any harm in treating my poults eventhough I don't know for certain what caused the deaths of the other two?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Watching the mother turkey hen and her babies has been such a great joy and I don't want this to end tragically.

 

[ivan3]

Here is more info on med (length of treatment/other factors to take into consideration): http://www.qcsupply.com/terra-vet-10-tetracycline-hydrochloride-soluble-powder.html
mg/kg is determined by amount of medicated water consumed (so dosing always has potential for being inexact). Same mg/kg in poults as adults (way too much can cause ataxia -wobbly/no movement).

What kind of feed? Do they have access to areas outside of brooding location/run? (any `standing' water/wide variety of wild plants/compost pile, etc)

Could be genetic/bacterial/toxin/viral/vitamin B6 deficiency/etc. (do you have a university/vet school nearby? Check with State Vet - might be able to direct you to lab for necroscopy if you lose another - hope not.

Observe rest closely and amend any potential environmental sources of insult. If all is copacetic (gamebird starter/no exposure to anything but straw/wood chips/mama/clean water, then you might consider adding Polyvisol Enfamil (no iron) vitamins for a wk. 3drops a day for a week and taper off).

Another list of turkey ailments: http://albc-usa.org/documents/turkeymanual/ALBCturkey-5.pdf

If you lose another, and formal necroscopy is impractical, then perform a gross exam of carcass, yourself. Discolored liver/enlarged heart, etc. would go a long way in helping to identify, or rule out, potential sources.

Good luck!

 

[mommasoybean]

Thanks ivan3! The poults seem fine today. I followed the link and I still didn't see how many days I should treat them. Inonle read that I should see improvement after 3 days and treat for no longer than 14 days. So, I haven't given the medication yet, hopefully I won't need to.

I put them in a coop in the early evening and let them outside to free-range in the morning. I cleaned out their coop yesterday and found a pile of rat droppings under a shelf unit I removed. We dealt with a rat problem in that building about a year ago and cleaned it out but failed to look under those shelves - I wonder if the poults ate some of the droppings. I will keep watching them to see if there is something else I should consider. Thanks for the suggestion about getting a necroscopy; if I need one I will check with out extension office for more info.

 

[yummychocolate3]

How much for 12 chickens