Rapid onset & death...

smfritch

In the Brooder
11 Years
Sep 3, 2008
30
0
32
Weaverville, CA
Our turkeys were active eating and drinking and seemed content. An hour later, one is dead and two others went down an hour later. They were about five days old. They were in the same brooder as our chicks and about the same age. They all seemed to get along fine. The brooder was sanitized, the food was fresh medicated starter. We've never seen anything kill a bird so quickly. Does anyone have any idea what the heck could be causing this. We have one turkey chick left at the moment.
 
sounds like they had disease or virus of some sort.

if they were only 5 days old they could have been just weak poults from the get go and just kicked the bucket ??

how long were the chicks in the brooder before the turkeys ??

how many in the brooder and how big is the brooder ??

any drafts or sudden changes in their environment ??
 
A couple of links on sudden death in poults (some info on chooks as well - same metabolic process).

What variety of turkey?
What is the protein/carb. percentages in the Starter?
Have you watched the chooks and turks eating (do the chooks hog the feeder)?
Have you separated the remaining poult?

As Harp said, it could be a disease.

Turks (particularly commercial varieties) are prone to sudden death (can starve-out/Flip-over/etc.)

Two links: The first a brief summary:

3.1.3. Sudden death syndrome; morte subita; acute death
syndrome; dead in good condition; heart attack; flip-over
disease

http://birdflubook.com/resources/0Julian350.pdf

The second a detailed examination of sudden death in neonatal poults (genetic & dietary component - probably )

http://www.scialert.net/qredirect.php?doi=ijps.2003.7.14&linkid=pdf

See if you can get a bit of corn syrup/molasses in water, a bit of VERY macerated beef/meal worms down the little fella.

Good luck!​
 

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