Rescued Turkey

[laturcotte1]

Not sure how old he is, the couple won him at a turkey shoot in November but he sure seems to be in bad shape. Since November he's lived in a 4x 4x 4x ft cage with an igloo dog house. No perches or stretch room. We brought him home last night and he just stands there. He did come out this morning but when it started to rain I had to pick him up and carry him inside. We gave him a mirror for comfort but maybe I have to take it away for awhile. He hasn't eaten anything, he has grain, watermelon, live mealworms. And I haven't seen him drink a thing. I have a hanging dish of water inside his coop, the metal pan behind him, and a yellow bucket full of water. Not interested. He is now standing inside "crying" I swear he's whimpering. His feet seems to hurt him, his feathers are all broken, he's full of lice (I treated this morning with Sevin5). I couldn't get his head treated though. And to top it off this morning he had diarrhea. Tried to give him yogurt, he won't take anything. Right now I just left him to be quiet in his coop. Any suggestions. He seems depressed. Does anyone know what breed he is? He is however, very sweet and his name is Jack.

 

[Frosty]

You said he had diarrhea this morning, what color was it? If it was dark brown and about the consistency of pudding, that could be normal (a cecal dump). How does his weight feel? Did you check his feet for injuries or infections? Do you know what the previous owners were feeding him? Maybe he would eat that for now. He could also have internal parasites.

He looks like he could be a Blue Slate.

 

[ivan3]

Turkeys are very much creatures of habit. Change, even for the better, requires quite a bit of time. Definitely check feet/hock/breast. If cage/igloo wasn't cleaned regularly I'd suspect foot pad dermatitis and hock burn (breast blisters might also be possible) resulting from long term, direct exposure to ammonia in droppings. Irrigate/soak areas with sterile water (boiled tap water) and evaluate extent of injuries. If no abscesses/open wounds you could keep areas sprayed with blu-kote. Clean, soft bedding will help the guy heal up. More extensive wounds/infection on/in feet and legs will probably require antibiotics/wrapping & soaking of feet.

Probably a good idea to worm him as well (Valbazen will get all internals - Eprinex cattle pour-on can be applied to skin of upper back - will get most internals and external parasites).

Maybe try some crushed hard boiled eggs?

Good luck with your Slate!

 

[Frosty]

ivan3, are turkeys like horses where if they have a heavy load of parasites die off at once it could clog up the digestive tract? I'm wondering if it might be better to start with a milder anthelemic to do a partial kill then hit with a broad spectrum in a case like this. Thoughts?

 

[ivan3]

Frosty wrote: ivan3, are turkeys like horses where if they have a heavy load of parasites die off at once it could clog up the digestive tract? I'm wondering if it might be better to start with a milder anthelemic to do a partial kill then hit with a broad spectrum in a case like this. Thoughts? ]

You're absolutely right (poultry/humans/equines same-same). Should probably start with Wazine in the water, just to be sure. However, considering the description of the poor guy's previous environment I'd expect a heavy worm load would have resulted in no picture of Jack being posted...

Thanks for the caution on wormers!

 

[laturcotte1]

Holy cow you guys are good, thanks so much. I just came in from sitting with him. First thing, took the mirror from him. He immediately perked up stopped "crying". He came out of his small slide door all by himself. Ate some grass, hooray, and drank water from the yellow bucket. He gobbles at everything. He lives next door to the geese and talks with them. The rooster crows he gobbles back and forth, THEN a siren went by and he gobbled until you couldnt hear it anymore. hahaha. Diaherra: Butter scotch color and like pudding. His feet: The feet look swollen, I don't think he can bend his toes. Not sure if they do though, anything like chickens? They look red, I'll bet they are really irritated by the looks of the cage which was on the ground, it hadn't been raked out ever. (6 months). He now has fresh dry shavings, fresh dry hay. I didn't see any sores on the bottom of his feet. When we kenneled him to bring him home I looked they just really look sore and he is very very careful when he walks. He couldn't get back in the small door, the ramp was too slippery (we'll have to put some indoor/outdoor rug on it) but he went around to the large door lifted himself right in. He must've been hungry because he went straight for his grain dish. I put his mirror back and left. Also while standing any length of time he would have lay down. All his feathers on his belly and inside of his legs are gone. When he displays (which he did twice) you can see his skin which looks good. I will get the dewormer and he will get hard boiled egg for dinner tonight. He has an absoluately beautiful face. It will be this bright blue then turn to a softer blue. The skin on his face turns the brightess red I've ever seen then its gone. Interesting. Thank you for all your help.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Poor fella. I"m glad that he is on the road to recovery. He looks like a very sweet boy.

 

[ivan3]

Good to hear he is doing better! You might consider picking up a bag of Purina Game bird starter (30% protein) and just add a bit to the regular feed for a month or so. Unused starter can be stored for several months in airtight, plastic 3-5 gallon containers. We always keep some on hand to add to regular feed during molts, particularly cold spells and to augment diets of puny chooks and turks.