Sick 11 week old turkey hen

[Graidyn]

hello. I have a BBW hen that has always been.... behind. She grows VERY slowly and initially I thought she would be a failure to thrive, but here we are at 11 weeks and she's been fine. The other 3 turkeys are toms, all growing and doing well. Last night they were all having free time out in the yard and she was completely fine. We never leave them unsupervised when they are out of their enclosure (which they've been in for almost 6 weeks).

She followed me into her enclosure for grubblies as usual, but made this little peep sound and plopped down. It was odd, so i tried to coax her up, and she wouldn't get up. I picked her up and sat her down in her coop and she just stood there with her right wing drooped down, eyes closed, legs shaking a little.

My son brought the boys in (not noticing the issue with Slinky) and threw their grubblies in the house and she snapped out of it and attacked the grubblies with the boys as she always does. I did some research and posted in a fb group and the suspect was dehydration (it's been VERY hot). I brought her in, gave her water with poultry cell and scrambled eggs, which she ate and drank on her own. She had very watery poo, but again, very very hot and they've been drinking a lot of water.

This morning she was alert, eating and drinking but there was green and yellow diarrhea. I was afraid of blackhead, ordered fish zone but since it won't be here til midweek and no one local has it I added cayenne pepper to her food. Someone suggested Corid, but everyone is sold out of that too.

She will be completely normal and then suddenly stumble, drop her right wing, her legs shake a little, her eyes close. Then she'll lay down and take a nap. When her nap is over she gets up, pecks around, eats, drinks, and seems fine until another episode. Her feathers are not ruffled, she is not pale or hunched. And just when I was almost positive I was dealing with blackhead she had a nearly normal poop, only the faintest hint of yellow and green, and maybe the tiniest bit soft, but not much. Not sure I even would have noticed it as different if she were still in with the boys.

Does anyone know what could be wrong with her?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What are you feeding?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I was almost positive I was dealing with blackhead

Sounds like possible heart trouble or other genetic weakness causing organs to not function 100% properly..

What are you feeding on regular basis including treats or supplements regularly?

Black head.. I would think as a protozoa can be tested for.. likely by a simple fecal float at the vet.. It is not an issue at my location with my soil type. Are you keeping chickens also? Are you planning to process these turkeys?

This in excerpt from the following link.. with regards to your questions about the fish zole and the Corid..
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/control-of-blackhead-disease

"Does Histomonas respond to anticoccidials or antibiotics?

The answer to this is essentially no. Like some of its common relatives Trichomonas and Giardia, it is anaerobic and lacks mitochondria. These organisms make energy by an anaerobic process involving special organelles called hydrogenomes, This explains why histomonads do not respond to these other types of chemotherapeutic agents; they simply lack the metabolic machinery to be interfered with.

Sometimes birds infected with blackhead, particularly chickens, will seem to respond to antibiotic treatment. However, this is probably because of secondary infections with bacteria that could be affected by the drug.

Antibiotics normally have little beneficial effects on turkeys during a blackhead outbreak. Early and frequent preventive use of wormers (benzimidazole) can be of benefit in chickens because worms are the primary source of infection"



ETA: link I forgot to include.

 

[Graidyn]

What are you feeding?

Sounds like possible heart trouble or other genetic weakness causing organs to not function 100% properly..

What are you feeding on regular basis including treats or supplements regularly?

Black head.. I would think as a protozoa can be tested for.. likely by a simple fecal float at the vet.. It is not an issue at my location with my soil type. Are you keeping chickens also? Are you planning to process these turkeys?

This in excerpt from the following link.. with regards to your questions about the fish zole and the Corid..

"Does Histomonas respond to anticoccidials or antibiotics?

The answer to this is essentially no. Like some of its common relatives Trichomonas and Giardia, it is anaerobic and lacks mitochondria. These organisms make energy by an anaerobic process involving special organelles called hydrogenomes, This explains why histomonads do not respond to these other types of chemotherapeutic agents; they simply lack the metabolic machinery to be interfered with.

Sometimes birds infected with blackhead, particularly chickens, will seem to respond to antibiotic treatment. However, this is probably because of secondary infections with bacteria that could be affected by the drug.

Antibiotics normally have little beneficial effects on turkeys during a blackhead outbreak. Early and frequent preventive use of wormers (benzimidazole) can be of benefit in chickens because worms are the primary source of infection"

They were on gamebird starter feed for the first 6 weeks, then it was always out of stock at the one store that had it and every time we tried to order it they didn't get it in (covid) so we switched them to all flock (I also have ducks and chickens). They get grubblies and mealworms as well as scrambled eggs regularly to boost protein. They get nutridrench or hydrohen in their water once a week and yesterday I started poultry cell because of the heat. Could it be the poultry cell?

They also get apples, bananas, grass, weeds, clover etc. When I let them into their "free range" area. Yogurt once in a while. Berries.

I do have chickens, but they are in a completely different area and where the turkeys are I have NEVER had chickens (and we've owned this property for almost 13 years. The chickens "free range" in a different area and none are ever left unsupervised while out. We have specific shoes for turkeys vs chickens and ducks. The boy turkeys are all healthy and growing like weeds. All of my birds are healthy. I watch them like a hawk, clean daily, and am very careful about security. The only birds we've lost recently were culled for attitude problems and one for a leg injury that wouldn't heal and turned out to be tibial dyschondroplasia.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They get grubblies and mealworms as well as scrambled eggs regularly to boost protein.

I'm still thinking genetic weakness according to your description and yes heat can intensify ANY number of things.

Please consider those items I quoted not as a boost to protein because while they are a great source of nutrients their fat content is high.. eggs for example are only 34% protein but 64% fat by energy (calories not volume).. BUT half the protein content is found inside the yolk as well as a good portion of the nutrient value.

See if the link I included had any helpful hints.. I just edited my previous post to include it as I realized I had inadvertently forgotten.

Do you have a vet that can run a float for you?

Hope she feels better!

 

[Graidyn]

@EggSighted4Life Thank you, and I appreciate the info. I did talk to a vet (who was kind and generous enough to talk to me) and gave all of her symptoms and was referred to a site where I was to look at pics of poop. They asked if her poop looked like a specific one, which it absolutely did. I was informed that it is most likely a genetic renal issue and it was suggested that I cull because it is painful, and based on growth and history it is unlikely to be fixable. We will be culling her tonight and will check her liver to be sure she did not have blackhead, though the vet says it's unlikely. So it sounds like you are probably right. I am sad of course, but don't want her to be in pain. I do appreciate your help, very much. Thank you.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So sorry. It sounds like it's for the best.