Sick Baby Turkeys.....Help Please

[krystallonnie]

They are dying,they are eating and drinking good

 

[SunHwaKwon]

More information. Lethargic, active, sickly, dropping dead suddenly. Temperature, housing, bedding, food, etc.

 

[Samarashepherds]

Hello everyone. I have a little hen that has been acting weird. My hen is with one other tom, and a black copper maran that will not stay out of the turkey pen. Anyway, their pens are next to adult chickens to their right, and on the left, baby chicks, about 4 weeks old. The Turkeys were doing great, and then all of a sudden yesterday and today the female has been walking oddly. She walks as if it is hard for her to walk, keep her balance and she tends to lay down, or fall down. When she attempts to lay down, or fall, its as if her legs are too weak to do that motion, and she stumbles over. Then she flutters her wings a bit trying to get herself situated. Then she will just lay there. If something startles her, she will behave normally, flap, sprint (normally) and then when she down shifts, from freak out to normal, her legs act as if they are drunk. Not her body, but her legs, like she is trying to get them to go a certain way, but they arent doing what she intends, and she trips or falls. I also think her face looks a bit pale. I might just be imagining it, I dunno. Any ideas?

 

[acolt45]

I have similar issues with my Heritage Turkeys, and it is my first year with them. Adults about 8 - 12 months old?

After raising chickens the last three years, Turkeys are a lot harder to raise. I thought they would be similar to chickens.

The birds are free range: and stay in the coop overnight..

My hen took 8 days to become broody! she would lay on the eggs for 4~5 hours then leave until the next day!

Started with 14 eggs, only 6 were fertile , three hatched day one; one hatched day 2; one died hatching on day 3; one hatched day 4;

#4 and #5 had to be brought inside to heat lamp a couple of times for TLC, as Hen left them behind, could not keep up.

At 25 days the Male Turkey started caring for the chicks? the chicks started going with him for warming and at night?
we were not sure what to do! I wanted to separate - wife said no let nature take it's course..

Lost 3 chicks in 3 days, the temps dropped into the 40's, they were all sluggish when moving around.
9 days later the fourth passed away temps reached 94, they had access to shade, food and water and a good breeze in the woods.
Day 10 Jake stayed outside the coop with the last chick, chick could not be found. Temps were down into the low 40's.

The Turkeys Chicks do not adjust to the Cold very well, need lots of heat (not like chicken chicks)

and did the male turkey injury the babies while caring for them.

on cold mornings half the turkey babies were weak and wobbled around until warm.
(chicken chicks are all over the place when cold or under the hen)

Next time we plan to separate the baby turkey chicks in a controlled area. No Free Ranging for baby turkeys.

These Heritage Turkeys do not adopt very well to the local environment

These two are currently depressed.....
The two adult birds are now staying in the coop most of the day! and do not go very far.
There main objective each day is to chase the deer, which does not work.
The fawns try playing with the turkeys...

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I have similar issues with my Heritage Turkeys, and it is my first year with them. Adults about 8 - 12 months old?

After raising chickens the last three years, Turkeys are a lot harder to raise. I thought they would be similar to chickens.

The birds are free range: and stay in the coop overnight..

My hen took 8 days to become broody! she would lay on the eggs for 4~5 hours then leave until the next day!

Started with 14 eggs, only 6 were fertile , three hatched day one; one hatched day 2; one died hatching on day 3; one hatched day 4;

#4 and #5 had to be brought inside to heat lamp a couple of times for TLC, as Hen left them behind, could not keep up.

At 25 days the Male Turkey started caring for the chicks? the chicks started going with him for warming and at night?
we were not sure what to do! I wanted to separate - wife said no let nature take it's course..

Lost 3 chicks in 3 days, the temps dropped into the 40's, they were all sluggish when moving around.   
9 days later the fourth passed away temps reached 94, they had access to shade, food and water and a good breeze in the woods.
Day 10 Jake stayed outside the coop with the last chick, chick could not be found. Temps were down into the low 40's.

The Turkeys Chicks do not adjust to the Cold very well, need lots of heat (not like chicken chicks)

and did the male turkey injury the babies while caring for them.

on cold mornings half the turkey babies were weak and wobbled around until warm.
(chicken chicks are all over the place when cold or under the hen) 

Next time we plan to separate the baby turkey chicks in a controlled area. No Free Ranging for baby turkeys.

These Heritage Turkeys do not adopt very well to the local environment

These two are currently depressed.....
The two adult birds are now staying in the coop most of the day! and do not go very far.
There main objective each day is to chase the deer, which does not work.
The fawns try playing with the turkeys...

  

It sounds like it's your location that's making it so hard. I hatched two poults in May, moved them to my outside brooder with a hearing pad at two weeks. I needed the brooder a week later for a big guinea hatch so they went to the chicken coop, no heat since then.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I stopped letting hens try to raise my poults and I pull them and brood them as I can control things more. Turkeys are fragile and clumsy for the first weeks and require more heat and time. Perhaps your hen doesn't know what she is doing as not all do. I don't put mine with the adults until about 3-4 months.

If you plan to let your hen do it I would keep confined to a smaller area for at least a month. If you watch wild turkeys, you will see them with large clutches in the spring and than only a couple later in the season. So even wild hens lose most of their poults.

Raising poults is easy once you get a system, you do need to intervene if you want them all to make it.

 

[Samarashepherds]

Ok, so I went out and watched her a little more today, and she is shuffling her feet, like someone that just woke up and is groggy. She stands there a little hunched up, and her back feathers are a bit ruffled. Her wings are a bit droopy too. She fell down, and she holds her wings out for balance, then situates herself and repositions her feathers and then she looks normal. She eats normal, drinks water normal. Acts as she normally does minus her mobility issue. Any ideas????

 

[casportpony]

Ok, so I went out and watched her a little more today, and she is shuffling her feet, like someone that just woke up and is groggy. She stands there a little hunched up, and her back feathers are a bit ruffled. Her wings are a bit droopy too. She fell down, and she holds her wings out for balance, then situates herself and repositions her feathers and then she looks normal. She eats normal, drinks water normal. Acts as she normally does minus her mobility issue. Any ideas????

Can you post some poop pictures?

-Kathy

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ok, so I went out and watched her a little more today, and she is shuffling her feet, like someone that just woke up and is groggy. She stands there a little hunched up, and her back feathers are a bit ruffled. Her wings are a bit droopy too. She fell down, and she holds her wings out for balance, then situates herself and repositions her feathers and then she looks normal. She eats normal, drinks water normal. Acts as she normally does minus her mobility issue. Any ideas????

This time of year it could be equine, or avian encephalitis, as well as botulism comes to mind for neurological symptoms.

 

[Samarashepherds]

@

here is a pic of poop she just did, and a gew of her. When ahe lays down, she seems to fall a bit to one side, then she straightens herself out. Its like her legs have become too weak. So strange.