sick Turkey.. help!!

[shellrae7]

Hi there,
I have 3 broadbrested white turkeys, 2 toms and a hen.... I would've never bought them now, knowing what i know... but nonetheless. They are 3 months old, and 3 days ago the hen started acting funny. She won't get up. We have moved her onto the grass and penned her somewhat... and she has sat there and ate and drank and pooped for 3 days without moving. She seems alert, and otherwise healthy, like I said she eats and drinks, but she won't move from that spot.

If she were acting normal she'd have flown that cage long ago... it won't really keep her, I just didn't want her scooting around and pooping everywhere.

Does anyone know what MAY be wrong?

The only thing I can think of is that maybe she is soon to lay? All the males in the coop were picking on her, including the ducks. I've not actually seen anyone mount her, though I can't say it hasn't happened.... they have tried.

What do I do now? Will she die?? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[thaiturkey]

If she's eating and pooping and looking alert there can't be anything to seriously wrong at the moment. Is she making any noise and, if so, can you describe it?

She may have realised that you don't love her and is feeling down.

 

[Mommi3130]

Quote:
I hope she pulls out for you. I don't know what could be going on.

But I am curious, why wouldn't you have kept turkeys? Or is it the breed?

 

[shellrae7]

She's not making any noise, but she still hasn't moved. She seems calm. Sleeps alot, but has her head up and alert alot too.

I just meant I wouldn't have bought BBWhite turkeys... I didn't mean I didn't want turkeys at all. I didn't know what I was getting, and now taht I have read alot, I would've preferred a heritage breed, as I hear these have lots of issues.

She is NOT unloved... lol... she's spoiled right now with her spot on the grass. My grass is starting to stink though!

I went and got an avian antibiotic and will start her on it tomorrow, just to be safe.

 

[thaiturkey]

We need an expert on this. Where have they all gone to?

You might want to move this post to Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures and keep bumping it.

 

[Frosty]

3 months is pretty young to be laying, they don't usually start that until the following spring.

What are you feeding them? How are they weight wise? Have you picked her up and checked her legs and feet? If she's putting on weight too fast, that can give them leg problems and make walking painful.

 

[boxermom]

That would be my guess too. When is a BBW usually processed?

 

[kuntrygirl]

There are a few turkey experts in the group but not sure where they are. You may want to contact Steve_of_sandspoultry but I think that he is on vacation and not sure when he will be back and I know you need help now. I'm sure the experts will stop in soon and help you with this.

I don't know what could be wrong with her. I had a 1 month old turkey poult that displayed the same behavior that you are speaking of but unfortunately she died. I tried everything to help her.

 

[thaiturkey]

Quote:
Frosty's good but waiting for more information from the OP.

 

[Frosty]

Thank you for the vote, thaiturkey

I don't consider myself an expert, but I have raised BB type turkeys every year since 1995 and ocassionally have hertitage turkeys too. While I am not an expert, I have learned a few things over the years and pretty much had to figure problems out myself since vets around my area don't want to see the turkeys.

boxermom, commercial places raise for fast growth and butcher very young. I don't keep food in front of them 24/7 and limit things like corn to keep the growth rate slower. I free range as much as I can, though due to predators I have to keep an eye on them when they are out. I process around 6 months and processed weights are around 22 pounds tops. I do still have a BBB hen from last year, and while she doesn't exactly run around like a heritage turkey, she is capable of walking around.

If she is eating and drinking fine, how does the poop look? If it's normal, I would really check her feet and legs. If she is overweight, try to limit the amount of fat in her diet, add more greens and try to limit corn and corn based foods. Make sure her feet aren't swollen and don't have any bumps where she may have gotten a splinter and have an infection started. Do they normally sleep on roosts? If so and she weighs a lot, she may have jumped down from a roost and got hurt when she landed.

Are these for pets or planned for dinner? If they are for pets, then I agree that heritage would have been a lot better.