sick turkey poult

[des7598]

my turkey hen hatched 16 poults about a week old. I have had 4 of them die and 1 currently in need of help. I find them laying on the ground lethargic and cold. usually in the evening when I am closing up momma (I have a cage for her to be in at night.) so I will bring the baby in the house and put it under the heat lamp with my baby chicks. It will perk up a little bit, I will attempt to get it to take water and some very liquid food, it will seem to do okay for a while then it will get lethargic again. I am never sure if it is getting worse or just sleeping. 2 survived about 2 days before finally dying. 1 died before I had the chance to nurture it. I currently have 1 that is now in the house, it was lethargic, so I now have it cuddled in my shirt but I know that is not the answer. it seems better snuggled with me than laying in the tote under the lamp with my baby chicks.. I am worried about putting it out side with mom. when I hatched incubated eggs I did not loose any in this fashion. this seems to happen about every few days. what is the recommendation to keep this from happening? thanks

 

[R2elk]

my turkey hen hatched 16 poults about a week old. I have had 4 of them die and 1 currently in need of help. I find them laying on the ground lethargic and cold. usually in the evening when I am closing up momma (I have a cage for her to be in at night.) so I will bring the baby in the house and put it under the heat lamp with my baby chicks. It will perk up a little bit, I will attempt to get it to take water and some very liquid food, it will seem to do okay for a while then it will get lethargic again. I am never sure if it is getting worse or just sleeping. 2 survived about 2 days before finally dying. 1 died before I had the chance to nurture it. I currently have 1 that is now in the house, it was lethargic, so I now have it cuddled in my shirt but I know that is not the answer. it seems better snuggled with me than laying in the tote under the lamp with my baby chicks.. I am worried about putting it out side with mom. when I hatched incubated eggs I did not loose any in this fashion. this seems to happen about every few days. what is the recommendation to keep this from happening? thanks

This is one of the reasons that I take the poults away from the hen and put them in the brooder. It sounds like they are just getting too cold before you find them and the damage is already done. Some hens especially first timers are not the best mothers. When they are in that condition, make sure that the water you are giving is near body temperature since cold water can cause problems in very young poults.

 

[des7598]

This is one of the reasons that I take the poults away from the hen and put them in the brooder. It sounds like they are just getting too cold before you find them and the damage is already done. Some hens especially first timers are not the best mothers. When they are in that condition, make sure that the water you are giving is near body temperature since cold water can cause problems in very young poults.

Thank you very much. the water seems to stay warm since it is in the tote under the lamp (well not directly under the lamp). but it is breathing better, while cuddled on my chest under my t-shirt. so I will hope it continues to once I put it down. but will pay close attention to ensure that if any of them begin to look woozy, I will collect them as quickly as possible.