sick turkey?

[cactus-hen]

My brother has a white tom turkey that is approx 5 months old. Two days ago it started staying inside the coop. He sits in a corner of the coop with his head drooping half way to the floor. It has little energy. He has taken it out and it will eat and drink and then it goes back into the coop. He will not come out of the coop on his own. When he walks he takes several steps and then lists to one side and sits down. We know of no poisons that have been used on the ranch recently or anything else that is toxic. The tom is in a pen with two hen turkeys. They appear to be fine. They are being fed game bird feed and have fresh water daily. Does anyone have any ideas of what is wrong with the turkey. It is going to be used for dinner.

 

[Tunastopper]

What brand of food do you feed? Is he a Broad Breasted White?

 

[cactus-hen]

They are being fed Nutrena Nature Wise turkey and game bird pellets. Protein is 28%. The pellets are dry, no mold issues. They are in a hanging feeder. Some pellets are spilled on the ground but I've never seen the turkeys eat them from the ground. I have several chickens that will fly into the turkey pen to eat the pellets from the ground. No chickens are showing any signs of illness.

 

[Tunastopper]

I am just checking since 20 of my birds died from a different brand and I am sure there is bags still out there. It is my first thought when someone is feeding turkey feed and they are sick. It did not have a smell or mold but did look different.

Toms seem to have more problems do to size. Is he a pretty big boy? How does his color look?

 

[cactus-hen]

He seems to be growing very fast. I've never had turkeys before so I don't know anything about them. My brother says his color does not look normal. He's pale and his red and blue color appears washed out. He is a broad breasted white.

 

[Tunastopper]

Broad breated whites have health problems do to the fast growth and weight. His legs are probably going to start going out or heart or blood pressure problems do to his large size. He should not be eating high protein at his age. It is to late now to tell you that. Read this and see if you think it is what your seeing. http://www.cabi.org/animalscience/Uploads/File/AnimalScience/additionalFiles/WPSA2_files/Hafez.pdf

 

[cactus-hen]

My brother was told to have the turkeys on high protein food to fatten them up quickly. This turkey is destined for the dinner table, not as a pet. If it is not sick and has just grown too fast, is it ok to butcher it now?

 

[Tunastopper]

At this point you don't know what it is. How safe do you want your food?

The person that told your brother to feed the turkey that way forgot to mention you could have a 50% loss in turkeys before they reach market size. Is this a stupid feed store salesman? Why didn't you butcher earlier?