Sick Turkey

[ShewmanFarm]

My 4 month old Turkey passed suddenly last night. I noticed late last week that he was lethargic, drooping head, and diarehha. Did some research and I had not yet wormed him so I ended up doing that. A few days later he seemed to be feeling better. Last night when i checked on him he was really weak, dropping head, wings, and was running a fever of 103.7. I tried to hydrate him and bring the fever down slowly as to not put him into shock. Within 2 hrs he started convulsing as his body shut down and he passed away in my arms. This was not just a turkey he was my 12 yo daughter baby. I'm at a total loss as to why? What was wrong with him? He was in with another turkey chick, and 3-4 month old chicks. They are all just fine and showing no signs of any symptoms.

 

[Oldhawkins]

Hard to say definitively why it died. It could have died for many reasons.The only way to know for sure, would be to have a vet autopsy it. If it had blackhead,(or something else for that matter) worming it while it was sick, may have made it even more sicker. Worming alone will not kill the blackhead protozoa from what i understand. It WILL kill the ceacal worm that carries the protozoa. If it had blackhead, it would have needed a drug like metronidazole to kill the protozoa, and then after recovery,given the wormer. This is all just speculation though, I guess you could open the bird up and see if it had the spotted lesions on the liver that is so prevalent with blackhead....

 

[ShewmanFarm]

Isn't blackhead contagious to the other birds?

 

[Oldhawkins]

It can be transfered through water or feed contaminated with fecal matter from an infected bird.Usually turkeys get it from being cooped together with chickens as they are notorious for spreading the ceacal worm in their feces.

 

[feedman77]

It could be blackead but some of the symptoms you described sounds like coccidisis.

I lost a few poults with those symptoms last year.

Droopy head and wings. Lethargic. Diarrhea.

When the symptoms hit they had usually passed in a few hours.

Sorry for your loss.