Sick turkeys help if you've seen this.

[Nekatlla]

Just wanted to touch base here, I had 9 broad breasted turkeys and am now at 7, they are 11 weeks old but recently (over the last 4 weeks) I notice that a single turkey will all of a sudden start pooping bright yellow like egg yolk and runny. Next that turkey will just stand still off by himself and close his eyes like he doesn't feel well. about two days later they die overnight. I have one that just started this and would like to not lose any more. Any help appreciated. Thank you

 

[casportpony]

It does sound like blackhead, which can be treated if caught soon enough, though two of the drugs needed to treat it are banned for use in poultry.

Any chance you can get a sick one to the vet?

The treatment I use is metronidazole at ~50 mg per kilogram orally once a day for five days and Baytril injectable at 15-20 mg per kilogram once a day for 5 days.

The metronidazole will treat the blackhead and the Baytril should treat the secondary bacterial infections they get with it.

In addition to those drugs I also give Safeguard at 50 mg per kilogram orally once and repeat in 10-14 days. This will treat the cecal worm, which is one f the ways they get blackhead.

This disease is very serious and can wipe out an entire flock of turkeys or peafowl if not caught and treated soon enough.

Any birds not drinking will need fluids given subcutaneously or orally. I can teach you how to do both if you can get the supplies.

 

[casportpony]

Thanks will try the meds. Looked up some of the pics on the web and may be that. I had one that got better and is now fine. Any problems eating the birds after meds or if I decide to cull early if they are looking tired?

Two of the drugs I mentioned are banned for use in poultry, so you aren't supposed to eat them after treating them metronidazole or Baytril.

From what I understand, it's not the blackhead the kills them, it's the secondary bacterial, infection that does, so I would not eat one that looks sick.

My vet mentioned that acidified copper sulfate might be a helpful preventative, as is frequent de-worming.

 

[R2elk]

There is information and links about blackhead in the Turkeys 101 thread.

 

[R2elk]

Just wanted to touch base here, I had 9 broad breasted turkeys and am now at 7, they are 11 weeks old but recently (over the last 4 weeks) I notice that a single turkey will all of a sudden start pooping bright yellow like egg yolk and runny. Next that turkey will just stand still off by himself and close his eyes like he doesn't feel well. about two days later they die overnight. I have one that just started this and would like to not lose any more. Any help appreciated. Thank you

Sounds like it may be Blackhead.

I believe that @casportpony knows the recommended treatment. Some people claim that cayenne pepper can be helpful.

 

[Nekatlla]

Thanks will try the meds. Looked up some of the pics on the web and may be that. I had one that got better and is now fine. Any problems eating the birds after meds or if I decide to cull early if they are looking tired?

 

[Tereseb]

Sounds like it may be Blackhead.

I believe that @casportpony knows the recommended treatment. Some people claim that cayenne pepper can be helpful.

This is exactly what my birds exhibited and I had one bird necropsied and confirmed with blackhead. Also, their feces turned green. When that happened it seemed that death was pretty much imminent. My birds were not meant for the table and I saved some with metronidazole.
Not sure what you can do for table birds.
I made the mistake of keeping my turkeys with my chickens.
Possibly you can try acidified copper sulfate which, as far as I know, is not contraindicated in table birds. The dose is copper sulfate at 0.5 mg/L of drinking water*, or 0.5 mg copper sulfate per kg of feed.
Sorry is this is an old Post.

 

[casportpony]

I kinda wonder about that because if you see the liver of a bird affected with the parasite, it's pretty extensive damage. And the yellow then green feces sure appear to point to billirubin then billiverdin- like coloring, as if they might be dying from liver damage. Then you realize why the birds just fade away and die.

The ones I have had necropsied by UC Davis all had secondary systemic e. coli infections and it was my vet that suggested I treat with both metronidazole and Baytril.

 

[Tereseb]

The vet who necropsied my bird said he has seen up to 80% losses in flocks with blackhead. I'd separate them from your chickens ASAP.
In my last batch of table birds, I noticed a 20% drop in weight, I was lucky.

 

[casportpony]

"Once access into the digestive tract has been achieved, H. meleagridis multiplies in the ceca and attacks the tissues of the cecal walls. As the disease progresses, a cheese-like, foul-smelling, yellow substance fills the ceca. This substance can vary in form from a hardened plug to more liquid in nature, and is composed of dead cecal cells and blood. In highly susceptible birds such as turkeys, the Blackhead protozoa then enter the bloodstream through the damaged ceca and are deposited into the liver, where they do even more damage, creating signature "bulls-eye" zones of necrosis (dead tissue). Occasionally, H. meleagridis also enters into other organs such as the kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain. Blackhead does not kill the infected bird, and the disease requires a secondary bacterial infection to be virulent and eventually fatal. Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Clostridium sp. are some of the bacteria noted in the secondary infections that caused death (McDougald, 2005)."
Source:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/viewhtml.php?id=343