Sick turkeys help if you've seen this.

[casportpony]

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.

20% loss, that's a sign something is wrong for sure.

I now keep weight charts on mine and weigh them often if they start looking a little iffy.

 

[Tereseb]

20% loss, that's a sign something is wrong for sure.

I now keep weight charts on mine and weigh them often if they start looking a little iffy.
View attachment 1530444
View attachment 1530443

That's amazing! For your table turkeys? Broad breasted white?
I don't have that much energy.
I simply know my weights after
Processing this year.

 

[casportpony]

Great idea. Do you pull those out to clean them and what's underneath? Do those repel the worms? I'm using sand. Will buy mats under roosts.

I just raked first. then put them down.

 

[casportpony]

That's amazing! For your table turkeys? Broad breasted white?
I don't have that much energy.
I simply know my weights after
Processing this year.

These are my peafowl, but I do the same with turkeys, though all of mine are pets.

 

[Tereseb]

20% loss, that's a sign something is wrong for sure.

I now keep weight charts on mine and weigh them often if they start looking a little iffy.
View attachment 1530444
View attachment 1530443

O wait, peafowl. I see that. Yep. I'd wright them if I had those

 

[Tereseb]

I have both pet turkeys and table. I'd love peafowl but not until I get this blackhead under control. Nice talking. Got to wash eggs!

 

[Tereseb]

Send me pics of your peafowl

 

[Noellereagan]

Another preventative: I was told that earth worms are also an intermediate host. So, spreading salt, real salt- NaCl, or agricultural lime, in the birds area helps to repel these hosts.

@castorpony (sorry off topic) You can use agriculture lime in their areas? I wondered. I wanted to use it to keep the moisture at bay at certain times. Can I put it in the run outside on the ground?

 

[R2elk]

I was told that earth worms are also an intermediate host.

Earthworms can be an intermediate host. If blackhead is not present where you are, the earthworms there will not be hosts. I live on a sand dune. There were no earthworms here when I moved in. I "planted" earthworms and now anywhere there is moisture in the soil, there are earthworms. There is no blackhead here so these earthworms are not hosts.

If blackhead is present, the chickens will be an intermediate host and it can be contracted by the turkeys directly from the chickens or their droppings. Earthworms in that situation may be an intermediate host. Even then it is the chickens that are the most danger to the turkeys.

 

[Tereseb]

@castorpony (sorry off topic) You can use agriculture lime in their areas? I wondered. I wanted to use it to keep the moisture at bay at certain times. Can I put it in the run outside on the ground?

I was told to spread this over the ground in their run to repel 'worms'. I assume this meant earthworms. But now I wonder if this vet meant cecal worms?
There is a product sold in the UK meant to reduce parasites on the ground, however, I can't figure out what the active ingredient is. Could it possibly be agricultural lime?
Just a thought.
I don't put much confidence into diatomeous earth as a preventative as I think its only proved effective with slugs and it has proved to be an irritant to both human and bird respiratory system s.
Here is that product. Not sure of it's effectiveness.