Stressed poults! Help!

[CaliFarmsAR]

Howdy y’all, hope everyone is doing good!

My dad and I picked up 10 straight run Bourbon red poults this evening.
They had put them in a super small box and it was sooo hot in there (I’m surprised non died it was so hot), so I put them in a bigger carrier that way they could cool down and have more room (it also had holes so there was plenty of air flow).

Well, we got home, put ‘em in the little coop and they seem extremely stressed out. What can o do to help with this? One isn’t doing so good right now, I have him/her inside with my two ducklings. All the poults doing is laying down, not really moving. The others were running around a little, but quite a few look stressed… I’m really concerned about losing some.

Any suggestions/tips is greatly appreciated!
Thank you

Just put them in a bigger carrier. They were standing on top of each other. :/

Baby kinda “out of it”

Just put in the lil coop

Poult that is with ducklings, hasn’t moved at all

 

[kfelton0002]

Turkeys don't tend to like change and change can cause stress. I wouldn't separate them as they are all used to being together. I certainly wouldn't put turkey poults in the same brooder as ducklings. Turkeys are more tender than ducklings when they are young and the ducklings can make the brooder bedding damp, chilling and stressing the poults even further. I would put the poults all back together, make sure they have room temp, NEVER COLD water, and food and leave them be. No unnecessary handling or further changes, just let them relax and get used to their new brooder. You can mix some electrolytes in their water, and even a tsp of sugar per quart of drinking water will help with the heat stress and the stress from the move. Dip the beak of the poult that is laying down in the sugar water to encourage drinking if he won't do it on his own. But no unnecessary handling for the first few days, no further changes for a bit so they can adapt to their new home. The poults are imprinted on each other and I would want to encourage that. Being with their group that they know will be reassuring for them. Others may have different advice but from my experience that has worked for me. If the area where they are brooded gets cooler at night offer an area of the brooder that has a heat lamp, but make sure they have room to get away from it if they get too hot. They look to be 2-3 weeks old so they still need to be kept no cooler than room temp until they feather in more. Best of luck with them! And congratulations on your new poults.

 

[kfelton0002]

You can't keep them long in that carrier. They need a large tote or stock trough in your house or a garage, outbuilding, etc. Pine shavings are fine as bedding. I wouldnt be bold enough to put newly purchased 2-3 week old poults outside in a pen. They need to recover from the stress in warm, not hot but not cool Temps.

Also they need an appropriate chick waterer not a water bowl. They will walk through the water or knock the bowl over making their bedding damp. Damp bedding is a breeding ground for coccidiosis and can chill your poults.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Turkeys don't tend to like change and change can cause stress. I wouldn't separate them as they are all used to being together. I certainly wouldn't put turkey poults in the same brooder as ducklings. Turkeys are more tender than ducklings when they are young and the ducklings can make the brooder bedding damp, chilling and stressing the poults even further. I would put the poults all back together, make sure they have room temp, NEVER COLD water, and food and leave them be. No unnecessary handling or further changes, just let them relax and get used to their new brooder. You can mix some electrolytes in their water, and even a tsp of sugar per quart of drinking water will help with the heat stress and the stress from the move. Dip the beak of the poult that is laying down in the sugar water to encourage drinking if he won't do it on his own. But no unnecessary handling for the first few days, no further changes for a bit so they can adapt to their new home. The poults are imprinted on each other and I would want to encourage that. Being with their group that they know will be reassuring for them. Others may have different advice but from my experience that has worked for me. If the area where they are brooded gets cooler at night offer an area of the brooder that has a heat lamp, but make sure they have room to get away from it if they get too hot. They look to be 2-3 weeks old so they still need to be kept no cooler than room temp until they feather in more. Best of luck with them! And congratulations on your new poults.

Okay thank you so much!

I did put the one back with the others, it started doing better and I realized, quite quickly, that that wasn’t the best decision. Apparently, there is a spot that the poults can get out from the little coop, so I put them back in the carrier and will get everything fixed up tomorrow. The carrier is big enough for them to be in for one night. It is really warm here in Arkansas, averaging about 85°, will they be ok outside? Or should I bring them in? Thank you for the tip with the water, I will definitely do that. Also, they are 2-3 weeks old, got em from a farmer around here and he said that’s around how old they are.

Sorry for the unsure questions, I’ve had wild turkey poults before but some got away and some died, so I’m a little worried about these ones. I really appreciate your help!

 

[R2elk]

You can't keep them long in that carrier. They need a large tote or stock trough in your house or a garage, outbuilding, etc. Pine shavings are fine as bedding. I wouldnt be bold enough to put newly purchased 2-3 week old poults outside in a pen. They need to recover from the stress in warm, not hot but not cool Temps.

Also they need an appropriate chick waterer not a water bowl. They will walk through the water or knock the bowl over making their bedding damp. Damp bedding is a breeding ground for coccidiosis and can chill your poults.

Poults should not be on wood shavings unless they have access to the appropriate sized grit.

 

[kfelton0002]

Thank you!
I plan to get them better set up tomorrow (though I was set up good enough, but I didn’t realize turkeys were this sensitive, used to chicks and ducklings)!! It’s night here so they are all in bed. I know a bowl ain’t ideal for them, that was just because he was with the ducklings, I WILL get an actual chick water for them.

People should truly do quite a bit of research prior to getting turkeys, no disrespect intended as I was guilty of that myself before. I have had chickens all my life and had ducks as a kid. Well you can't kill a duck unless you're really aiming to from my experience and I've always done well with chickens so I thought turkeys wouldn't be any different. I was wrong. I'm sure I did everything wrong when I was a kid and all my ducks lived. Turkeys are another creature entirely and are very tender when young but get more robust as they mature. I've learned the hard way and it was heartbreaking.

I truly hope your poults do well and the poorly one recovers. Be mindful of blackhead also that may be transmitted to turkeys from the ground where other poultry have been that may be asymptomatic carriers. It may not be an issue in your area (it is in my area). Best of luck to you! Post back with updates as I would love to know how they do.

 

[kfelton0002]

Poults should not be on wood shavings unless they have access to the appropriate sized grit.

Mine have all done well and they were started on pine shavings. Then moved to a wire bottomed brooder at around 2 weeks old. That's what we have always used for our chicks, so that's what we used for our poults.

 

[R2elk]

Mine have all done well and they were started on pine shavings. Then moved to a wire bottomed brooder at around 2 weeks old. That's what we have always used for our chicks, so that's what we used for our poults.

Poults aren't chicks. They can and will eat the shavings. If they don't have the appropriate sized grit to aid in digestion they develop a blockage and die.

You have been very lucky. Not everyone is that lucky.

 

[kfelton0002]

Okay thank you so much!

I did put the one back with the others, it started doing better and I realized, quite quickly, that that wasn’t the best decision. Apparently, there is a spot that the poults can get out from the little coop, so I put them back in the carrier and will get everything fixed up tomorrow. The carrier is big enough for them to be in for one night. It is really warm here in Arkansas, averaging about 85°, will they be ok outside? Or should I bring them in? Thank you for the tip with the water, I will definitely do that. Also, they are 2-3 weeks old, got em from a farmer around here and he said that’s around how old they are.

Sorry for the unsure questions, I’ve had wild turkey poults before but some got away and some died, so I’m a little worried about these ones. I really appreciate your help!

 Yw! As long as the Temps stay comfortable and not chilly at night there they may be okay outside as long as they have a good coop/shelter to get in to and stay dry. I am not bold enough to put any poultry outside until they are fully feathered for fear of them getting wet and chilled. That's just me though and I tend to be a hoverer.

 

[kfelton0002]

Poults aren't chicks. They can and will eat the shavings. If they don't have the appropriate sized grit to aid in digestion they develop a blockage and die.

You have been very lucky. Not everyone is that lucky.

Maybe recommending a more appropriate bedding instead of burning me at the stake might be more helpful.