Swollen snood

[Brian B]

Hi all,

My two turkey hens simply dropped dead in the past week, and I now am concerned about my tom. They did not appear to be sickly (nothing overtly obvious, though the second one did look a bit "puffy" the last two days before being found dead in the coop this morning). Neither of them appeared to be egg bound.

I have one remaining turkey—a tom. He is behaving normally, eating and walking and making his "gobbling" sounds, but his snood has been very swollen/engorged the last three days. A friend who knows poultry tells me he's never seen anything like it. I'm now more concerned than ever for the tom since both hens both died. I've attached a picture; as it appears to me, the tom seems healthy otherwise: his wattle is a vibrant red color. I've also attached a picture of the hen who just died, because I'm curious to know if you anyone might think anything was visibly wrong with her other than the "puffiness." My friend suspects it could be blackhead, but I haven't seen any (obvious) signs of blackhead in any of the three turkeys.

I have some prescription sulfa antiobiotic and some prescription lincomycin left over from a chicken that was sick some time back. Does anyone think there would be any benefit or harm in giving it to the tom? My friend has suggested Fishzole (metranidazole), presuming it's blackhead, but I'm thinking either of the other two antiobiotics might be easier, as they can be mixed with water rather than attempting to force a pill (Fishzole) into the tom's mouth.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Brian

 

[ChickenLover08100]

could be infected or it has bacteria

 

[ChickenLover08100]

most likely bacteria. hope he feels better

 

[Brian B]

most likely bacteria. hope he feels better

Any suggestions as to what I should do, given that the two hens have just died, and I worry that this might be related?

 

[Molpet]

Put the fish tablets in his water
@casportpony knows the dosage... but it doesn't look like BLK head...they would have sulfur yellow poop

 

[R2elk]

Hi all,

My two turkey hens simply dropped dead in the past week, and I now am concerned about my tom. They did not appear to be sickly (nothing overtly obvious, though the second one did look a bit "puffy" the last two days before being found dead in the coop this morning). Neither of them appeared to be egg bound.

I have one remaining turkey—a tom. He is behaving normally, eating and walking and making his "gobbling" sounds, but his snood has been very swollen/engorged the last three days. A friend who knows poultry tells me he's never seen anything like it. I'm now more concerned than ever for the tom since both hens both died. I've attached a picture; as it appears to me, the tom seems healthy otherwise: his wattle is a vibrant red color. I've also attached a picture of the hen who just died, because I'm curious to know if you anyone might think anything was visibly wrong with her other than the "puffiness." My friend suspects it could be blackhead, but I haven't seen any (obvious) signs of blackhead in any of the three turkeys.

I have some prescription sulfa antiobiotic and some prescription lincomycin left over from a chicken that was sick some time back. Does anyone think there would be any benefit or harm in giving it to the tom? My friend has suggested Fishzole (metranidazole), presuming it's blackhead, but I'm thinking either of the other two antiobiotics might be easier, as they can be mixed with water rather than attempting to force a pill (Fishzole) into the tom's mouth.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Brian
View attachment 2045868View attachment 2045871

It is possibly avian influenza or in the tom's case, it could be leakage from the air sac. Feel it to determine if it feels solid or if it feels like it is full of air. If it is full of air, it needs to be punctured so that the air can escape. The swelling on the tom's head may not have anything to do with why the hens died but he could be the reason they died. Have you checked the hens for breeding injuries?

 

[Brian B]

It is possibly avian influenza or in the tom's case, it could be leakage from the air sac. Feel it to determine if it feels solid or if it feels like it is full of air. If it is full of air, it needs to be punctured so that the air can escape. The swelling on the tom's head may not have anything to do with why the hens died but he could be the reason they died. Have you checked the hens for breeding injuries?

That's very helpful—thank you! No, no sign of injuries whatsoever to the two hens that died; that's why it was such a mystery. And this tom has always been pretty clumsy trying to breed; he usually never even managed to mount the hens because he's so large and clumsy—only once that I actually saw him succeed, and only for a few seconds.

 

[Brian B]

That's very helpful—thank you! No, no sign of injuries whatsoever to the two hens that died; that's why it was such a mystery. And this tom has always been pretty clumsy trying to breed; he usually never even managed to mount the hens because he's so large and clumsy—only once that I actually saw him succeed, and only for a few seconds.

I should add (regarding avian influenza) that the turkeys have always shared a small building (an old milkhouse) with three geese, and the geese are perfectly healthy, showing no signs of sickness at all.

 

[R2elk]

I should add (regarding avian influenza) that the turkeys have always shared a small building (an old milkhouse) with three geese, and the geese are perfectly healthy, showing no signs of sickness at all.

Geese can be carriers of avian influenza. From the posted picture, my guess is an air sac leak which means it will need to be lanced in order to release the air. Too small of a puncture will allow the hole to seal too quickly and permit the air to build back up.

 

[Brian B]

Geese can be carriers of avian influenza. From the posted picture, my guess is an air sac leak which means it will need to be lanced in order to release the air. Too small of a puncture will allow the hole to seal too quickly and permit the air to build back up.

So what does one pierce it with? This seems like an Incredible Doctor Pol moment (from the Nat Geo Wild TV channel); he's always lancing parts of animals, either to release air (for bloat) or pus (from a swollen mass of infection).