swollen turkey chick- the ENTIRE chick

[burkeybridget]

hello!
I have a 2-3 month old bronze turkey chick who is so completely swollen he cant lay down and he cant put his wings down. he free ranges in the back yard during the day but roosts locked in a coop at night. im wondering if he is possibly snake bit? I removed him from the yard and he's in cat carrier with rooster booster and B12 in his water. im hoping the cooler a/c in the house will help him. he's swollen everywhere except his poor baby turkey toes . he is sneezy but nothing real bad. I checked his booty to see if he was impacted or anything and he looked clear back there. no change to diet either. any suggestions? we don't have an exotic vet around here that I am aware of

 

[Sonia]

How is he breathing? I would suspect snakebite too. I sucessfully saved a turkey last year by adminestering benadryl @2mg per lb of body weight and pedialyte instead of water.

 

[burkeybridget]

he's not completely comfortable breathing but he isn't flat out gasping either. I keep checking on him to make sure it isn't getting worse I will try the Benadryl! thanks! I have a produce scale I can weigh the poor baby in.

 

[Sonia]

If you have childrens benadryl (or. Generic) liquid dosing is easy. If not, dissolve a 25 mg tablet in 25 ml of water. Then after it is dissolved very carefully add enough water to bring it to exactly 50 ml. Then shake and dose one ml per lb this may or may not help but if baby is uncomfortable at the very least it should pass in its sleep.

 

[Sonia]

PS I suggest one mg per lb for your bird because it is young...the one I did this with last year was adult and had clearly been bitten in the face.

 

[Sonia]

FWIW my turkey had continuous swelling in her face for well over six months, but is well and healthy now.

 

[burkeybridget]

my female turkey 'cheeks' had the same issue last winter (hence her name). I gave the baby the Benadryl and I'm waiting for some signs of improvement. poor thing looks like he's going to explode.

 

[Sonia]

He might not get better :-( he sounds worse off than mine was and we may be completely wrong about what is causing it. All I or anyone can do is tell you what we have experienced. Keep us posted on the little guy and hopefully someone with more experience than I will chime in soon.