Swollen Turkey Snood?

[StewedMammal]

About 3 days ago I noticed that my turkey hen's snood started to look swollen around the base and today the whole snood is swollen and is almost hard feeling. Has anyone had this happen before and how do you solve it?

 

[chooks4life]

Can you post a picture? It's hard to tell what's going on from description alone.

Best wishes.

 

[StewedMammal]

Here are a couple pictures. They're not the best, but that's because its raining pretty hard right now so its dark.

 

[chooks4life]

Is it just food or something like that, or is there a scab on the tip of her snood?

Also, that's the first time I've seen that hard beak projection on a turkey, near the nostrils. I've seen it on chickens and I believe it's possibly indicative of a virus or something similar, but most people seem to think it's due to injury from pecking through wire. Funny how it only happens to them around the same age, all the same shape and size and only in that location... Also, with chickens, it had a white lump which dropped out after a while, and the lump receded. Like a papillomavirus, I think. Its' all too much of a happy and identical coincidence to be an injury, IMO. But, anyway, it's not an officially recognized issue so never mind that.

If there is a scab, and the base of the snood is swelling from an injury that distant, perhaps there is a foreign body like a splinter in there, or perhaps she has something like Golden Staph bacteria in there and it's making a problem. Disinfecting and removing the scab might help ascertain if there is something in there, and if it's just infection it might help it drain. If it's even a scab, that is.

Best wishes.

 

[StewedMammal]

The part of her beak that comes out like that has been there since she was only a baby, so she might of been born with it. Also the dark part on the end is more like a bruise because its under the skin. I think it may have been a bug bite because her snood was fine until yesterday, but started as a bump at the base of the snood.

 

[chooks4life]

The part of her beak that comes out like that has been there since she was only a baby, so she might of been born with it. Also the dark part on the end is more like a bruise because its under the skin. I think it may have been a bug bite because her snood was fine until yesterday, but started as a bump at the base of the snood.

Well, nothing clear yet, then. The dark part on her snood may be one of those anomalies we can't explain so designate as 'nothing', and I hope it is, but just in case it might be worth considering that it could be something worse.

I don't believe it's a bruise. Birds bruise green generally, not brown, and the snood is a very unlikely place to get bruised on a female turkey. My toms would have occasional accidents where their snood flopped in the way while they ate and got pecked and yet they never got bruises you could see. A brown patch like that could be a lesion or dead flesh due to some viral activity. It could be due to an insect or spider bite, too.

It could also be the beginning of one form of fowl pox, so if you see other random patches of discolored skin or flesh on her or any of the others that aren't readily explainable, it may be one possible explanation. There are some other nasty diseases which cause lesions etc but it's not the likeliest explanation, just worth covering all bases just in case.

How's the swollen base doing? Still the same, worse, or better?

Best wishes.

 

[StewedMammal]

How's the swollen base doing? Still the same, worse, or better?

Best wishes.

Its still about the same. But I did notice that in the spot where the swelling started, that there is a tiny scab in the middle of the bump which looks like a mosquito bite. I also punctured the snood a little to see if it was dead, but blood still came out so it isn't dead.

 

[chooks4life]

Its still about the same. But I did notice that in the spot where the swelling started, that there is a tiny scab in the middle of the bump which looks like a mosquito bite. I also punctured the snood a little to see if it was dead, but blood still came out so it isn't dead.

I would keep a close eye on it personally and see if it gets better or worse.

Once I bought a turkey hen whose raised bumps all over her neck and head, the caruncles I think (if that term doesn't just refer to the larger lumps at the base of the neck) were all scabbed over, every single one. The people who sold her to me thought it was due to the chooks pecking all of them. Turned out it was actually dry fowl pox. Went away on its own and never turned into wet fowl pox, thankfully... But the little and innocuous scabs could have been the start of a serious problem otherwise. If you haven't seen pics of turkeys afflicted with wet fowl pox, it may help to search this forum for them... It's ugly and can occur in a matter of hours. Here's one thread on it:
Quote:
If you prefer artificial antibiotics then you may want to have some of those on hand just in case, because when dry pox turns to wet pox it can severely blow up overnight leaving them unable to eat or drink and about to die without intervention including surgery, and there's no guarantee this will save them either.

I don't know if it's pox obviously but it is an odd issue so it pays to be prepared just in case. I prefer natural antibiotics so I use things like raw garlic, but use whatever works and whatever you're comfortable with if you need to, obviously. If you have the resources and finances you may want to consider going for a tissue sample vet report but it may all just clear up on its own, it may be nothing. Your call, I'd go with my gut instinct on it if it were me.

Best wishes.

 

[StewedMammal]

Ok thank you