Tips To Help You When Posting Questions About Your Poult Or Turkey

[NewbeeDoo]

Im sorry, the details are, he was a gift from a friend who ordered several from a feed store...we think BBB. We were also given 5 of his chhickens to add to our 1...we got him at 4 weeks. He free ranges with the chickens, its currently wet here as its rainy season and there is some standing water. He's on 20% protein flock raiser and gets some treats, mostly yogurt every other day or so.
Sorry, that was the whole purpose of this post and I forgot Thanks again!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Thank you so much! I thought about PMing you as I noticed you have a lot of knowledge, but then again, maybe someone else can benefit from reading my question as I cannot find an answer yet!!
Here it is, my turkey (roughly 4 months old) came up back to the coop 2 days ago limping, that night he (I don't know what it is) wouldn't even walk up to the roost and slept under the feeder! He's in obvious pain and I finally got help to examine him better today and it looks like he broke his "thumb" toe!!!! All the way up his leg pointing up and out towards his belly! What do I do? It seems an odd toe to splint but he's unable to move really...any thoughts??
I put him in a smaller separate pin and am trying to keep him dry with food nearby...should I be feeding him asprin or not?

Thanks so much in advance! I'm so new to learning all this and am loving it, but it's been VERY time consuming! Thankful for the experienced ones sharing in their wisdom!!

Sorry to hear about your tom. I wonder what happened to the poor guy. That is a tricky position where his toe has been placed. If you were to try to splint it, can you easily move/align the toe back in to place? I think I understand how the toe is currently positioned. Can you post a pic of it? If not, that's ok. We really need to try to splint it but we don't want to hurt him.

And yes, he sounds like he definitely needs aspirin to help with the pain. Please see administration directions below.

ASPIRIN SOLUTION

Used as a general treatment for reducing distress conditions of birds (fever or listlessness) that accompanies many diseases.

Dissolve five (5 grain) aspirin tablets in one gallon of water.

Offer this solution free-choice to the birds for the duration of an illness. The solution aspirin equivalent to 25 grains/gallon or 324 mg/gallon of drinking water. The dosage rate is about 25 mg/lb body weight per day.

You may want to feed it a little yogurt to help with the aspirin so that it's digestive system is not irritated. If it were me, I would cook up a batch of "soft foods" for him. I would make him eggs/grits/yogurt combo. I think that if I'm sick, I want this type of comfort food. I don't want any "hard" food like pellets or corn (but that's just me). It's like when a person has a cold, a nice hot bowl of soup soothes the soul. If he is eating whatever feed you have, then just go with that. Keep him in a quiet cool place away from others so the noise and movements don't disturb him. He needs his rest and needs a lot of it.

Please keep us posted.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Im sorry, the details are, he was a gift from a friend who ordered several from a feed store...we think BBB. We were also given 5 of his chhickens to add to our 1...we got him at 4 weeks. He free ranges with the chickens, its currently wet here as its rainy season and there is some standing water. He's on 20% protein flock raiser and gets some treats, mostly yogurt every other day or so.
Sorry, that was the whole purpose of this post and I forgot Thanks again!

Excellent follow up info. Sounds like he is well take care of. Good job!

 

[NewbeeDoo]

Thanks for the encouragement...I sometimes wonder as everything and then some has gone wrong since we got everyone just 4 months ago!!!! Heres a pic...not much help as he's not real cooperative and I only have 1 hand to maneauver him with. I gave him the asprin with some whey yogurt and oats and when I came back the food was gone and he didn't wince as much when I examined him. Looked at the toe in question and it seemed like it was where it was suppossed to be! ...maybe I just didn't realize they can move independant of the other foot or maybe he pushed it back in place, but at any rate he had movement in it and when I wiggled it, it seemed on there though it was shaking.
Overall he's eating really well but still not moving much and when he does its on his...elbows ...? It seems as though its more painful on his right leg. He was drooling when I picked him up too...don't know if that's a symptom. He's also not staying on dry ground and moving to the wettest place in the pen! Is that normal?
I have him out in the grass sunning now, not sure where to go from here. No swelling, seems like his legs, knees/elbows are in joint...no obvious thorns or cuts on his feet and no other symptoms! Could it be something like Mereks? (Please say no!)
Thank you again so much for your expertise! Should I continue giving the asprin? I dont know how much is too much long term...thanks again!

 

[NewbeeDoo]

Here he is now...sorry about the turd! He is doing good about staying out of his poops!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I'm far from an expert but I have a little experience with turkeys. Glad to hear that he "gobbled" up the food. I would probably give the aspirin every 4 hours - 6 hours for a few days. He will tell you if he is still hurting.

Just re-read one of your post and you said you have a BBB. That is a fast growing breed. BBBs are born to be eaten in 4 - 6 months. You have a true meat bird. That will probably explain everything. His legs may be giving out on him. He is a "table" bird. Sorry. :/

What were your intentions when you got this turkey? Pet? It's similar to that of a Cornish meat bird. They are born to be eaten within a few months. Some can live to be longer but the odds are very slim.

But if he were not a table bird, this is how I would answer your post.

It doesn't sound like Mereck's.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1098/2902-1098.html

Do you have any feral cats or rat infestation in your area (outside, woods, etc?) Where did he come from when he appeared injured? Do you have predators that could have fought with him and injured him? This baffles me.

Don't worry about the poop pic. In fact, I'm glad that it was included. Seeing good poop is good. And that was a question that I was going to ask.

What does the bottom of his feet look like? What about his hocks? Be careful with him always on his elbows. They will swell very bad and that will be the next problem. I know this sounds crazy but can you rig up some kind of cushion for his elbows?

I just think his time is limited. Sorry.

 

[NewbeeDoo]

I'm far from an expert but I have a little experience with turkeys. Glad to hear that he "gobbled" up the food. I would probably give the aspirin every 4 hours - 6 hours for a few days. He will tell you if he is still hurting.

Just re-read one of your post and you said you have a BBB. That is a fast growing breed. BBBs are born to be eaten in 4 - 6 months. You have a true meat bird. That will probably explain everything. His legs may be giving out on him. He is a "table" bird. Sorry.

What were your intentions when you got this turkey? Pet? It's similar to that of a Cornish meat bird. They are born to be eaten within a few months. Some can live to be longer but the odds are very slim.

But if he were not a table bird, this is how I would answer your post.

It doesn't sound like Mereck's.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1098/2902-1098.html

Do you have any feral cats or rat infestation in your area (outside, woods, etc?) Where did he come from when he appeared injured? Do you have predators that could have fought with him and injured him? This baffles me.

Don't worry about the poop pic. In fact, I'm glad that it was included.

Seeing good poop is good. And that was a question that I was going to ask.

What does the bottom of his feet look like? What about his hocks? Be careful with him always on his elbows. They will swell very bad and that will be the next problem. I know this sounds crazy but can you rig up some kind of cushion for his elbows?

I just think his time is limited. Sorry.

Thank you for the info, the plan was to have him for Thanksgiving dinner! He has taken a growth spurt the last week so I wondered if that was his problem too, but I didn't think that his legs would completely give out like that...is that normal? He's definitely not full grown yet...I was wondering if I would have to rig him up somehow eventually, but if the fast growth is the case, what are the chances that his legs will heal?
He came up limping from under the chickens' favorite bush, a philodendron...now that I think about it, they're poisonous to cats and dogs, I wonder if he ate some if lameness would be a symptom! Yes, he's had great, huge poos! No rats or cats that I've seen on our property. The bottom of his feet look ok, little pads under each toe joint...I think this is normal, but like I said, I have VERY little experience with poultry! His knees look the same and not red...yet. I think if he's on the ground like he is now, he'd eventually get skin irritations too.
if he doesn't heal, at what point should we process him? I just feel bad that he's in such a predicament! Thank you so much for your help in solving this puzzle!!

 

[NewbeeDoo]

This may explain the drooling! What about not walking though, maybe just the pain?
http://www.pawsdogdaycare.com/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/heartleaf-philodendron-poisonous-pets

 

[motherhubbert68]

Thanks kountry girl you have been a real big help.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I'm far from an expert but I have a little experience with turkeys. Glad to hear that he "gobbled" up the food. I would probably give the aspirin every 4 hours - 6 hours for a few days. He will tell you if he is still hurting.


Just re-read one of your post and you said you have a BBB. That is a fast growing breed. BBBs are born to be eaten in 4 - 6 months. You have a true meat bird. That will probably explain everything. His legs may be giving out on him. He is a "table" bird. Sorry. :/


What were your intentions when you got this turkey? Pet? It's similar to that of a Cornish meat bird. They are born to be eaten within a few months. Some can live to be longer but the odds are very slim.


But if he were not a table bird, this is how I would answer your post.


It doesn't sound like Mereck's.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1098/2902-1098.html


Do you have any feral cats or rat infestation in your area (outside, woods, etc?) Where did he come from when he appeared injured? Do you have predators that could have fought with him and injured him? This baffles me.


Don't worry about the poop pic. In fact, I'm glad that it was included. Seeing good poop is good. And that was a question that I was going to ask.


What does the bottom of his feet look like? What about his hocks? Be careful with him always on his elbows. They will swell very bad and that will be the next problem. I know this sounds crazy but can you rig up some kind of cushion for his elbows?


I just think his time is limited. Sorry.

Thank you for the info, the plan was to have him for Thanksgiving dinner! He has taken a growth spurt the last week so I wondered if that was his problem too, but I didn't think that his legs would completely give out like that...is that normal? He's definitely not full grown yet...I was wondering if I would have to rig him up somehow eventually, but if the fast growth is the case, what are the chances that his legs will heal?
He came up limping from under the chickens' favorite bush, a philodendron...now that I think about it, they're poisonous to cats and dogs, I wonder if he ate some if lameness would be a symptom! Yes, he's had great, huge poos! No rats or cats that I've seen on our property. The bottom of his feet look ok, little pads under each toe joint...I think this is normal, but like I said, I have VERY little experience with poultry! His knees look the same and not red...yet. I think if he's on the ground like he is now, he'd eventually get skin irritations too.
if he doesn't heal, at what point should we process him? I just feel bad that he's in such a predicament! Thank you so much for your help in solving this puzzle!!

Yes, it is possible. Especially if they have a spike in their growth. The legs aren't able to handle the weight. I think you mentioned something about "rigging" something up to help him. If you know me, I will "rig up"or "create" anything to make it work for my animals. Just think about what you would need to "apply" to him to allow him to still be a mobile but give his legs time, space and tools to get those legs going. Now after saying that, you should consider that it may be neurological and they won't ever go back to the way they were. If he ate something, he needs an activated charcoal/water combo to flush out all toxins. But I doubt that because you said he gobbled up his food. You can try a toxin cleanse. It' won't hurt him. If poison is not the problem, then he would have been cleansed with the charcoal. Make sure that he is eating and drinking. You need to cushion the area that he sitting down the most on. You don't want those to get irritated and swollen.

Let me know if you want to do the Podiatry/Physical/Leg Therapy route and we will see what we can do.