tom turkey with bad feet

[emptynesterMom]

Yesterday, I was given a pair of adult BR turkeys from a person who could no longer care for them. The best I can tell, they have been kept all of their lives on a raised, wire floored,10"x4" cage. They look to be in pretty good shape except for the tom's feet. His claws are deformingly long and his feet look swollen. He was stressed from the move so I left him alone last night. This morning, he is up on his feet in a more normal stance and is walking with out any limp. I'm not quite sure what to do with his feet/claws. My turks are free ranged and I've never had to trim their claws. Are they like a dog? I mean, with a quick that you have to trim them a little at a time? Should I soak them in epsom salts?
On a side note it was a trip watching them on the ground for what I think was the first time. They weren't quite sure what dirt was but then discovered the joy of a dust bath and ,whoopee, found the scratch. If I can just get his feet in better shape , they are well on their way to being happy, healthy turks. Thanks for your advice.

 

[sourland]

Trim his nails as you woud a dog's. Trim a little at a time back to the quick. With routine trimmings you can force the quick back. Just imagine the joy they are having being free.

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

If they are swollen, soaking them in Epsom salt may help. The swelling may simply be caused from them living on wire all their lives. Turkeys, as a rule, shouldn't be kept on wire. Perhaps those people didn't know that. They get too large and the wire is painful on their feet. Give it some time and trim the nails, as sourland suggested, and the swelling may be reduced now that they are no longer on wire.

 

[emptynesterMom]

Thanks for the advice, I will soak his feet this afternoon and trim the claws then. In addition to the tom having damaged feet, both of them are a little underweight and very deconditioned, so they will live in separate from my flock for quarantine time - plus ? long it takes to get them in shape to integrate with the rest of my flock. I don't think the person who gave me these birds knew that they couldn't live on wire - I think their condition was what prompted him to give them away. Thank goodness he did before the damage was too severe to heal.