Treating sick turkeys - Warning, contains necropsy pictures!

casportpony

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Today I noticed that one of my older broad breasted white turkey girls is feeling a little off. Yesterday she looked fine and seemed to be eating normally, but today she is standing fluffed, head drawn in and isn't interested in food. Treatment hasn't started yet, but I did get a weight on her, she's 13.1kg (28.88 pounds). Have not seen any of her poop yet, but will post pictures as soon as I see her poop.

Please feel free to offer suggestions and comments.

-Kathy
 
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I hope it's not blackhead or histomoniasis, but the SafeGuard (fenbendazole) for 3-5 days in a row will treat the cecal or capillary worms if she has any. Here is an excerpt to read about capillary and cecal worms:

Cecal Worms
The Cecal worm is a common parasite of backyard poultry flocks. As the name implies, the cecal worm
inhabits the cecum of the bird. Cecal worms cause little or no damage to chicken flocks but the cecal
worm can carry the organism that causes blackhead disease in turkeys.
Earthworms ingest the infected cecal worm egg from poultry litter; turkeys that consume the earthworms
become infected with the blackhead organism. Turkeys can also become infected with the blackhead
organism from direct oral contact with the infected cecal worms. Turkeys and chickens shouldn’t be
housed together and turkeys shouldn’t range where chickens have ranged.

Capillaria: Capillary or Thread Worms
There are several species of capillaria in poultry; they affect different parts of the bird and cause a variety
of symptoms. Species that occur in the crop and esophagus cause thickening and inflammation of
the mucus membranes. Turkeys and game birds may suffer severe losses due to these parasites. Other
species of capillaria are prevalent in the lower intestinal tract and cause inflammation, hemorrhage and
erosion of the intestinal lining. Severe infestation can lead to death.
Some species of thread worms have a direct life cycle and some an indirect lifecycle. Control of threadworms
that have an intermediate host can be achieved by the control of the alternate host.
Capillaria are a common problem of deep litter houses; heavy infestations result in reduced growth, reduced
egg production and reduced fertility. If present in large numbers thread worms can be seen during
necropsy; eggs are difficult to find in bird droppings as they are very small.

Here are some links to read about blackhead disease:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/74/histamonosis-histomoniasis-blackhead
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/poultry/histomoniasis/overview_of_histomoniasis_in_poultry.html
 
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I hope it's not blackhead or histomoniasis, but the SafeGuard (fenbendazole) for 3-5 days in a row will treat the cecal or capillary worms if she has any.
I also hope it's not blackhead. This is one of those times where I wish there was a vet nearby that would do fecals for me. Not that it would change my mind on worming her, but it would be nice to know if she has a heavy load or not.

-Kathy
 
Went ahead and gave 7ml Safeguard and 300ml of water. She walked a few steps and pooped. Will post picture later.

-Kathy
 

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