Turkey -- heat stroke, will he live?

[Denninmi]

I posted a detailed description of this on the turkey forum, but so far no replies, so I'll keep it really short.

One of my tom turkeys apparently got heat stroke this afternoon -- hasn't been much above 50 here since November, suddenly it went from 40 something to 83 in a couple of hours, and I was "de-winterizing" the turkey run, and it was probably 8-10 degrees hotter in there, and the birds were stressed and panting due to my working in there (they're not very tame).

He suddenly had basically a seizure -- flopped over, kind of rolling his head.

I didn't know what else to do, so I took him out and ran cold water over him for a bout 5 minutes. He kind of came out of it to the point he seemd to be at least aware of his surroundings.

This was around 3:00 this afternoon.

As of about 8:30 tonight, he was awake, seemed pretty alert, but very weak. He would get up, walk about 10 feet with his wings drooping, seemed winded, and would lay down again. I did see him take a small sip of water.

Just before dark, the rest of the turkeys were still awake/up, but he went into the back corner, laid down in the bedding, kind of fussed with a feather for a second, and then sort of folded his head back/tucked beak under wing (sort of) and basically fell asleep .

So, what do you think the prognosis is?

Is there anything I could do to help or prevent complications -- should I give antibiotics and electrolytes.

If I get up in the morning early (say 5:30 ish) and find him dead, would he still be ok to eat if I cleaned right away?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I hope your boy is ok.


If he was mine and he passed during the night - I would not process him for me, but I would for the dogs. If he passed before my eyes, I probably would process him for myself.

 

[tammye]

I would give him some electrolyte solution in his water it will help him overcome this event. I hope he does ok

 

[CaliBlueChicken]

I am going off of my nursing experience. I wouldn't give antibiotics. But I may try giving some electrolyte enhanced water. Hopefully he will do okay. I know when a human gets heat stroke or exhaustion it takes alot out of you and rest and hydration are key. Also I would make sure that he is not cold, if he is dehydrated, then it will be harder for him to regulate his body temp. I would make sure there were no drafts around him, maybe see about a ceramic lamp for extra warmth or a blanket if he will let you. You don't want to get him hot, just keep him comfortable. That's what I would do anyhow

I am not an expert. Best wishes!