TURKEY POULT DYING - 2 mos old, lethargic, yellow poop, head twisting

[ekka]

Please help! Dying turkey poults....we live in SC, and have had chickens for years, but are new to turkeys. 2 weeks ago we got 5 mix breed turkey poults, all about 6 weeks old. They have a covered, enclosed 12x12 area with 2 large tree branches to roost, eat 20% crumble (non-medicated), get Electrolyte water and occasionally ACV water. 2 evenings ago I noticed "Angel" didn't roost. Yesterday morning she was lethargic, yellow poop, not eating, and on the ground. When she did get up, she staggered as if drunk & her wings dropped. I quarantined her, and gave her Electrolyte water and yogurt. After spending hours online I decided to try and treat her for Blackhead Disease & bought Metronidazole. That afternoon she starting doing this crazy head turning twisting thing, Angel could barely hold her head up. So, i gave the 1st dose of Metronidazole mixed with cayenne powder & yogurt (via syringe) and electrolyte water. By late evening Angel was VERY lethargic. I gave her another dose of Metronidazole and left a bowl of medicated 20% protein crumble for her. I didn't think she was going to live thru the night. Well she did, hense her name "Angel", but she didnt really look better, just stable. Gave her another round of electrolyte water this morning. Also this morning (Tues) I noticed another turkey poult "MIB" was down on the ground, head down, wings resting on the ground...but saw her at times eating & drinking too. Last night when i saw her sleeping on the roost she had clear liquid/mucus coming from her nostrils/beak. We thought we had a drooler . This afternoon I noticed her cheeks were very swollen. I also noticed the faces of the other 3 poults looked sunken in. Thinking bacterial infection now, we gave MIB & Angel amoxicillin in yogurt with cayenne powder, & of course Electrolyte water.

I am afraid I am gonna lose all my turkeys, and maybe my chicken flock if i can't figure out what is making them sick. Last weekend we sprayed the entire turkey & chicken areas with 10% Permethirin, dust bathed all of them with DE, and sprinkled DE on their food.

I have attached a picture of MIB. I have a short video of Angel I will try to upload.
I am at a loss, i think i have read & researched everything I can. I couldn't find much on turkeys. So please if you have any knowledge of what this is, or any suggestions, let me know asap.... thx

 

[PolarBerry]

So sorry you're having issues. Turkeys are such personable critters. Could it be coccidia?

I am new to turkeys as well and had one drop dead randomly... had neck and head weakness and yellow poo right before death. Granted, mine are young and go downhill faster than older ones with somewhat better immune systems. Mine are now all on corid.

Is there a vet who can do a fecal to rule out coccidia/parasites? Hopefully it's nothing too serious but hope others give you better insight.

Sounds like they are dehydrated if sunken in.

Have you posted on the turkey section? Most people in this portion are mainly chickens so cross post there if you haven't already.

 

[ekka]

TY. I didn't know there was a turkey section. I will try that.

 

[Eggsoteric]

Hop on over to the Turkey section. Lots of well-seasoned Turkey owners. Judging by the swelling and the other symptoms you've described, in my not so expert opinion, looks like you might be dealing with something respiratory.

Poults feeding requirements are different than that of chicks. They should be fed a higher protein feed. I start all my poults on a 28% game bird starter.

Best of luck

 

[ekka]

Note: I don't know the sexes of my poults yet, but I do refer to them as a she(s), wishful I guess. I also noticed a 3rd turkey poult ("Chocolate") looked a little thin through the face. No swelling though and she's one of the more active ones.

I do think "MIB" (poult with swollen sinus) has a respiratory infection/problem. She got a 2nd dose of Amox, ACV, Electrolytes, etc. She is still fairly active, roosted last night, and I have seen her eat and drink, swelling hadn't gone down any tho.

"Angel" (quarantined) is the poult I am really worried about. She is "stable" i guess. I gave her a 3rd dose of Metronidazole this morning, and she got Amoxicillin last night. She was up this morning doing circles with her head cocked sideways. Poop is still yellow/greenish liquid, wings drooping, etc.

If Angel has Blackhead, when did she contract it? Incubation period? Wouldn't all the others show same symptoms? Am I seeing a respiratory infection in MIB as secondary and Blackhead could be primary? If it is Blackhead, and they survive, will we ever be able to eat the eggs or the meat?

I am also concerned it may be Newcastle. Could one have Blackhead and the other Newcastle?

I do know something is going on, I just need to figure out what and how to fix it before it takes my entire flock.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

I replied to your post in the turkey section but am going to follow along here too

 

[ekka]

Sorry, I meant to it there......

 

[DwayneNLiz]

from what i have read about coryza, as i already stated, it is HIGHLY contagious- any birds showing symptoms should be isolated, it can be passed to other poultry species as well but not as easily. It is not easily combated and antibiotics dont do much for it, cleaning waters and chlorinating the water seems to help