Turkey Poult Question

[wabbit1964]

Question on Turkey Poults.... how long after hatching does it take for them to get stability and running around? The first one that hatched is seeming stable on his legs, the 2nd one does a lot of flopping around and ending up on his back. (less than 24 hours old).. Anyone with experience with this?? Ideas? Tips?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some can take up to a week the get steady. Keep flipping it over. You can put in in a smaller container, like a sour cream container with some paper towel on the bottom, so it can't flip for a few hours to hopefully develop some strength. Always keep them on paper towels for the first week or two so there's no slipping and no eating of the bedding.

 

[redbourbans]

I got 2 turkey poults what age do I clip there wings?

 

[wabbit1964]

Some can take up to a week the get steady. Keep flipping it over. You can put in in a smaller container, like a sour cream container with some paper towel on the bottom, so it can't flip for a few hours to hopefully develop some strength. Always keep them on paper towels for the first week or two so there's no slipping and no eating of the bedding.

Thank you very much for the tip about a small container. I do use paper towels. Thanks again for your reply

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I had a flipper. After reading about flip over syndrome I got worried and wrapped her up for a day. That's all it took and now s/he's fine

 

[wabbit1964]

I had a flipper. After reading about flip over syndrome I got worried and wrapped her up for a day. That's all it took and now s/he's fine

I have never heard of 'flip over syndrome' ... going to google it now. Thanks.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I hadn't either. I knew it couldn't be normal, though; she was struggling to get up and kicking her feet, but no matter what kept falling, always to the same side. I also held her a bit. She was falling to the left, so I held her in my palm with my fingers up to make an L to make a wall on her left side and keep her from falling over. I think this gave her support to work on standing and build the strength she needed to stand correctly. We did little physical therapy exercises like that her first two days. Who knows, maybe she would have done okay either way, but there was no way she could eat or drink or get under/away from the heat lamp and I didn't want to risk it. She was the only egg I had from my hen that was killed so I had to do my best to make sure she made it.

 

[R2elk]

I hadn't either. I knew it couldn't be normal, though; she was struggling to get up and kicking her feet, but no matter what kept falling, always to the same side. I also held her a bit. She was falling to the left, so I held her in my palm with my fingers up to make an L to make a wall on her left side and keep her from falling over. I think this gave her support to work on standing and build the strength she needed to stand correctly. We did little physical therapy exercises like that her first two days. Who knows, maybe she would have done okay either way, but there was no way she could eat or drink or get under/away from the heat lamp and I didn't want to risk it. She was the only egg I had from my hen that was killed so I had to do my best to make sure she made it.

I believe it was @gevshiba who posted that FOS (flip over syndrome) is caused by a vitamin A deficiency. She said she feeds alfalfa or kale to cure and prevent FOS. Some of the vitamin supplements are also high in vitamin A and can help get the poults back to normal.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I believe it was @gevshiba
who posted that FOS (flip over syndrome) is caused by a vitamin A deficiency.  She said she feeds alfalfa or kale to cure and prevent FOS.  Some of the vitamin supplements are also high in vitamin A and can help get the poults back to normal.

So it would be a vitamin deficiency in the hen, I assume, which would make the yolk deficient. I give all my new hatched a vitamin/electrolyte/probiotic mix. However, it corrected before she had her first drink. Going back to the deficiency being in the yolk, wouldn't all the hens eggs be deficient, or would it be based on daily nutrition fluctuations?

 

[R2elk]

So it would be a vitamin deficiency in the hen, I assume, which would make the yolk deficient. I give all my new hatched a vitamin/electrolyte/probiotic mix. However, it corrected before she had her first drink. Going back to the deficiency being in the yolk, wouldn't all the hens eggs be deficient, or would it be based on daily nutrition fluctuations?

I believe that it could be a deficiency in the hens causing it in the poults. I also think that it can be in all of the poults if the deficiency is bad enough in the hen. It can also be based on daily nutrition fluctuations and would show up in some and not others.

I don't have any FOS problems in my flock or any of the poults so have to believe that my hens are getting the right nutrients in there free range feeding. They do have access to grass all year long.