Turkey recovery from blackhead!

[chris50270]

Hi everyone.. I don't post very often of BYC. I am someone who enjoys seeing everyone else's posts. But I do have a story about one of my turkeys and wanted to share. About 9 days ago I noticed one of my free range tom turkeys acting strange. Instead of his usual strutting behavior he was just standing around next to the fence across from where I have some hens in breeding pens. On the ground next to him I noticed several droppings that were bright yellow. I remember seeing on BYC that this color poop was a possible sign of Blackhead. And his lethargic actions also made me aware. Another weird thing was that his head seemed to have been drained of it's nice red & white color. It was more greenish-white in color. I grabbed up this turkey who I have now named ROSCO, and in the hospital pen he went. After confining him to the hospital pen I noticed that he had no appetite so the therapy begins. I started him on Metronidazole 250mg twice a day. I mixed sugar, water, and Poultry nutridrench and got this concoction down him using a baby goat tube feeder. I also cut up 3 boiled eggs into quarters and force fed those to him. I did all this twice a day for 8 days now. After the therapy this morning (day 8) I noticed him eating some of his Flock Raiser feed. Today is the first day that he has eaten on his own since I first put him in the hospital pen 9 days ago. You can only imagine how thrilled I was to see him eating his feed. I am convinced that Blackhead is what I was treating. His poop has been bright yellow up until about 2 days ago. Poop is now green again. And Rosco is now strutting and putting his tail feathers up again. You can only imagine how relieved and excited I am that I was able to get him through this. So that's my story~ thanks for allowing me to share.

Chris

 

[Thomasturkey]

Glad you turkey is getting food. Color of poop does not always mean blackhead. Any turkey that does not eat will get bright yellow poop. Its like stravation mode on a baby's poop. Have you seen bright green as "starvation stools" in a baby's diaper?

 

[chris50270]

Okay so this is what I was going by:

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-26481--,00.html

Clinical Signs

The symptoms of blackhead are quite distinctive, but the name is misleading in that the head of the bird does not always turn dark.

The first symptoms are not specific but are suggestive of blackhead. The birds stand with their heads tilted downward or drawn to the body. Their feathers are ruffled; their wings droop. Their eyes are partly closed. At first the birds are alert when they are disturbed but they quickly become indifferent if they are seriously ill. Young birds may die within two or three days after the first signs of illness, but older birds may suffer for several days before dying or starting a slow recovery. In wild turkeys in Michigan, the disease does not appear as an epidemic, but rather is diagnosed in occasional individuals.

The passage of thin, sulphur-colored droppings is characteristic of blackhead, but the disease is well advanced in turkeys before this is conspicuous; this does not often appear as a symptom in chickens. The period of incubation after contact with infection is 15 to 21 days.


So maybe it was or maybe it wasn't blackhead. I'm just glad I nursed Rosco through it and that he is okay! I would do the same regimen if I'm faced with this scenario again.

 

[Thomasturkey]

That’s all that really matters is your turkey is better. I just mentioned it because I see it in my turkeys that go off food for awhile.

 

[ivan3]

Regardless of accuracy of Dx (lab test/necroscopy only way to know for sure), the `heroic' measures, e.g., "goat tube feeder" indicate that ROSCO is one very fortunate turk.

Main thing at this point (as putatative agent seems to be H.G./H.M.) is to put all poultry on regular worming schedule (Valbazen, for instance).

Congrats on the successful recovery. Please update.

Another cause of yellow droppings (ploppings) is owing to the penchant of brooding hens to drink a lot and eat litttle; though if an egg `goes bad', she'll eat it and squirt quite the yellow period J.Pollock in the run the following day (otherwise `symptom' free). Just an FYI on the subject.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

So I have a hen with the same signs chris described. Only having chickens before I thought it looked like cocci . . . I went and picked up some corid today, now I'm rethinking that . . . help
should I try the Metronidazole? it seems to have worked here, or the Tylan I have heard so much of . . . help
she has no reperatory symptoms just the same ones chris talked about . . . help

 

[Denninmi]

Nice story, good job, and thanks for sharing.

 

[Frosty]

Wether or not it was indeed Black Head (and the symptoms do fit), I am sure that the force feeding did help. So GREAT job with all of the time and effort that you put into his care!!!

Usually when you see yellow poop, it indicates that the liver is involved. This would likely also be the case with starvation. When the body thinks it's starving, it releases fat for energy. When too much fat is released, it pretty much clogs the liver so that it can not function as it should. I can't remember what it's called in humans, but in cats it's called Hepatic Lipidosis (aka 'Fatty Liver') and can kill if not treated. So wether the Metronidazole or the feeding helped, I would say that you definately saved his life.

And I agree, I would start a good worming schedule.

 

[chris50270]

Rosco is one of my free-range turkeys and had not been wormed. I had already wormed my turkeys in the breeding pens with Valbazen. I use 4cc per gallon of water for 3 consecutive days. Rosco has since been wormed with Valbazen straight down the hatch. And I am penning my free range turkeys long enough to worm them as well.

 

[down2roots]

Chris, THANK YOU so much for sharing your experience with Blackhead! It saved my lovely hen from death, I believe.

My Turkey Girl started acting differently a few days before I moved her back to my place after wintering at a friend's farm. I had no idea what the problem was, she just seemed drugged and droopy-eyed, with no real energy to eat or forage or anything. I didn't know how serious it was or could be, so I was slow to respond (and I feel terrible it took me so long). It was about 5+ days in when I was able to sit down and do some research. I found this post and a few others, and immediately realized she must have Blackhead (she had been kept with lots of chickens at the winter spot). I read this post and I instantly went out and put cayenne in their water, and also began force-feeding her cooked egg. I dumped a good bit of cayenne in the egg as it cooked, and began a routine of force-feeding her cayenne egg twice a day. I also mixed in some spinach with the egg so she was getting fresh greens, and I mixed up small cups of electrolytes (Emergen-C) and force-fed her a few tablespoons of that about once a day. By now her little system was SO depleted and she was practically down to feather and bone.

I also found information on the drug Metronidazole. I live in a smallish town, though, and NO one had any on their shelves. I was afraid that if I ordered any online, she'd be dead by the time it arrived. By this time she'd been suffering the full symptoms of Blackhead for over a week (tough little girl, thank god!) I scoured the area, as far as an hour away, but still No one had any Metronidazole or Fish Zole (as it's often labeled). I wasn't seeing any improvement in her condition with just the cayenne, so I ordered some Zole just to be safe ($10 on eBay for 100 pills), and continued the feeding and cayenne routine. I continued to put lots of cayenne in the water, too, so that her mate would be getting a good dose. He never ended up showing any symptoms, thankfully!

By the time the Metronidazole arrived in the mail, she had been in the thick of the Blackhead for 10+ days, but was still hanging on. The force-feeding and cayenne are surely what kept her alive that long. And the love...She got plenty of that! She's always enjoyed being petted and will doze off on your lap if petted rhythmically and gently. I then began the Zole regimen - (1) 250mg pill at night, and a half pill in the morn, because by now she only weighed a few pounds and I was afraid the full pill twice a day would be too much. The common dosage for the Zole (I believe) is 50mg per kg of bird, twice a day for 5-7 days. I did this for 6 days. It took awhile before I started seeing any improvement in her condition, but now she appears to be feeling almost normal again (3 weeks after I initially noticed her symptoms). She still won't eat any grain-feed, all I've seen her eat are bugs from the yard (they have a 1/4 acre to themselves now), which may explain why she became ill and her Boy did not - She ONLY eats bugs/worms, and he ONLY eats grain-feed from their feeder, as far as I can tell. This habit must've developed over the winter, where she was living with chickens and was probably eating worms containing the protozoa eggs.

Anyway, I wanted to say that this thread/post was a crucial reference in healing my turkey from Blackhead! Thank you SO much! Now my beautiful, sweet, smart little Turkey Girl is still with us.