- Jun 18, 2013
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I noticed my tom turkey (royal palm) is acting odd today. Mind you, the heat is high - 93-94 degrees with heat index of 102-104. He is sitting in the corner of his small run area, back to the door, breathing/panting. That in itself isn't so unusual given the heat I guess...they are all taking it easy in the shade and panting/wings out, etc.
But yesterday there was several areas of watery bright yellow poop, and today, it's bright GREEN. His head and comb/waddle, etc is all white, almost yellowish at the bottoms. Normally, he gets pretty red with me...but it runs the red-white-blue color scheme.
I have a variety of birds: 3 guineas, 2 adult royal palm turkeys, and 2 of their poults (about 8-10 weeks maybe??). We also have 13 chickens (11 hens/2 roosters) plus 3 new chicks (almost 3 weeks). The turkeys/guineas pen together (with the hen and poults separate from the guineas and tom); the chickens are in a separate coop that is next to the turkey coop. Their small enclosed runs are side by side, but the birds are separate.
That's the environment. During the day the last few days, I let the chickens and the turkey hen/poults roam in the yard while the guineas and tom turkey are penned in the large run (guineas can fly out though if they want). This was so I could open the chicken coop for the young chicks due to airflow in this heat. Everyone's been good with that. (Two days ago, the tom turkey was out int he main yard with everyone.) We also have a wild turkey hen that has been squatting in our yard/areas for 3 months now. We don't typically let her stay in any of the coops (unless she goes in the run and won't come out...or if it's raining hard)- and she never associates with the turkeys, especially the tom. She thinks she's one of the chickens. But she usually roosts in the trees like normal every night.
I tried to do some research, but so many options come up. Blackhead is one that came up. ANother was that maybe he was starving?? I switched over to the treadle feeders several weeks back. I don't know if the turkey and guineas have fully figured it out or not. I typically prop it open for them most days. Could it be he's not eating?? Other than some morning scratch grain, I never see him eat. He's very temperamental around me, so trying to "train" him to use the treadle has proven difficult. But our squirrel and mouse problem was so bad, I was trying to eliminate the open feed. I'm going to go out and put a bowl of food and maybe some fresh tomato or something out for him to see if he eats.
If it IS blackhead, or some other disease, what can I do? Vets are not an option. Do we isolate him and try some home remedy or medication?
And how can I prevent this from striking the rest of the flocks? How do you clean the area he's been at without spreading the contagion or whatever it is?
Help??
But yesterday there was several areas of watery bright yellow poop, and today, it's bright GREEN. His head and comb/waddle, etc is all white, almost yellowish at the bottoms. Normally, he gets pretty red with me...but it runs the red-white-blue color scheme.
I have a variety of birds: 3 guineas, 2 adult royal palm turkeys, and 2 of their poults (about 8-10 weeks maybe??). We also have 13 chickens (11 hens/2 roosters) plus 3 new chicks (almost 3 weeks). The turkeys/guineas pen together (with the hen and poults separate from the guineas and tom); the chickens are in a separate coop that is next to the turkey coop. Their small enclosed runs are side by side, but the birds are separate.
That's the environment. During the day the last few days, I let the chickens and the turkey hen/poults roam in the yard while the guineas and tom turkey are penned in the large run (guineas can fly out though if they want). This was so I could open the chicken coop for the young chicks due to airflow in this heat. Everyone's been good with that. (Two days ago, the tom turkey was out int he main yard with everyone.) We also have a wild turkey hen that has been squatting in our yard/areas for 3 months now. We don't typically let her stay in any of the coops (unless she goes in the run and won't come out...or if it's raining hard)- and she never associates with the turkeys, especially the tom. She thinks she's one of the chickens. But she usually roosts in the trees like normal every night.
I tried to do some research, but so many options come up. Blackhead is one that came up. ANother was that maybe he was starving?? I switched over to the treadle feeders several weeks back. I don't know if the turkey and guineas have fully figured it out or not. I typically prop it open for them most days. Could it be he's not eating?? Other than some morning scratch grain, I never see him eat. He's very temperamental around me, so trying to "train" him to use the treadle has proven difficult. But our squirrel and mouse problem was so bad, I was trying to eliminate the open feed. I'm going to go out and put a bowl of food and maybe some fresh tomato or something out for him to see if he eats.
If it IS blackhead, or some other disease, what can I do? Vets are not an option. Do we isolate him and try some home remedy or medication?
And how can I prevent this from striking the rest of the flocks? How do you clean the area he's been at without spreading the contagion or whatever it is?
Help??
And that crazy bird is my husband's "pet" (right down to giving him "scritches" on the head). Me...not a fan, but he's a good breeder so far.
I have a scratch from one of mine as I write this! Let me know if he improves this evening. I always worry about my baby goats as they seem so slow and lethargic, but as soon as the sun starts setting they go NUTS! Climbing, running, jumping, etc..........
