turkey sinus and tylan questions

[elsiehammer]

I have 3 BR turkeys, a tom and 2 hens. The hens are about 9 months old, the tom about 18 months old. I believe that the hens came to me with sinus issues. (they were basically a rescue but I should have looked at them more carefully, even in the pouring rain. Live and learn.)
I have treated all 3 of them three times (2 weeks each time, with 2-3 weeks in between) with duramycin. Each time it helped some but didn't cure the swollen sinuses. They were all coughing the first time I treated and that was cleared up; no coughing for months. One hen in particular has very swollen sinuses under her eyes.
I should have gone with tylan the first time, though it seems very expensive for what I could find online. Now it seems like I better get serious and try to solve this problem before egg time.
I have many questions:
#1 Powder or injectable? What strength - Tylan 50 I think?
#2 If injectable, where on the turkey? and where would I get the syringes?
#3 Is there an inexpensive source for this antibiotic? I only have 3 turkeys and $50 for a jar of the powder seems costly.
#4 Should I even treat them? I ask this because maybe the eggs will all have the same disease and my idea about raising them without "drugs" is silly. Should I be thinking of butchering this group and starting over?
#5 What are the health ramifications of treating the turkeys for people - ie, should I be eating them after treatment? Should I eat them if they have the swollen sinuses?
#6 I wanted to give my niece one of the hens this spring (she has a BR tom) but that would be no kind of gift at all, right? She has no sickness in her mixed poultry flock.

I'm sure these are the silliest questions ever but I don't know much about turkey health. With the chickens, if they got sick they died and that was that (and I can't remember my last sick chicken, to tell the truth!). These turkeys cost a bit more and my hopes are higher.
Any help would be so so appreciated!

 

[purpletree23]

Duramycin has been so overused/abused that it's like giving chickens/turkeys koolaid when they are sick.

Tylan 50 soluble sounds like your best bet because you don't know where to purchase syringes and not sure where to inject. Getting syringes her in NH is impossible. Have to order through first state vet supply.

For 3 turkeys 1/4 teaspoon Tylan to 1/4 gallon water. Not so much waste. Make new solution for 5 days. Make sure this is the only water they have access to.

Tylan is expensive because it works. One bottle could treat hundreds of chickens so the cost isn't too bad.

I purchase my Tylan at firststatevetsupply.com

The other questions regarding eggs and meat and transmission through eggs can be answered by calling the telephone number on the bottle. You will able to talk to a vet.

THERE ARE NO SILLY QUESTIONS! We are all here to learn and pass on what we learned to help others.

There is still the option to cull. Spring is right around the corner and you can start again with a clean slate.

 

[elsiehammer]

Thank you so much for your reply. I knew I was really putting too many questions "out" there but it sometimes feels lonely staring at turkeys in the back yard by myself

Duramycin = koolaid. As a preschool teacher, I love simple words with lots of meaning. I will easily remember this comparison!
I'll go ahead and "bite" the bullet for the tylan. I want to raise more turkeys if I can figure out how, so I'll consider it part of the investment. Or, maybe cull. . . I'll ask my DH as he is the one that will do the icky part of that job.
You know, recently I called about another antibiotic (tetroxy/oxytetracycline) because the dosage wasn't easy to figure out for my few turkeys. I was amazed that the guy at the company was so helpful, and the vet called me back. Too bad the vet was 1000 miles away! I didn't end up using that antibiotic, but I should have remembered the tip about calling the company/vet. Excellent advice.


Koolaid. oh my goodness, you have NO idea how anti sugar/additives I am. I just am chuckling again at the analogy. Thanks for that.