Turkey Talk for 2014

[Attila the Hen]

I was told to join this discussion and bring my concern to all of you who are turkey experts.

I was given a 9 month old midget white this week. He never seemed to eat much but today he isn't eating at all and is lethargic putting his head under his wing from time to time.

It is cold out but not that cold. I don't see any yellow droppings in fact I don't really see much in the way of droppings under his perch from last night meaning he didn't eat yesterday. I have never had turkeys--only chickens-- and they are eating machines.

Also, he isn't responding to me and gobbling. Just very quiet.

Suggestions of any sort would be welcome and also what are turkey's favorite treats? Maybe I can entice him to eat.

thank you

 

[Attila the Hen]

One more thing. I felt his keel bone and it is very prominent. Is that normal for turkeys or is he starving to death? I am going to the store to see if I can find a special treat for him.

 

[uphilljill]

Mealworms are always a hit. Mine also eat all kinds of diced up fruit & veggies for treats.

Since he's new and so skinny, you might want to consider treating him for worms and mites. A heavy parasite load could cause weight loss. Is there Blackhead in your area?

Also, do you have him in quarantine?

 

[Arielle]

I would treat him with a general antibiotic too if he is not eating and drinking. He needs support asap!!

 

[piglett]

I would treat him with a general antibiotic too if he is not eating and drinking. He needs support asap!!

we had a hen turkey who hurt her leg over the winter

we had her inside of a large dog crate in the kitchen (yes we are strange)

my wife gave her duramycin & chick-saver in the water

she also force fed yogurt (the bird didn't know what yogurt was)

it worked & the hen is now laying for us

 

[Sydney Acres]

One more thing. I felt his keel bone and it is very prominent. Is that normal for turkeys or is he starving to death? I am going to the store to see if I can find a special treat for him.

He was probably a bit sick to start with, and got pushed over the edge with the stress of rehoming. Listlessness and not eating are non-specific signs of most diseases -- basically it's the bird's way of saying, "I feel lousy." You should be able to feel the keel bone, but there should also be plenty of muscle on either side of it. Since you're familiar with chickens, the heritage turkey's breast should have about the same amount of muscle as a well fleshed dual purpose breed chicken. Much less than a broiler, but much more than a layer hybrid. So palpable, but not sharp, and filled out with plenty of flesh on either side. If there's the impression of a dip on either side, he's way too thin.

If you're interested in taking him to the veterinarian, do it today. Be sure that the doctor has lots of experience with birds, and with chickens and/or turkeys if possible. I don't know how far you are from UGA, but they have an excellent avian and exotic department at the vet school. Birds tend to hide their illness until they just don't have the strength to put on a good act anymore, so by the time a bird is showing you that it is listless and not eating, it is really sick.

If you're not interested in taking him to the veterinarian, then definitely deworm him with a broad-spectrum dewormer. You can get some varieties from a farm store, or you may be able to get a local veterinarian to sell you some without seeing the bird (in case the only thing available at the farm store is "cattle sized"). Use it according to the directions on the label. Most chicken doses also apply to turkeys. You should try to get a weight on your bird to be sure you are giving the right dose. If you can't weigh him, dose according to your best guess. The Midget White is not listed in the SOP, so there is no standard weight. Some people say they are just miniaturized versions of the Beltsville Small White, which the SOP lists as 17 lbs for a young tom. I seem to remember reading that the Midget White was bred to be around 12 lbs, but your specific bird may be larger or smaller, and has also lost some weight. The dewormers have a fairly wide therapeutic and safety range, so if you can't get a weight on him and can't really estimate it, dosing at 12 lbs would likely be safe and effective. If there is a chance that you would slaughter him, be sure to consider drug withdrawal times. Most of these medications won't have anything listed for turkeys, so follow the time for chickens. If there's no withdrawal time listed for chickens, you may be able to find recommendations online for whatever you use. If there's nothing specified, most recommendations are for a 60 day withdrawal time.

Treat him for mites, but don't go crazy with the insecticide on a sick bird. Usually just a light but thorough dusting of the fluff around the vent (the turkey butt), and a quick sprinkle under each wing, will do well for a sick bird without the stress of handling involved in dusting the whole body. Since this is an urgent problem, don't mess around with the "natural products," which don't always work or take a long time to work. Just go straight for the dust that contains 0.25% permethrin. I hate using it, but it works. (But do ask at your local feed store if there's any local mites that are resistant to it, as the bugs are different in different parts of the country. They may recommend a different product specific for the local pests.)

At this stage try to get him to eat anything that's healthy, and don't forget water. Dehydration makes any problem worse, often much worse, and suppresses appetite further. He may not feel well enough to go to the waterer to drink, so bring water to him in a bowl and put it up to his beak (if he's tame, or if it doesn't frighten him). My boys prefer water out of a bowl more than a chicken waterer. If he doesn't drink on his own, you can syringe feed water to most birds/turkeys by getting a 10-12 ml syringe (or smaller, depending on you hand strength -- many women with small hands do better with a 3 or 6 ml syringe to get finer control of the plunger, but you have to refill it more often). Do not put a needle on the syringe. Fill it with water, and slowly apply the water to the side of the beak. You'll find a "sweet spot" somewhere on the side of the beak where the water gets sucked in, instead of just dripping out. Infuse the water into the "sweet spot" slowly, so that he has to swallow about every 30 seconds. Any slower and it takes forever to get enough water into him, and any faster and they get overwhelmed with the amount of water and won't cooperate. Don't be frustrated that he shakes his head sometimes and water goes everywhere. It'll happen, but you can usually still get quite a bit into them, despite a little bit of loss when they shake. Depending on how big he is, and how dehydrated he is, he may need a lot of water. Last night my two boys (20-30 lbs each) drank half the volume of a 20 oz bowl between them right before bed, so turkeys can drink a lot (each oz is 30 ml, so that was around 150 ml each). Most sick birds should be offered water every 2 hours, and should be syringed water if they don't drink. In a midget turkey, I'd try to get 25-50 ml into it at each offering, or more if he's accepting it easily. But you have to balance the need for water with the amount of stress that the syringing is causing. Don't insist on a certain amount to the point that you push him over the edge.

For food, think of foods that they'd eat in the wild, such as grains, worms, berries, greens/grasses, that type of thing. That may stimulate his natural appetite. You might also contact the previous owner to see what he was previously fed (some recently rehomed animals won't accept a different food), and if there are any preferred treats. Brightly colored things are sometimes more stimulating than dull appearing foods, so strawberries, cranberries, blackberries, those sort of things are very appealing. Canned corn, earthworms, mealworms, sunflower seeds, scratch grains, cooked oatmeal, cut up pieces of whole grain bread or pancake, hot peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, raisins, curried rice, any berries, little bits of shredded chicken, applesauce, shreeded carrots, chopped brussel sprouts, Zoopreem Natural Parrot pellets (like dog kibble, but made for birds), and lots of other things are among my turkey's favorite treats. But mine were raised to eat everything, so that won't apply to every turkey. They're like kids -- if they're raised to eat whatever is on their plate and they're given lots of variety, they eat everything. If they've not been exposed to lots of different foods, then they may find variety interesting, or they may find it scary. If you can't get him to eat enough, you can syringe feed him using a hand-feeding formula, designed for feeding baby parrots and available at most large pet stores. Mix it up according to the directions and syringe feed it the same way as described above with water, although it will be messier. When mixed per directions, it should include all the water needs of a healthy bird, but for sick and dehydrated birds I like to increase the water by 25-50%, especially on the first day or two. . They can also be tube fed, but most people aren't comfortable with that.

Oh, almost forgot, be sure to quarantine him from your other birds. In some ways it will increase his stress, because they are flock animals that don't like being alone. But he is in no shape to establish himself in the pecking order, so in that aspect being around new birds is too stressful in itself. But the main reason to isolate him is to prevent him from spreading anything to your other birds. All new birds should be quarantined for some time. I like one month, but most people do 2-3 weeks with no problems. Bringing sick birds into your flock is sometimes a quick way to make you entire flock sick.

Good luck with him. It can be difficult to bring a debilitated bird around when it has the extra stress of rehoming, and it looks at you like a scary stranger. Hope this information helps.

 

[piglett]

Birds tend to hide their illness until they just don't have the strength to put on a good act anymore, so by the time a bird is showing you that it is listless and not eating, it is really sick.



.

with chickens i have found that once a bird shows weakness it's on deaths doorstep
at least with chickens they have a 50/50 chance of making it at that point

 

[Sydney Acres]

Quote:
Yes, if left to their own devices. But rehydration, nutritional support, good nursing care, and appropriate medical care will bring the majority of them around (not including viral infections or cancer, of course). Birds are some of the toughest species out there, much more resilient than mammals, but they're also better at hiding their illness until the last minute. I've seen many birds that were so weak they couldn't walk, stand, or even lift their heads come around with parasite control, rehydration, and nutrition. The recovery rate depends on why they're sick, and how aggressively the illness is treated.

 

[Momhunter]

Mid day up date-- 3 of the 6 turkey eggs have pipped!! Today is day 26.
12 of the 36 chicken chicks have hatched and a bunch more pipped. Today is day 20
Nothing from the quail yet on day 15 for them.
So far so good!!

 

[Momhunter]

Make that 4 out of 6 turkey eggs pipped I'm hopeful that y'all's suggestions and my adjustments maybe helped this hatch.