Turkey Tom with swollen wattle

[AngryHippie]

I have a tom with a swollen wattle, it's huge. Can anyone please tell me what's wrong with him? This just started yesterday. I've attached a picture to help.

 

[AngryHippie]

2 days and no change, does anyone have any suggestions at all?

 

[silkielover88]

We use tea pro if it has any cuts or scratched on the skin. Another reason this could happen is not enough grit, and the gizzard doesn't work properly

 

[TurkenItUp209]

Happens to my dog a few times a year when she gets into a yellow jackets nest, starting from now until late fall. Could that of happened? Can turkeys safely have benedryl? My dog can and it clears it right up. Not suggesting you do that but it works for my dog.

 

[ivan3]

Does the area stay as red, a couple of hours after he's gone to roost? Was the crown of his head always somewhat prominent, or is it swollen as well. Did this progress over several days or happen suddenly? Has he been sparring with other toms? Benadryl is something to try (I'd go with same mg/kg for use in allergic reactions with humans). Could be anything from a bug bite/circulation problem/infection. Check him at night, just to see if there isn't some decrease in swelling when he's quiescent.

 

[AngryHippie]

It's been several days and the swelling seems to have gone down a little. We have bees on the property so it's possible he got a little too close to one. He is our only tom, so fighting probably wasn't an issue and he is acting perfectly normal. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens.

 

[El Senyor]

I have a Tom with the exact same problem. He seems otherwise normal, not sick or injured. But he did bleed profusely from his mouth when I had to pull him out of a fight over the "women" where he was the aggressor even all swelled up. He's about 20 lbs so to move him to the time-out cage I had to turn him upside down briefly. The bleeding stopped as soon as he was upright. At first I thought he was injured but that doesn't seem to be the case. He's eating ok but seems to have a little trouble seeing due to the swelling. There is no sign of infection or bruising or other odd symptoms except for the strange sudden swelling. It has been about 3 days with little change. Any ideas on what this might be? What happened to your bird? My other birds seem fine.

 

[El Senyor]

Just to update...the swelling has gone down substantially but he still looks a little freaky.

 

[lovelyqueenofir]

Was he okay after a while?? we are having the same problem with out Tom- he is also our only one. Its been like this for 24 hours and he seems to struggle to breath a little too. What did you end up doing for him?