Turkey with blackhead, unsure how to proceed...

[m1chelle1]

Hello all,

My 4 month old rescue turkey Jasper (BBB) has blackhead, I believe (yellow stools, lethargic, weak). He was very lethargic yesterday and was in bad shape last night. Was looking so bad I was sure he wouldnt make it. I gave him water with poultry vitamins through a syringe for the evening and before bed, and gave him some nutri drench as well. I also had read about cayenne, but he is not eating and drinking on his own, so I mixed the cayenne into water and gave it to him via a syringe before bed as well. I did not isolate him yesterday as it seemed like his girls (11 guineas and 3 chickens he has been raised with) were really helping him to keep up fighting. It was sweet they would surround him and nap with him, and I really think they were just an encouragement to him and knew something was wrong and I didnt have the heart to separate them. But I do understand the need to isolate sick birds, and I have him isolated inside this morning, in the cool air, and am going to be feeding him greek yogurt through a syringe and his vitamins and water throughout the day, with his daily doses of cayenne. Anyone have any more recommendations? is there too much cayenne i can give him? I'm just not sure. I'm sure that must have been what helped him yesterday because he was in dire straights.
I also am wondering, as this is my first turkey and first experience with blackhead, is there a timeframe that he needs to be isolated for, specifically? Or just until he is well again? Also, how do I prevent this in the future? I have mixed flocks, they all range together, and I also have adult chickens. They all go where they want so there is no real way to keep the chickens away from the turkey, etc. So I'm hoping for other solutions, if there are any. I appreciate all responses.

Thanks all!!

M

 

[muddy75]

@OneMountainAcres @R2elk @casportpony

 

[OneMountainAcres]

This is what I found:

Proactively treat the flock with cayenne, vitamin E to boost the immune system, and garlic water to act as an anti-microbial

I think they only way to prevent it is by keeping the chickens and turkeys seperate but since that's not possible, I would just routinely add supplements to all the water/ food they have access too. Maybe not a much as you are using to treat it but like a maintenence doseage.

 

[m1chelle1]

This is what I found:

Proactively treat the flock with cayenne, vitamin E to boost the immune system, and garlic water to act as an anti-microbial

I think they only way to prevent it is by keeping the chickens and turkeys seperate but since that's not possible, I would just routinely add supplements to all the water/ food they have access too. Maybe not a much as you are using to treat it but like a maintenence doseage.

Thank you! Any advice on how long to keep him isolated? He seems to be lonely and I don’t wanna keep him away for too long if I don’t have to

 

[m1chelle1]

He’s gotten his appetite back this morning, thankfully. And is eating. He’s also loving the cayenne water, only drinking that one idk why he loves it so much but I guess that’s what he needed

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Thank you! Any advice on how long to keep him isolated? He seems to be lonely and I don’t wanna keep him away for too long if I don’t have to

I would say not until he seems to have bounced back. Any time I have to seperate a bird, I don't put them back with the flock until they seem completely normal again. It's hard to keep them away from their friends but it's worth it to keep everyone safe.