Turkey's dying

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
young turkeys need 28% game bird feed at minimum

this could be the problem.

You definitely need to adjust their feed, most layer feed starts out at just 16-18% CP, cutting it with wheat reduces that even further. It's not even close to adequate for young Turkeys.

 

[kangababy]

Thanks! we are going to get them some new feed today! I hope that helps!

This is our second year having them and 1st year having breeder turkeys so we are still trying to figure it all out.

 

[kangababy]

So we went several days without any dying and then 5 died just like that over night.
This is very fustrating!

 

[Frosty]

Do they have access to grit? Check and see if the crop feels normal. You may need to cut one open and see if everything inside looks normal. Do they feel like their weight is ok?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Have you tried treating them for cocci? That will kill them fast, makes them dehydrate. I think if the tom is killing them you'd know, you should see wounds on at least some of them. I'd separate the babies from the adults, give them a heat light, get a good gamebird or turkey starter feed, put some Sulmet in their water for a few days...and I can't remember what else I was going to type

But this is a good start, if I remember I'll edit or post back

 

[OmaBird]

If it was me, I would bring them all inside. They are not very old and might not have a immune system built up yet.

 

[wooden-animal]

Quote:
Hi I am not sure if you are still having problems. But I have over 120 turkeys and I will give you as much info as I can.
First young turkeys do need a a higher protean food but once they can free range they do just fine on 16-20% I mix my
own feed and that is what it runs at. That said young chickens and turkeys can not digest hay or straw until they are at least
6 weeks old. So if have young turkeys on hay you should cut one open and check its crop and gizzard to make sure they are
not compacted. If it is compacted they cannot digest their food and will starve to death.
And they also need a good supply of grit. This is how the break down their food. Calcium is very important also
they need this to build there bones up to handle there weight. My turkeys have never had black head but I use a horse wormer
to prevent them from getting it. If the turkeys are free range they will very seldom ever get black head. Cossi is possible but with
right medicine very curable. If they have cossi they will running stool and blood in it sometimes. If not caught in time very deadly.
This all said some turkeys get to be 6-10 weeks old and start to die for no seen reason. And most of the time it is no fault of the
owner. It is from the hatchery they came from. They may have been hatch to early and did not form completely. They look nice and
healthy on the outside but on the inside they are not completely formed right. The outside is growing fine but on the inside
they are missing something. And it is always possible they got a virus from a wild bird. Sparrows carry many diseases. I hope this will help.
If I can be ov more help just email me. I have a small hatchery in Payette Idaho Quail Valley Hatchery

 

[kangababy]

Quote:
Hi I am not sure if you are still having problems. But I have over 120 turkeys and I will give you as much info as I can.
First young turkeys do need a a higher protean food but once they can free range they do just fine on 16-20% I mix my
own feed and that is what it runs at. That said young chickens and turkeys can not digest hay or straw until they are at least
6 weeks old. So if have young turkeys on hay you should cut one open and check its crop and gizzard to make sure they are
not compacted. If it is compacted they cannot digest their food and will starve to death.
And they also need a good supply of grit. This is how the break down their food. Calcium is very important also
they need this to build there bones up to handle there weight. My turkeys have never had black head but I use a horse wormer
to prevent them from getting it. If the turkeys are free range they will very seldom ever get black head. Cossi is possible but with
right medicine very curable. If they have cossi they will running stool and blood in it sometimes. If not caught in time very deadly.
This all said some turkeys get to be 6-10 weeks old and start to die for no seen reason. And most of the time it is no fault of the
owner. It is from the hatchery they came from. They may have been hatch to early and did not form completely. They look nice and
healthy on the outside but on the inside they are not completely formed right. The outside is growing fine but on the inside
they are missing something. And it is always possible they got a virus from a wild bird. Sparrows carry many diseases. I hope this will help.
If I can be ov more help just email me. I have a small hatchery in Payette Idaho Quail Valley Hatchery

Thanks! Our Turkeys that died were about 3 months old and we have lost all but maybe 5 out of 44 that came from the same hatchery. The ones that I hatched are doing just fine. They are in a pen on the ground and have been for some time now. We keep them in the brooder box for about 6 weeks or longer on wire until really they start over crowding the pen they are in.
I actually cut one open about two weeks ago and nothing was wrong with it. We have lost one since then.

Another question.. can turkeys drown themselves? we have have 3 BB white turkeys die this week. They are about 2 months old as well and we keep finding them in the water. There is alittle stream that runs through their pen and we have found all three of them in it. It is only need enough for the water to run maybe 1/2 an inche to an 1inch.

We have to figure something out because the flock of 40 breeders I thouht I was going to have has gone done to 10-15... Hope to find some at dog days!

 

[wooden-animal]

Quote:
Hi I am not sure if you are still having problems. But I have over 120 turkeys and I will give you as much info as I can.
First young turkeys do need a a higher protean food but once they can free range they do just fine on 16-20% I mix my
own feed and that is what it runs at. That said young chickens and turkeys can not digest hay or straw until they are at least
6 weeks old. So if have young turkeys on hay you should cut one open and check its crop and gizzard to make sure they are
not compacted. If it is compacted they cannot digest their food and will starve to death.
And they also need a good supply of grit. This is how the break down their food. Calcium is very important also
they need this to build there bones up to handle there weight. My turkeys have never had black head but I use a horse wormer
to prevent them from getting it. If the turkeys are free range they will very seldom ever get black head. Cossi is possible but with
right medicine very curable. If they have cossi they will running stool and blood in it sometimes. If not caught in time very deadly.
This all said some turkeys get to be 6-10 weeks old and start to die for no seen reason. And most of the time it is no fault of the
owner. It is from the hatchery they came from. They may have been hatch to early and did not form completely. They look nice and
healthy on the outside but on the inside they are not completely formed right. The outside is growing fine but on the inside
they are missing something. And it is always possible they got a virus from a wild bird. Sparrows carry many diseases. I hope this will help.
If I can be ov more help just email me. I have a small hatchery in Payette Idaho Quail Valley Hatchery

Thanks! Our Turkeys that died were about 3 months old and we have lost all but maybe 5 out of 44 that came from the same hatchery. The ones that I hatched are doing just fine. They are in a pen on the ground and have been for some time now. We keep them in the brooder box for about 6 weeks or longer on wire until really they start over crowding the pen they are in.
I actually cut one open about two weeks ago and nothing was wrong with it. We have lost one since then.

Another question.. can turkeys drown themselves? we have have 3 BB white turkeys die this week. They are about 2 months old as well and we keep finding them in the water. There is alittle stream that runs through their pen and we have found all three of them in it. It is only need enough for the water to run maybe 1/2 an inche to an 1inch.

We have to figure something out because the flock of 40 breeders I thouht I was going to have has gone done to 10-15... Hope to find some at dog days!

Yes turkeys can drown but at 2 months old they usualy don't. By then they are a little smarter. But it can happen.
As fae as the older ones it sounds like your doing every thing just right. I would say it has to be a bad hatch but am suprised they have made it this long. Most often they don't last past the 4 week if it was an early bad hatch. I am not an exspert but. Turkeys can be hard to raise because sometimes you just can't find the answer on why they are dying. I have very good luck with most of my turkeys. Sometimes I loose one but most of the time its because the toms get to agresive. The ones you find in the water are they acting sick. They may be dehighdrated and are trying to drink more water. Check to see if they have any blood in there stool. If they are not acting sick then they could have drown. I hope this will help a little. John