Turkeys For 2013

[Arielle]

Actually, the hens DO pass immunities through the eggs. When reading up on vaccinations, if a flock is vaccinated for some things, then the day old chicks shouldn't be vaccinated until after, I believe, 6-8 weeks, because their mother's passive, natural immunities will kill off the vaccine strain before the chick's actual immunity (T cells?! memory is fading already, lol) can "get ahold" of the virus and start recreating those immunity cells. The natural passive immunities wear off in about 6-8 weeks and no longer protect them.

Wow, learn something new everyday!! Yes you have it right T cells are the in storage cells; in mammals the IgG is the cells in the colostrum that is abosorbed thru the intestines. I wonder which can do this , or if it applies to all. THanks for the update.

 

[Bettacreek]

Lol. No problem. I wouldn't have known they passed through the egg if it weren't for the directions one of the vaccines had that I was looking at, LOL.

 

[Sally8]

Hi, my name is Sue, I live at the base of the finger lakes. I have a pair of turkeys, Chuck is a Bronze/Royal Palm and Rosie is a Royal Palm. I've been getting eggs almost everyday for almost a month. Our temps hover around 20 degrees during the days and are in the single digits at night. How long will she lay eggs? I was under the impression that they didn't lay many. My real question is, Chucks beak looks like the top part is longer and curving round the bottom part. Do I trim that? and with what? Also, Rosie's toenails look like they could use a trim. Are we supposed to trim them? Is it like trimming a dog's toenail?
I've only had turkeys for a yr but raised chickens off and on for nearly 30 years.
After skimming through some of these posts, I guess I should check into vaccines. Thanks Sue

 

[Bettacreek]

I trim mine. Same as dog/cat claws. The beak is the same, you can see the clear tip.

 

[Arielle]

Hi, my name is Sue, I live at the base of the finger lakes. I have a pair of turkeys, Chuck is a Bronze/Royal Palm and Rosie is a Royal Palm. I've been getting eggs almost everyday for almost a month. Our temps hover around 20 degrees during the days and are in the single digits at night. How long will she lay eggs? I was under the impression that they didn't lay many. My real question is, Chucks beak looks like the top part is longer and curving round the bottom part. Do I trim that? and with what? Also, Rosie's toenails look like they could use a trim. Are we supposed to trim them? Is it like trimming a dog's toenail?
I've only had turkeys for a yr but raised chickens off and on for nearly 30 years.
After skimming through some of these posts, I guess I should check into vaccines. Thanks Sue

Vaccines are optional. A lot depends on the purpose of the vaccine. In horses, the vet costs can be astonomical if not for a $20 vaccination. Or in dogs, rabies is a law. In birds, well, I know on the heritage large fowl site ( chickens) many do not vaccinate and prefer their birds to develop immunities as a matter of selection.

So don't feel like you must vaccinate just because we are on that topic.

 

[Sally8]

Vaccines are optional. A lot depends on the purpose of the vaccine. In horses, the vet costs can be astonomical if not for a $20 vaccination. Or in dogs, rabies is a law. In birds, well, I know on the heritage large fowl site ( chickens) many do not vaccinate and prefer their birds to develop immunities as a matter of selection.

So don't feel like you must vaccinate just because we are on that topic.

I don't normally vaccinate either, except for the dogs (rabies) Usually don't the indoor cats either except (for the few vet trips, they usually insist before they'll treat them.) When my turkeys were but a few months old, I thought they had Blackhead. Started treating them with cayenne pepper and then found someone who would treat them with Metronozole (?) Turns out that hubby forgot to be sure everyone was inside before he locked up the hen house and Chuck was left out. I think the dogs harassed him overnight as I thought his wing was broken. (It wasn't) I called our county ag person and she told me that Blackhead wasn't at all common in our area although it wasn't impossible. That's when Hubby shared his little secret.
I go between wanting to find homes for the pair and keeping them. I finally had to separate them from the chickens when I saw Rosie stomping some of the hens dusting themselves. They are now in a coop 8 x 10 with a 12 x 14 covered run. At first they paced the fence like animals I've seen in the zoo. Things are better. Rosie can't fly out. (The neighbors told us that he and his grandson shot Rosie with the air gun because she would come right up to them, they say she didn't mind. I DID!) You need to watch people who say, "We don't mind the chickens/turkeys ranging in the backyard,"
BUT, with all that being said, I do like them. They are so personable. Rosie was on the ladder helping me wash windows last fall. Sorry my post was so long. I'll get back on topic. Sue

 

[Arielle]

lol you were talking turkeys-- sounds like you were on topic!

 

[r4eboxer]

Just checked my worm med. It is valbazen, I remember reading extensively about wormers and for some reason I settled on valbazen. I wonder if it is what kills blackhead or keeps it at bay. Off to google. I remember reading about it in a thread somewhere on BYC.

a few minutes later........................................haha

Ok I did find it. the first page has a lot of talk about valbazen not getting round worms but on page two that debate is settled with links. So I am going to add to water tomorrow as it's going to be 55 here and my hose will be thawed. Now I just need to get my dosage down. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/427171/valbazen-not-for-roundworms

does not kill black head, I had it confused with my the antibiotics I keep on hand.

 

[fowlsessed]

IMO neither will kill you, it's more about exposure unnecessarily to chemicals. And the rules of our food production. In a commercial application, the eggs and meat from certain antibitoics are not to be used for food. I also feel these low doses could somehow contribute to increasing the resistance among the internal parasites. I personally will not eat those eggs. If eating them is what you prefer to do, I understand. I hate waste.

Actually, I completely agree with you! I should have mentioned that that is solely what I read, "Ivomec has withdrawal for meat (if you were going to eat the bird) but none stated for eggs."

 

[Arielle]

Withdrawal times are determined by the amount of time needed for a given species to clear the drug/medication/ antibiotic from the meat or eggs before eating/consuming. Often with all the dosing info that is freely distributed on BYC the withdrawal time is lost or forgotten. It is set based on a specific dosage for a specific administration time or method for a given species.