turkeys

[mispatty]

i am new to raising turkeys, have a 2 year old tom that is losing his chest feathers, my hen turkey also two is pecking her feet bloody i dont know why clean ed their barn

 

[CindyinSD]

Not sure. Lets ask:
@duluthralphie @R2elk @OneMountainAcres

And welcome to BYC!

 

[R2elk]

i am new to raising turkeys, have a 2 year old tom that is losing his chest feathers, my hen turkey also two is pecking her feet bloody i dont know why clean ed their barn

How big of an area do you have them confined to? You can't keep turkeys in a small space like you can chickens.

The tom is losing his chest feathers because he is rubbing up against something as he paces back and forth. The hen may be pecking her feet out of boredom, mites or a dietary lack.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

i am new to raising turkeys, have a 2 year old tom that is losing his chest feathers, my hen turkey also two is pecking her feet bloody i dont know why clean ed their barn

The feather loss on the Tom is normal, as r2elk mentioned. The hen pecking her feet bloody though is absolutely not. I would clean up her feet/ legs and treat for mites, even if you can't see any. I usually use a permethrin dip to control external parasites. Use 3oz of 10% liquid permethrin (can be purchased at Tractor supply) to 5 gallons of water to create a dip. If you're doing the entire bird, make sure to get completely down through and under all feathers. If post special attention to the feet/ legs, maybe using an old toothbrush to gently scrub them.

 

[duluthralphie]

Toms always lose feathers on there chest from rubbing something when they strut or by mating a lot.

 

[mispatty]

The feather loss on the Tom is normal, as r2elk mentioned. The hen pecking her feet bloody though is absolutely not. I would clean up her feet/ legs and treat for mites, even if you can't see any. I usually use a permethrin dip to control external parasites. Use 3oz of 10% liquid permethrin (can be purchased at Tractor supply) to 5 gallons of water to create a dip. If you're doing the entire bird, make sure to get completely down through and under all feathers. If post special attention to the feet/ legs, maybe using an old toothbrush to gently scrub them.

thank you so much! i have 2 turkeys and three chickens in a open pen size is 12 wide by 90 feet long,on a tree line fresh water runs daily,i feed turkey feed,yesterday when i got home i wash her legs really well with dawn and warn water then put on blue kote spray ,i hope this works!

 

[CindyinSD]

Where (approximately) do you live, @mispatty ?