Two Poults Died -- what is wrong?

[PatS]

Thanks, Debbie. BTW, I visited your BYC page and your critters are adorable. I love your goats! Is it a large farm?

I have an old incubator that I used, pretty unsuccessfully, in the classroom. But I don't know what the quality of eggs were that I was trying to hatch either. (A friend of a friend kinda situation.)
I don't know anyone of the west coast here who sells heritage turkey eggs, but maybe I'll have to eventually go that route.

I thought it might be the stress, too, at least for the first poult who died. But the second was was absolutely fine all day, then we came back from a dinner party and he was in his wobbly trance.

They certainly are cute. One of them just did the extended wing dance around the other, just like my rooster does with his hens.

 

[longranger]

Lots of people on the West coast sell heritage turkey eggs. I do and onthespot does just to name two.

 

[PatS]

Thanks, longranger! I'm very glad to hear that!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

From your first post it sounds like the stress of shipping and they weren't eating/drinking. Just for an example, say they are hatching today at a hatchery. They would be hatching all day long and drying off and would ship tomorrow on day 2. Say 2 days shipping time and they are 4 days old when you get them. Not to far from the limit they can go without eating and drinking. One thing I have noticed in all the years of poultry raising is they never go down hill slowly. It's like they have an internal "death switch", they look fine and a couple hours later they are down. I think they get hunched over and wobbly from being weak and once they get to that stage there isn't alot you can do.

Your set up looks fine, the only thing I could see is it might be to big for just a couple fresh hatched poults. I'm thinking they get to far away from the water and feed. That's why we always raise them with chicks at first, they are all over pecking, scratching etc and the poults follow them.

Try a little hard boiled egg yoke sprinkled over the feed. We were boiling some eggs back for the bigger birds yesterday and I gave some to our last hatch and it was feeding frenzy.

Steve

 

[KOTurkeyRanch]

If he was standing there, winds droopy, eyes closed, it could be cocci. I had this happen and the desription matches all of it. Im not sure, but it COULD be. Put raw ACV in the water, add a teaspoon per gallon.

 

[zatsdeb]

Quote:
thanks! they all know they are adorable too! We have a 6 acre hobby farm, and have 10 goats, 15 baby goats, 2 left to have babies, 2 miniature donkeys, 1 paint mare horse, and 30 guineas, 40+ chickens, 4 turkey hens, 1 big old tom, 2 ducks, (and the babies in the house too 7 baby ducks and 5 baby turkeys... and a European fallow deer named lily, plus 2 beagles and 4 cats. I got lucky I had 2 hens left from royal palms I ordered, and a neighbor gave us a big standard bronze tom, we hatched out some babies, and in the mean time a fox got my 2 hens, and 2 pekin ducks, plus some chickens and guineas... in broad daylight! We have since then increased our fencing security. I found that hatching in my bathroom does the best for me and I turn them by hand, before I go to bed and when I get up, and have had wonderful hatches! only took me 2 years to figure out where to hatch! Maybe you can get some eggs and hatch some out, it is so neat!!!

 

[PatS]

Hi Steve, and thanks for answering. I know what you mean about being weak after shipping and not being able to go long without eating, but the funny thing is I'm positive I had seen all of them eating and drinking a few times before any of them "took ill."

They have been getting ACV in the water. I have seen no blood or pink stuff in any of the poops, and until yesterday afternoon they were still on white paper towels. Their feed is medicated, too. Where could they have picked up cocci, I wonder?

I'm hoping it was just the stress of shipping and that we're over the hump now, but I really had hoped to have more than two birds. The feedstore said they could reorder for me, but I'm assuming that (like this time) it would take a bit for them to arrive, and by that time these two would be much bigger than the newbies. There is a feedstore two towns away that right now has Eastern Wilds, but I don't know much about that breed. I had my heart set on MWs or BRs. They're beautiful, reproduce naturally, and are at the top of the taste tests!

I've done a search and wasn't able to find any folks selling heritage poults here in Mendocino County. Too bad.

Thanks for your help everyone. If anything else comes to mind, let me know.

 

[Damummis]

This just happened to me. The little guy died in my hand less than 10 min ago.

Way bummed.

 

[Celeste]

Just recently added some turkey poults to our household. Lost two in the first few days, they just didn't eat enough. Had another trying to die on me so I hauled his butt in the house (brooder is in garage) and put him in his own little brooder. Force fed him for two days.

He is now back out in the brooder, doing 100 times better. Hopefully his energy and eating activity stays as high but I think he is gonna make it. Still watching everyone like a hawk, the first sign of weakness his butt will be back in here.

 

[Lotsapaints]

Quote:
I think you would have better luck hatching your own poults.I bought eggs from Longranger and he packs awesome and he's on the coast took one day to me and I'm on the central coast. I just hatched out 4 Red Bourbons and they are doing just fine I did hatch chicks with them they are a week right now and I'm planning on taking the chicks out next week. They ate and drank without any problems and they run around and play with the chicks all day. Yesterday they thought they were cold and they told me all about that so I upped the light and made sure last night I put the cover on the brooder. It went from 85 to 65 today you took all the rain we just got mist and this wind...