UPDATE-- New Poults; Some Died. Help! My turkey chicks are dying!

[Oregon Blues]

Were they shipped/ Shipping is extra hard on turkey poults.

You say they are thin. Are you absolutely certain that they are eating. If they don't start right off eating well, they get too weak to eat.

Any diarrhea? That will kill them quick and will also make them thin if they live long enough.

Air temperature? It has to be perfect and you can kill them with over-heating faster than with chilling.

 

[msmeower]

I agree that you should contact the source of the poults and let them know what's going on and see if they have any ideas or if they are havng a problem or similar complaints. Are they housed somewhere where some sort of aerosol in the air could be affecting them? Herbicide or pesticide spray by a neighbor, maybe? Bleach fumes?

 

[SkyWarrior]

Were they shipped/ Shipping is extra hard on turkey poults.

You say they are thin. Are you absolutely certain that they are eating. If they don't start right off eating well, they get too weak to eat.

Any diarrhea? That will kill them quick and will also make them thin if they live long enough.

Air temperature? It has to be perfect and you can kill them with over-heating faster than with chilling.

They were shipped. Yes, I know it is stressful, so the first loss was not unexpected. I was surprised how healthy everyone looked when I got them, so losing them so fast was shocking.

Eating-- yes. I saw them all eating and showed the chicks the water and food, dipping bills.

No diarrhea.

The brooder is big enough for them to move around so the air temperature was good. Nobody was pushed to the sides.

I've raised turkey chicks before but haven't had a lot of luck with shipped chicks. Hmmm...

I'm no vet but it sounds like you Turks were infected at the breeders before you received them. You didn't have them long enough to for the problem to be
from your place. I would ask to be compensated for your losses.
I do not really like feeding sugar because bacteria thrive in a sweet environment. Sugar is a non nutrient. I know a lot of people do it, and a lot of people
recommend it but I do not see any value in it at all.
An electrolyte supplement might be fine, but pure sugar adds nothing nutritious.
The only thing you can really do is isolate each bird so they don't infect or reinfect each other, keep them warm, keep them well hydrated
and keep their bedding clean and dry so that you remove and burn the virus rather than letting them lay in it.
I hope your Turks are feeling better. I have lost chicks too without really knowing the reason or what to do for them and it is so sad.
Good luck to you.

I don't think they'd refund me. The list states only dead losses from shipping.

I know that sugar water adds calories but not much else. Still, I'd rather have them get a boost. I used brown sugar (recommended by hatchery) and have them on the antibiotic. So far, (finger's crossed) two days and no deaths yet.

I agree that you should contact the source of the poults and let them know what's going on and see if they have any ideas or if they are havng a problem or similar complaints. Are they housed somewhere where some sort of aerosol in the air could be affecting them? Herbicide or pesticide spray by a neighbor, maybe? Bleach fumes?

I will at least let them know. I doubt they'll do anything about it.

I've been raising chicks in the same barn for three years. I'm on 10 acres and we're too far away from neighbors for something to affect chicks.

I suspect it's bad luck and something icky. But I'll keep you informed.

 

[SkyWarrior]

Well, since that time I wrote an email to the hatchery and they were kind enough to send replacements. Out of the 17 chicks sent originally, only 4 survived, of which one could be considered my fault for certain.

They thought the straw might have killed the poults. I'm not so sure.

This time I wiped everything down with bleach or soaked it in bleach water. I put paper towels down as flooring and heated the brooder. I started the poults on antibiotics,sugar water, and medicated feed (since all those things worked to save who was left). Even so, I lost 4 poults before the medication started to work. But I haven't lost any more.

I suspect it's a mix of coccidia and some bacterial sinusitis thing that may cause cyanosis. I saw runny poo on the paper towels, so I'm right in treating the coccidia.

Lessons learned:

1. With turkeys, if you lose one, you are playing catch up trying to treat the others before they drop dead.

2. First death, treat aggressively. Don't take a "wait and see" approach.

3. If you experience anything abnormal, expect to treat your next poults aggressively too.

I've gotten private emails about this, and I think that my case isn't my fault, but thankfully, I'll probably have some turkeys coming out of this alive.