What's ailing my turkey?

RJSchaefer

Chirping
6 Years
Mar 18, 2013
180
7
88
Rockford, IL
2 weeks old, broad breasted bronze, got 8 from the hatchery. No signs of disease.

We moved the turkeys in with the broiler chickens since we had to get a larger pen out anyway. They were shipped together and have been quarantined since we got them, so I'm not overly concerned with disease. I may separate them again if they start pecking, but so far so good.

Anyway, one of my turkeys appears to have a minor form of splay leg. His leg is twisted at the joint - this is recent, within the last two days. We're going to use the splay leg treatment and hope for the best. Any other ideas on what it could be?

Another one is just broken. We can't figure out what's wrong with him, so I'm giving him another 24 hours before we cull. He doesn't walk (he can't, he just doesn't), his feathers are coming in wrong, he shows very little interest in water unless you put him right in front of it, and even less interest in food. The other turkeys don't make it a point to go near him and he's totally excluded from the flock. I don't know what it could be.
 
Broad Breasted are prone to this owing to breeding/incubation temps (ligament/bone growth rate doesn't always synch-up - the overall growth rate is, to put it mildy, rushed). We had good luck treating spraddle leg in one of three BBB's - however, the increasing wt. finally did him in (made it to about 25lb. before legs lost function).

Genetics and incubation temps, primarily/as you say, it's probably not something like Mycoplasma: http://www.ihc-poultry.com/pages/Pre_hatch stress linked to leg problems/580

Good luck on the treatment (`pen' `floor' isn't slippery?).
You could supplement feed with Polyvisol Enfamil/or Rooster Booster (vitamin supplements).
 
Got it. Thanks. The floor isn't slippery. They were in a work-bench-turned-brooder constructed of hardwood, covered with 1/2" pine shavings. Now (as of 2 hours ago, post injury) they are in a large (~3'x3') shipping crate with shredded paper as a base.

The one with the mild splay ripped off the band-aid splint. I may give it another shot tomorrow.

The more serious case, which we are considering culling, has a severely inflamed left leg. I can't tolerate culling an animal without knowing the cause without very serious ailments, so I went over him with a fine tooth comb. His left joint is double or more the side of his right. His abnormal feathers, I'm guessing, are because he has been using his left wing as a crutch. Poor guy. I'd noticed reduced movement in him for the last few days, but assumed he was being lazy since he had no other symptoms. It wasn't until he had a larger space and didn't roam that I really took notice.

I splinted with athletic tape cut in half lengthwise, and while he isn't moving as much as his turkey brethren, he's definitely making more of an effort to hobble. Probably to get the tape off!
 
Good news! The turkey we were going to cull is making a recovery with the wrapped joint! He's hobbling around again. =)

woot.gif


I picked up some Polyvisol sans iron and put a dropper full into the gallon of water. Hopefully that will help them out. I need to resplint the one with a mild twist, but not sure how to do it if he just keeps ripping it off.
 

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