which wormer to prevent blackhead ?

[jessaw1981]

hello all. I have a question I have a turkey he lives with all my hens they have been together since they were day old. anyway I just found out about blackhead I can't put him by his self they dine free range they are pinned up most of the time I let them out for a couple of hours a couple of times a week. so what can I do to help prevent this. and can I give it to my chickens to ?

 

[thaiturkey]

This UK government report seems to sum it up as far as I can tell:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/blackhead/

 

[Denninmi]

The link Thaiturkey posted for the UK site isn't accurate in the United States, as we still have an approved preventative drug that is available, called Nitarsone. However, it is a little hard to come by = sold in bulk only by prescription from what I can tell.

But, some feed manufacturers do sell medicated foods with this product. I bought Turkey Grower HS Medicated Pellets from Blue Seal Feeds. It is approved for use on both chickens and turkeys. You need to discontinue feeding 5 days before you butcher meat birds.

http://www.blueseal.com/livestock/poultry/feeds.php

Blue Seal is a chain of feed/farm supply stores kind of like Tractor Supply from what I gather, and they have stores across the Northeast from Maine to Maryland and Pennsylvania. If you aren't in this region, they have an online store. They don't list this product in the online store, but if you e-mail customer service, the headquaters in Maine will be happy to ship this product to you. Alas, shipping costs more than the feed, which is only $10 a bag.

Your other option is to buy a bottle of the drug Fishzole aka Flagyl, an antimicrobial. If you see any signs of this disease, the first sign being yellow or green diarrhea from what I gather, you can treat with this drug. So, you might want to have this on hand just in case.

http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Zole-Metronidazole-250-Tabs/dp/B0002YFA0E

I have never had turkeys before this year, and I got a little freaked out in reading about blackhead since it sounds so nasty, but I guess it's not really a very common disease. Most people on here keep turkeys with chickens without any problem, and odds are, if your birds have been together for a while without any problems it's probably not in your flock or your ground.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I've been raising turkeys with chickens for years, & chances are, if you don't bring any "outsiders" in, you won't get blackhead. I have never had to treat for it. Pox, I've had to treat on new birds.

 

[uhuh555]

We have kept turkeys and chickens together for over 50 years never using medicated or inhibitor laced feeds of any sort. So far this year 4300 cornish x and 850 BBW turkeys with only 11 losses.

The farms on both sides have lost poults to blackhead repeatedly and when I suggested feeding pre & probiotics with vitamins/minerals in all drinking water for the first 10 weeks they are now able to raise turkeys again with very low losses. But it is important to start from day one so the “good” bacteria can build up in their intestinal tract before the “bad” can build up to sufficient numbers to cause illness.

 

[silkiechicken]

It's really not that big of a deal in most places... don't think you really have toworry about it.

 

[chickenzoo]

It all depends on where you live and how many birds you have. Chickens can be carriers, but you won't know unless a turkey or peafowl, pheasant etc.. gets sick... I have had it pop up from time to time as here in FL it seems to be a breeding ground for all types of nasties. I worm with Safeguard which helps kill off one of the main parasites associated with blackhead.. the callapirary worm and the cecal worm. It also is a great wormer for the chickens. 3cc's mixed to a gallon of water for a few days normally helps as a preventative. If your turkey happens to get Black head, you can dose with a product called Fish zole, a fish med but the main ingredient treats the blackhead. 250mg x 2 a day for 5 days normally clears it up. I always keep some on hand as it is cheap and I never know when I might need it.

 

[jessaw1981]

chicken zoo where can I find the fish stuff ?

 

[Denninmi]

Quote:
I know you didn't address this to me, but I found the best price on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=fishzole&x=18&y=14

 

[tboneranch]

uhuh555 can you elaborate on the pre/probiotics? What are the brand names and the best places to order them from? Also, the vitamin and minerals that go in the water please? Thanks!