Wry Neck, Respiratory Issues with Pics, Treatment, VET & STATE TESTING

[Frosty]

Are you still giving the vitamins? I just wanted to ask, because there is such a thing as selinium poisoning. I think I would back off on that now... Have you tried massaging the neck and gently straightening it as a type of physical therapy? I think I read about somebody doing that with success, it might be worth a try. I am glad that the respiratory symptoms have cleared up! As far as it being contagious, even the common cold for people is contagious before symptoms show, so that doesn't surprise me. A lot of illness are that way, you get infected, start shedding virus, then get symptoms. Most of the time when you get a virus, you don't actually get 'cured', the virus is still there but the symptoms go away. They often reappear when the critter gets stressed (moving, temperature extremes, etc...).

I hope he does a complete recovery, and good job!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Thank you Frosty. I backed off on the vitamins a week or so ago. I thought that same thing as far as the vitamins being "over kill". Thanks for bringing that up. I have began to massage his neck. He really seems to enjoy the massage. I will be doing this 2 times a day every day and I will see what happens. My poor boy is just having a hard time right now. I'm glad that none of the others have showed any sypmtoms but then again, I really don't ever have any sick animals. I have been very lucky over the many years that I have had chickens and other animals and no one was sick.

I won't be actively selling any of my turkey eggs or new poults from here on out being as though I'm sure my Tom is a "carrier" of this respiratory disease. I will keep all of my turkeys. I will limit what is hatched at my farm. So many people always wait for this time of the year to buy my Bourbon Reds. I will tell them that I am not selling until I change my Tom out (he will have to die before I do that). I will let them know the problems that I have had with my Tom and that it is a strong possibliy that any poults that he has fathered will most likely be a carrier as well and will most likely have the same problems as he did. I have to disclose this information to anyone interested in buying any eggs and turkeys. It's the right thing to do. For someone who is not as observant of their animals as I am, will most likely lose these new turkeys to this disease, because they won't be able to give them the proper care/medicine/treatment needed and required. I don't want to sell these turkeys to anyone and then they contact me to let me know that their turkey is dead. After disclosing this information to them and they still want any eggs or turkeys, I still don't think that I could sell them my turkeys. I don't want them to lose their entire flock because of any possible repiratory problems brought on by them buying any of my turkeys who may be carriers. Don't ya'll think that is the right thing to do? Your input please.

And just to think, I honestly believe that my Tom got this respiratory problem because of the cold weather. As soon as the cold weather hit (temps in the 20's in Louisiana) (both times), right after that, my turkey got sick. We are not accustomed to that cold of weather in Hot Louisiana.

 

[Frosty]

The twisted neck part has me concerned because I have never heard of it in association with a sinus infection. Then I found the following on one site http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y5169e/y5169e07.htm they were talking about New castle disease.

There is a seasonal pattern to outbreaks of ND (Sharma et al., 1986), influenced by:

the arrival of migratory birds;

changes in climatic conditions leading to stress, which predisposes birds to the disease;

hot, dry and windy periods, which encourage airborne spread of the virus; and

overuse of the few supply points of water available (during the dry season), which then become heavily contaminated with the virus.

More info can be found from Merck http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203702.htm I hate to say it, but the symptoms kind of match... I have also heard of Botulism causing a twisted neck, they can get that from things that they find to eat. If you wanted to have him tested, I would suggest testing for New Castle and Mycoplasmosis. I really hope it clears up!​

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
More info can be found from Merck http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/203702.htm I hate to say it, but the symptoms kind of match... I have also heard of Botulism causing a twisted neck, they can get that from things that they find to eat. If you wanted to have him tested, I would suggest testing for New Castle and Mycoplasmosis. I really hope it clears up!

Thanks for all of the links. I have a lot of studing to do. I have heard about New Castle disease and everything that I have read suggests that if 1 bird has it, then many other birds will get the disease as well. I don't have any other sick birds. No birds have died and no birds are sick. Wouldn't my turkey have given New Castle to all of the other birds and I have over 100?

My turkey is with them every day.

Someone else also mentioned Botulism. I wonder if I can have him tested for Botulism and are there meds for Botulism.

I will call the local vet that came out and did my NPIP testing and ask him to complete the tests. I think that it's free.

My brain is fried with all of this information but I know that I have to know what's going on with my turkey.

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Frosty]

If it's a virus of any kind, you can pretty much bet that they have all been exposed. From the Merck site:

Clinical manifestations vary from high morbidity and mortality to asymptomatic infections.

I think those words would go for any virus, you'll have some that show symptoms and others that don't (asymptomatic). I believe that I read somewhere that turkeys aren't as susceptable as chickens are? If it is ND there are different strains, some more virulent. I don't know if the symptoms are the same? I think with most diseases, the young are affected more than the old and perhaps for some reason the tom has a weaker immune system (if that is the case, you probably wouldn't want him used as a breeder).

I just hope that you can pinpoint exactly what it is... If you are anything like me you are probably reading everything trying to figure it out. I wish we had a good bird vet here. I had something going on some years ago where a batch of poults that I got in were dying off (they had a twisted neck, too). I called the state lab to see if I could send a blood sample but they wanted me to send a 'fresh carcass' (as in kill a poult and send it express) and pay $75 for standard tests. More $ if they had to look harder to find the cause. I had paid about $100 for these (BBW) poults from a hatchery and was down to the last three survivors. The thought of killing one of the last three and paying that much to maybe find what it was... I didn't do it. I believe that whatever it was, it came with the poults (the box had a dead poult when it arrived in the mail and smell really strongly like a dead animal, several of the poults looked really weak and died within 24 hours). I contacted the hatchery to tell them about the losses and they told me that they would 'credit my account' as in take it off of my next order. I asked why I would want to order again if this was what they sent and how they treated customers, they didn't reply. Months later I started a discussion in a group that I belonged to asking about others experience with this hatchery. After the discussion was going for a while, another member tipped us off that one group member had ties with this hatchery, and now an employee of the hatchery had joined the group quietly and was likely monitoring the discussion. I went back through the posts to make sure that nothing said could be considered libel, then posted a welcome to the hatchery member to let them know that we knew they were there. Shortly after that I got an email from the hatchery that they were refunding my credit card for the lost poults. After all those months, out of the blue... I think they just wanted to shut me up. The thing was, even if I had a poult tested and found out what it was, could I have proven that it came with the poults? At the time, I was thinking that maybe it was botulism from the dead poult. Now reading about ND, I have to wonder... I wish I did have them tested.​

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I think those words would go for any virus, you'll have some that show symptoms and others that don't (asymptomatic). I believe that I read somewhere that turkeys aren't as susceptable as chickens are? If it is ND there are different strains, some more virulent. I don't know if the symptoms are the same? I think with most diseases, the young are affected more than the old and perhaps for some reason the tom has a weaker immune system (if that is the case, you probably wouldn't want him used as a breeder).

I just hope that you can pinpoint exactly what it is... If you are anything like me you are probably reading everything trying to figure it out. I wish we had a good bird vet here. I had something going on some years ago where a batch of poults that I got in were dying off (they had a twisted neck, too). I called the state lab to see if I could send a blood sample but they wanted me to send a 'fresh carcass' (as in kill a poult and send it express) and pay $75 for standard tests. More $ if they had to look harder to find the cause. I had paid about $100 for these (BBW) poults from a hatchery and was down to the last three survivors. The thought of killing one of the last three and paying that much to maybe find what it was... I didn't do it. I believe that whatever it was, it came with the poults (the box had a dead poult when it arrived in the mail and smell really strongly like a dead animal, several of the poults looked really weak and died within 24 hours). I contacted the hatchery to tell them about the losses and they told me that they would 'credit my account' as in take it off of my next order. I asked why I would want to order again if this was what they sent and how they treated customers, they didn't reply. Months later I started a discussion in a group that I belonged to asking about others experience with this hatchery. After the discussion was going for a while, another member tipped us off that one group member had ties with this hatchery, and now an employee of the hatchery had joined the group quietly and was likely monitoring the discussion. I went back through the posts to make sure that nothing said could be considered libel, then posted a welcome to the hatchery member to let them know that we knew they were there. Shortly after that I got an email from the hatchery that they were refunding my credit card for the lost poults. After all those months, out of the blue... I think they just wanted to shut me up. The thing was, even if I had a poult tested and found out what it was, could I have proven that it came with the poults? At the time, I was thinking that maybe it was botulism from the dead poult. Now reading about ND, I have to wonder... I wish I did have them tested.

Good info Frosty. Sorry to hear about your hatchery poults.

And yes, you are right, I am reading EVERYTHING that I can goggle, search, find, run across, etc. You name it, I"m reading it. I am determined to pinpoint exactly what this is. It sounds like I will have to remove him as far as not have him breed with my girls. But now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if my females (who I purchased from another breeder a couple years ago) gave it to him. The females never had any visual signs/symptoms of diseases but could have been carriers. And if that is the case, then I need to get an entire new turkey group. And then who knows if the new turkeys will be carriers of anything. My head is hurting from thinking about all of this.

I think I will call LSU School of Vet Medicine (already talked to them and told them the problem) and just bring my turkey in. There is a well known vet that is known "world wide" and has written avian books and is said to be the "best of the best".

My turkey takes his last Baytril pill on Friday, so I will call the vet that saw him on last weekend and give him an update and ask him his opinion on this entire case. After that, I'm going to LSU School of Vet Medicine. I have to know what this is. If and when they pinpoint what this is, I will be able to post their "professional diagnosis and the information" so that this can help others. I know that I am not the only person with this person.

Thanks for all the info Frosty. I always appreciate your input.

 

[Frosty]

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When you talk to the vet that saw him, I would ask for an honest opinion, and perhaps let him know that you are taking him to LSU. If he has any suspicions that it's something like ND, he may have been trying to spare you or maybe he didn't want to deal with reporting it because it could be a reportable disease. I really don't know what you could expect from LSU, there is a chance that they may have to put your tom down and do a necropsy. I hope not, but wanted to mention the possibility just in case. I hope you get a definite answer soon, and I hope it isn't anything serious. If the worst happens and you end up having to depopulate and start over, try to make sure that any new stock is Mycoplasma free (MG, MS, MM, etc...).

I really appreciate all of the information that you are providing... and I appreciate you posting in the first place. Cases like this get me started researching, and I learn a lot along the way. I don't have as many turkeys as you do (I actually only have 10) and living in the far north my birds tend to be more isolated than poultry in the south so I haven't run into many problems. The more I learn, the better prepared I will be if anything crops up.

 

[chiknranchr]

HI guys,I 've been reading your posts about wry neck and just wanted to add that I recently hatched a batch of eggs ,(chicken eggs)

I had a 90 percent hatch,but two weeks later out of the blue I noticed one of the chick's neck was twisted ,it looked as if it were a deformation ,which I had'nt noticed before,they all looked perfectly normal before. I can't really say she was sick ,she was growing just as well as her siblings,ate well ,drank well ,could fly normally ,her neck was just severely twisted,needless to say she was always with her head hung low and out of compassion I had to put her down.Now I wonder if it was a disease or a deformity,being that she was still developing,I'm keeping an eye on the rest of my chicks which are doing great and look extremely healthy and growing extremely fast,but I will definitely keep an eye out for any more twisted necks.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
So sorry to hear about your turkey.

That was probably the best thing to do for her since she was so young. At least you know she isn't in any pain anymore. Sorry that you had to go through that. Keep us posted on the rest of your turkeys and their health.

 

[acrull]

Thank you! I'm hopeful now - he's a pretty boy and I'd hate to lose him. Will let you know