# Sick Turkey Poults



## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

This morning we went out to check on our turkeys and I found one on his side kicking in the air. The other birds were all pecking at his feet so I separated him.
Later in the day a second bird seemed kind of slow and tired so I pulled him out as well. 

The first little guy seems to be feeling a little better, he eats and drinks ok. He has a sore foot and is kinda gimpy but that's to be expected after getting jumped by 5-6 other poults I think.
The second little guy is up and moving around as well, but he's not eating or drinking much. If I let him out of his box he'll follow me around the room and chirp till I let him catch up. Then seems to want to nap. He doesn't seem like he's about to drop dead yet, but with birds you never know.

Any ideas what this is? I'm new to Turkeys so I'm not sure what goes wrong with them.

They are about 2-3 weeks old. They are fed mixed grains with eggs and a worm or two here and there. It was hot here today so I turned off the brooder light and everyone else seemed fine with it. They seemed to enjoy the dark and napped a large part of the day. Plenty of fresh water of course.


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## mommagoose_99 (Jan 25, 2005)

Do not feed them worms from the yard. They often carry parasitic organisms. When turkeys are in the dark, they sleep all day 
Linda


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Thanks for the advice on worms. I've raised chicks for a few years now and yard worms have always been a big part of their diet. With chicks I've never had a problem, though this year has been cooler and wetter than most so maybe that had something to do with it?

As an update, the lil fella that flipped over seems to be coming around now. He's eating and drinking ok, even pecking at the hay in the 'infirmary'. The other guy... not so good. Breathing hard, won't eat or drink. I think he's a goner.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Get them on copper sulfate, 1/4 tsp per gallon of water with a splash of vinegar asap. Very good chance that you've given them blackhead with the worms. They can carry a parasite, cecal worm that hosts the protozoa that causes blackhead.

I'd also give them some chopped raw liver for a general boost and it helps the immune system. Put a generous amount of cayenne pepper on it too.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

My Daddy used to have trouble with turkey poults until he built them a cage with a top on it. Turkey chicks don't handle wet chilly weather very well. Once Daddy started keeping them in a dry enclosed pen his survival rate went up tremendously.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

So the little guy that flips over is doing so-so. It appears he has FOS (Flip Over Syndrome) which is something they get from breeders breeding for egg production. It would appear if I can get him past this he should be ok as he gets bigger. He won't be breeding though, as I don't want to pass this on. If he makes it he's destined for the plate, sadly.

The other guy is looking a lot LOT better. I gave him cayenne last night and some copper sulfate this morning. Thanks Cyngbaeld for the tip. He's a lot smaller than his peers so I think a part of it is he's not getting enough to eat. I'm putting another feeder in there in hopes of spreading out the food a bit. 

After this batch I'll let them hatch out their own eggs like I do with my egg layers. Kinda the way we run this place, once we get em established we let nature run it's course. (Except for meat, which we won't be breeding anyway) I guess it takes a little longer to establish a strong turkey flock?


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## Guest (Jun 6, 2011)

*They are about 2-3 weeks old. They are fed mixed grains with eggs and a worm or two here and there.*

Do you have something against prepared feed? Turkeys need a lot more protein than chickens when they are young. You may not be feeding them enough. There are also other minerals and vitamins that may be lacking. If you're going to feed them home made feed then at least include some green feed and make sure they are eating plenty of egg.

And I'll second the not feeding worms part. If they are grown in ground that any of your birds have been on then you are closing the parasite reproductive cycle by giving them those worms. That may not be the problem, but it certainly looks suggestive.

FWIW, I never keep poults with flip-over. Everything that is not strong and healthy twenty four hours after hatch gets culled to improve the breed.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

A.T. Hagan said:


> *They are about 2-3 weeks old. They are fed mixed grains with eggs and a worm or two here and there.*
> 
> Do you have something against prepared feed? Turkeys need a lot more protein than chickens when they are young. You may not be feeding them enough. There are also other minerals and vitamins that may be lacking. If you're going to feed them home made feed then at least include some green feed and make sure they are eating plenty of egg.
> 
> ...


 I don't have anything against prepared feed except it costs more than the cracked grains I'm getting. I live 2 miles from a granary and I get spillage for about $5 a pickup full.
I give plenty of greens and hard boiled eggs. Any eggs that aren't eaten or sold in about 48 hours get boiled up and feed to the birds. Mostly because I just can't store all these eggs...lol

I cull weak chickens now, or I let nature do it as I try to let broody hens raise them up as much as possible. That's for my laying flock though, which is already established.
These turkeys are my first attempt and are meant to raise my future meat flock. So for now I'm just trying to get established, after this run I'll be more ruthless about who goes where. I'm thinking for meat birds I won't cull all the weak. I'll put a small amount of effort into saving the weaker ones and tag them as table birds. Just cause I don't want to breed them doesn't mean I can't eat them right?


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## trbizwiz (Mar 26, 2010)

IMO if you culled all the weak poults, you would just kill them all and buy chickens. Turkeys are very weak to start with. I love turkeys and I am hoping my surviving 3 will be the basis for a healthy flock in the future. But nature culled very hard on my part and I kept 3 of 11. I am hoping these three are Tom (that's me) proof. Two are tom's (tom turkeys that is) and one is a hen, kinda the reverse of what I was hoping for but oh well. The best Tom will be the breeder and the other will decorate my table in November. 
If the flip over poult turns out to be a hen keep her and breed her, cull her poults hard. By cull, I mean care for them even if they share her traits, but eat them if they make it. But the ones that need little care save for breeding. I think with Turkeys it is only nessesary to keep a few of the very best for breeding. THey are delicate little poults anyway, and you dont need a huge breeding stock.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

trbizwiz said:


> IMO if you culled all the weak poults, you would just kill them all and buy chickens. Turkeys are very weak to start with. I love turkeys and I am hoping my surviving 3 will be the basis for a healthy flock in the future. But nature culled very hard on my part and I kept 3 of 11. I am hoping these three are Tom (that's me) proof. Two are tom's (tom turkeys that is) and one is a hen, kinda the reverse of what I was hoping for but oh well. The best Tom will be the breeder and the other will decorate my table in November.
> If the flip over poult turns out to be a hen keep her and breed her, cull her poults hard. By cull, I mean care for them even if they share her traits, but eat them if they make it. But the ones that need little care save for breeding. I think with Turkeys it is only nessesary to keep a few of the very best for breeding. THey are delicate little poults anyway, and you dont need a huge breeding stock.



That's exactly how I was looking at it too. I figure if I can keep just enough going to get a flock going it'll be pretty smooth from there. As I understand it, turkeys are really fragile when young, and tough as nails once grown. I think nature has a good system and I'll only interfere later to put meat on the table.


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