Should I Raise BBW turkeys?

[reeds16]

Last year i decided to try raising some turkeys for the first time. I had heard that BBW turkeys had many health issues since they were the equivalent of Cornish Cross for chickens. I raise around 400 cornish cross every year and they hardly ever have any health issues so I figured the turkeys would be the same. I got 10 BBW turkeys to test out the breed and they were great birds. They were out, foraging on pasture for most of their lives. I butchered a few for Thanksgiving and then the rest for Christmas when they were 5 months old. They were good foragers and their meat was the best we had ever tasted but the only problem was, 4 of the 10 unexpectedly died. This year I have a large waiting list for my turkeys so I need to buy around 50 for this Thanksgiving, but if I loose 40% of the flock, that would be a huge loss in profits and wouldn't be worth doing. For those of you have raised BBW turkeys is that mortality rate that high or was that just a bad hatch or something? Please let me know your experiences with this breed. Thanks!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Any idea of what they died of?

 

[SillyChicken]

how old were they when they died?


PS... it's always going to be a gamble on whether or not raising anything would be worth the time and money.

 

[reeds16]

A couple looked like they had trouble breathing but I'm not sure about the other two

 

[reeds16]

One was about 3 weeks old and the others were 3-5 months when they died

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Did their heads turn dark in color when they got sick? Droppings a foamy yellow color?

 

[reeds16]

No their heads didn't turn dark. I have looked into blackhead a lot and one thing that did happen to them was their livers grew huge and got light colored splotches on them which I know is a sign of blackhead but I'm not sure. If it was blackhead, do you have any advice on how to prevent it in my next flock? I'm already planning on puting them in a pasture far away from last years turkeys and my chickens.

 

[SillyChicken]

No their heads didn't turn dark. I have looked into blackhead a lot and one thing that did happen to them was their livers grew huge and got light colored splotches on them which I know is a sign of blackhead but I'm not sure. If it was blackhead, do you have any advice on how to prevent it in my next flock? I'm already planning on puting them in a pasture far away from last years turkeys and my chickens.

If you do have black head in the area, moving to a different pasture may help. Keep them away from chickens as they transmit it to turkeys.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

No their heads didn't turn dark. I have looked into blackhead a lot and one thing that did happen to them was their livers grew huge and got light colored splotches on them which I know is a sign of blackhead but I'm not sure. If it was blackhead,  do you have any advice on how to prevent it in my next flock? I'm already planning on puting them in a pasture far away from last years turkeys and my chickens.

I'm venturing into territory that I don't know well here because I had very little disease problems when I bred turkeys. But presuming you are dealing with blackhead and not some other as-yet undiagnosed problem then what I would do is this.

Keep your turkeys and chickens widely separated. I did this when I was breeding. Chickens on one side of my property and turkeys on the other. The way my land lies it drains to either side so I did not have to worry about run-off from the chickens flowing into the turkey area. My birds were tractored and I have enough room that they did not cross the same ground again for at least one month and sometimes longer. Between groups I allowed the ground to rest.

If it really is blackhead there is a medication that can be used to cure it. Metranidazole also known by the trade name Flagyl will cure blackhead if use early enough. It is available from several veterinary supply houses. Prevention is your best bet.

If this isn't blackhead or coccidiosis (doesn't sound like it) then I'd suggest trying to find an avian vet in your area and describing in as much detail as possible the situation with your birds. You might also speak with your local agriculture department inspectors. They usually have a very good knowledge of what diseases are in the area. May have to play phone tag for a while to find the specific person who deals with birds as they tend to specialize somewhat.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lagerdogger]

The extension office may also know which diseases are common. I think consulting a vet would be wise if your worried about losing a bunch of birds just before you sell them. There are on-line vet consultants if you can't find a local person.