Tom Turkey...Lost his "Voice"??

[melissa826]

A couple months ago, we adopted a royal palm tom. He had been raised with about 40 chickens (no other turkeys) until some weasels took 30 out in one night.... when we got him, we introduced him to our female royal palm....and our chickens in the coop next to her. For a month or so he remained in the turkey pen and run while the weather warmed and we worked on the fence and he got used to his new home. We loved him, he almost always was in full fan display and gobbled at almost every "strange" noise in the neighborhood. The last week they have been able to roam...all the chickens, ducks and two turkeys. For the first few days he wandered around the field like the sentinel of the farm keeping everyone in line, fully displayed and always gobbling. Then, the last two days have been kind of overcast and cooler....and he has not been in display---I don't even think once....and no matter what I do, he hasnt gobbled. I've found him laying in the chicken coop, or a mulch bed....at first I thought, he's enjoying the cooler weather and finally relaxing...then I thought, do turkeys get depressed!? He just wont gobble! Should I be worried? Does this just happen sometimes? Could he just be comfortable now? Though, I kind of liked the "protection" I felt his gobbling provided.....what can I do!?

 

[ivan3]

They can get "depressed" and mope about for days, but that is almost always the result of losing a sparring match with another tom (not your problem). I'd separate him out immediately and start keeping an eye on food intake & droppings. Could be a change in the weather, but I'd suspect he might be under the weather. Listen to his respiration for a bit (any wheezing/gurgling/"chuffing"/etc?).
Our guys hate? my whistling and that will set them to gobbling when nothing else will (might try some unusual noise to see if you can get him to at least try) and observe for tail-down/feathers fluffed out/standing still in one spot for increased time and no displaying/snood swinging. Hopeful he's just having a few "off" days.

 

[melissa826]

This morning I noticed that his snood is totally retracted. He's still moving about, but standing in a spot for a while on end...he hasnt left the coop yet this morning. I looked around and there appears to be some rather bright yellow liquid droppings around that I don't think I usually notice. He always gobbles to my whistle as well...but not this time.

Could he be depressed from losing a sparring mate...to no one? My female just has not seemed into him. Anytime I come in the pen, she lays down next t o me so I can pet her. When this happens, he used to try to climb on top of her....but every time she runs away. My husband said I'm over thinking it and it just happens when I'm not around...but I just don't know.

If it's sounding like hes under the weather....how do I know what is wrong? What can I do to treat him to try to help him? I have a bit more experience with ailing chickens and their symptoms and treatment than I do with the turkeys!

 

[melissa826]

Ok--- I'm concerned he has blackhead disease!? But I can't seem to find what to treat with??

 

[CocoTurkey]

Buy a sheiß tonne of cayenne pepper. My chocolate poults got blackhead and this fixed it up really quick. Just add it to the water until it tuurns dark red and same with his feed. It's funny to watch with poults because they love the pepper, yet they always sneeze. Their beaks were red around the nostrila because of all the pepper. I lost two poults before I started feeding them pepper. If your turkey's poop is yellow and liquidy/foamy it's probably blackhead. It may be coccidiosis (I think that's how you spell it) but I don't know much about that.

 

[CocoTurkey]

But run to the store for cayenne pepper anyway, it's good for parasites.

 

[CocoTurkey]

Here's what his liver is starting to look like if it's blackhead. This page also has more "cures." https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/977744/graphic-photos-in-post-dead-poult#post_15256182

 

[ivan3]

Ok--- I'm concerned he has blackhead disease!?  But I can't seem to find what to treat with??

This thread will provide good info. on meds required for treatment of Histomoniasis ("blackhead"), along with info on worming entire flock:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/804570/coping-with-blackhead

 

[melissa826]

thank you for these links they are both helpful....my concern is not wanting to treat with medication that causes the birds to become unedible later on (should they survive this)....So I ran out and dosed everyone's water with a crap load of cayenne...and will add to the feed tomorrow. I'm also looking into oil of oregano.

My question is...I really do know more people that keep all of their birds together...than not. Actually.....I dont know anyone around me that doesn't keep them together. So what did I do wrong? I realize that chickens carry the protozoa...but it can live in the soil too.....but it gets in the soil from the chickens? I guess I'm trying to figure out...are my chickens 100% the cause of passing this on to the turkey?

Is there anything else that could promote it self with yellowy stool, downed feathers, retracted stool, and keeping quiet? What is a general time frame for how long a bird might survive if this is what he has?

Some of the posts I read have made me so nervous....I want to send all of my birds to slaughter and go get a 9-5 job. Other posts make me feel like, ok, this is serious....but manageable and I can handle it.

I have about an acre my birds all roam (turkeys, ducks, chickens)....the each have their own coops but during the day they free range together....i dont have a way around that...with out feeling awful having everyone crammed into their own small dirt run.

What can I do to prevent this? anything? why would this turkey have been raised with 40+ chickens for a year and have been fine....but then come to my farm with only 18 chickens at the moment....and within a couple months get so ill? Is there something I can better do in taking care of my birds to prevent this in the future? Or is keeping them apart really the only way? ughhh. Feeling overwhelmed with research and stress right now!

 

[CocoTurkey]

Oh, it's manageable. Right now I get sometimes as little as 15 minutes a day with my poults cuz school. Probably by the time you read this post the yellow poop will be done for. As long as you dose the chickens the blackhead should die out in them as well (I think).Just keep an eye out for poop. Today I saw a poult of my poop the yellow... so more pepper for them. This is my more or less first time with turkeys and blackhead.