6 Turkey Diseases, Symptoms, and Treatment
Sick Turkey Symptoms Can Help You Determine the Right Treatment.
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What turkey diseases, symptoms, and treatment should you be aware of, whether you intend to raise broad-breasted or heritage birds?
Generally, turkeys are pretty hardy creatures — to the extent, it isn’t uncommon for them to excessively roughhouse! Still, they are vulnerable to several health issues, both specific to their species and domestic poultry in general.
As flock tenders, we tend to go through painstaking lengths to keep our birds healthy. This is important as most health issues can be prevented from ever happening in the first place when things are done right. But no matter how much care we take, problems are sure to arise at one point or another.
In turkeys, diseases are usually introduced via external factors — environmental or cross-contamination with other birds. A bit of education can help prevent some of them, or at the very least avoid losses through quick response to issues.
Turkey Poisoning
A challenge of pastured birds is the buffet of toxic plants at their disposal. Young milkweed, for example, is fatal to turkeys. One study found consuming just 1% of a bird’s body weight in milkweed resulted in death less than five hours later.
Symptoms of milkweed (and other plant species) poisoning include spasms and seizures ranging from mild to severe depending on dosage — but death is almost always the outcome.
Before pasturing any of your birds, take a look at poisonous plants in your area (often available from your county or state extension service) and do a careful inspection. Be sure to monitor the pasture throughout the year, cut down, and remove any toxic species that you find.
Turkey Coronavirus
The turkey-specific strain of coronavirus, or coronaviral enteritis, infects the gastrointestinal tract. It is highly contagious and non-treatable, but antibiotics have been shown to reduce death loss by reducing other infections.
Turkeys pick up coronavirus from fecal contamination of other birds — but the virus can also be carried by insects, vehicles, people, and other animals that contaminate facilities after contact with infected birds.
Symptoms include depression, severe diarrhea, weight loss, and dehydration. Because this is similar to other conditions, lab testing is necessary to confirm a diagnosis.
Blackhead Disease
Another gastrointestinal disease, blackhead, affects turkeys and other birds, including chickens. However, because chickens and other species tend to harbor roundworms — who are themselves hosts for the protozoa causing the blackhead — in their gut, they usually spread the infection to other birds.
Symptoms include yellowish diarrhea, lethargy, and an off-color, sickly-looking black head. Birds may slowly become emaciated.
It’s almost always fatal for turkeys, unlike other birds, with death rates as high as 70 to 100% in infected flocks.
Because there is no available treatment for blackhead in turkeys, strict and serious flock biosecurity is necessary. If you have other poultry types on your property or come into contact with other flocks, take great care to avoid cross-contamination.
Turkeys should be housed away from other poultry on the same property, along with a boot scrub or change before caring for them after being in contact with other birds.
Fowlpox Disease
Similar to chickenpox in people, fowlpox is a viral infection that causes scabs and lesions. Scabbing appears on the unfeathered parts such as combs on chickens or in the case of turkeys, the head and neck.
In another form of the disease, pox can appear on the mouth, throat and other internal mucous membranes impacting the ability to eat.
Vaccinations are available; they are typically not necessary on a regular basis. Because fowl pox is slow to spread, vaccines are often utilized to prevent ongoing infection within a flock.
Synovitis Disease
Synovitis is a very common upper respiratory infection caused by the nasty bacteria, Mycoplasma (M. synoviae). It can also take on a tendinitis form that affects the joints and legs.
It can be tough to detect as the infection will be subclinical for some time and only evident in advanced stages. Death rates are low, but the outbreaks can spread far and quickly. Serious infections can condemn carcasses at processing.
Signs include loss of appetite, depression, lameness, and abnormalities or swelling on the feet and legs. Synovitis can be treated with a number of different antibiotics, but because of its rapid spread and subtle nature, eradication is highly encouraged by professionals. Other than avoiding contamination from other flocks, be sure to only purchasing poults from hatcheries that report being M. synoviae-free.
Flock Aggression
Poults and adults, toms especially, are notoriously rough with one another. This can range from dominant feather pulling up to full-on cannibalism of other birds.
Some research has suggested red lighting may decrease pecking behavior, but the exact implications and results are unclear. If poults are showing aggression early on, this is certainly worth giving a try.
Not crowding pens both gives weaker birds room to flee and reduces irritable behavior. Similar to red lighting, some research has found putting peckable “enrichment objects” in the pen (cardboard, soft wood, etc.) may also help reduce feather pulling and pecking.
In cases of ongoing aggression towards weaker birds, it may be necessary to separate them from their penmates permanently.
Sources
- Coronaviral Enteritis of Turkeys (Bluecomb, By, Guy, J., & 2020, L. (n.d.). Coronaviral enteritis of Turkeys – Poultry. Retrieved Feb. 20, 2021.
- Fowlpox in Chickens and Turkeys By Deoki N. Tripathy, By, Tripathy, D., & Last full review/revision Jul 2019 | Content last modified Jul 2019. (n.d.). Fowlpox in chickens and Turkeys – Poultry. Retrieved Feb. 20, 2021.
- Medicine, C. (n.d.). Blackhead disease in poultry. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2021
- Mycoplasma synoviae Infection in Poultry (Infectious Synovitis) By Mohamed El-Gazzar, By, El-Gazzar, M., & Last full review/revision May 2020 | Content last modified May 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved Feb. 20, 2021.
- Stiles, G. (2019, December 11). Poisoning of Turkey poults From WHORLED MILKWEED (ASCLEPIAS galioides). Retrieved Feb. 23, 2021.
Originally published in the October/November 2021 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Thanks for the enlightenment. I have been educated on the care necessary for turkey and other birds. Thanks so much.
please help my turkeies they suffering a many blister on their head, legs an even on the eyes.
Good article
Turkeys are a type of bird that are native to North America. They are known for their distinctive appearance, which includes a bare, wattle-covered head and a fan-like tail. Turkeys are commonly raised for their meat, which is often served during holiday meals such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. In the wild, turkeys are omnivorous and feed on a variety of foods such as seeds, nuts, insects, and small animals. They are also known for their impressive displays of courtship and dominance, which involve puffing up their feathers and making loud calls.
i love it, hope you help me too on my problems in terms of taking care of my poultry..
I seriously need what to use to cure my turkeys black head is too much now please
Sadly, there isn’t a cure for blackhead. If you have an outbreak, isolate and destroy those turkey. Clean the areas for the rest of the turkeys to eliminate as much fecal material as possible.
This article may help: https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/EP69.pdf
My turkeys got blackhead and I searched and searched for a cure. The only thing I found was to feed cayenne pepper! It worked!
I need help , I have 3 month old meat turkeys jus dead ? . They become dull, not able to eat anddie
My turkeys are up to 3 months but sudenly one will become dull and unable to eat or stand well. I will try to give them antibiotics but before you know it they will die. I have lost 3 now. Please what treatment can i use.
Please help me with a name of drugs for the treatment of my turkey. Three and five months now. But develop this sickness two days ago some dead already. Feces are yellowish and watering.
Hello, I have a 2 year old broad breasted white turkey tom named turk weighing in at 45 ish pounds, he has been acting very strange for two days now. He has had a swollen middle toe on left foot for like 8 months now as well ( might of been stepped on by a horse) he won’t pick up his head or move it around, he won’t walk around or move, won’t eat or drink, he will stand if I help him up but won’t stand up on his own if he lays down. He was just fine running through the pasture full speed two days ago.(the last night he was fine we had a bad storm and he is currently a lone bird as the rest of the flock was sold off his last friend the rooster was mauled by a dog. The turkey was unharmed in this incident) please help me so I can try to save my turk!
Having read from u I got that my turkey had blackhead,now what can I do ?
Unfortunately, there isn’t (currently) a treatment for blackhead in turkeys. If you detect the disease in your turkey, they must be culled. All of the turkeys should be isolated from any other birds on your farm.
I have interest in keeping Turkeys & would need someone knowledgeable to keep in touch with me until I acquire enough experience in their lifespan.
I have one gobbler under his peak it is swelling. It is bigger than your fist. What is the problem. He is the only one that is like that.
There is a turkey that was experiencing aggression from another turkey and ended up with a limp. This turkey that is hurt and limping has been ostracized from other turkeys by this bigger turkey. He/she constantly is herding this hurt turkey, from every direction she turns. How can I help this smaller turkey? I feel so bad for her as, she is limping all the time on her right…whatever their foot is called. Sometimes, she is alone, but ultimately the big turkey shows up to her her around wherever he wants
John Ofuedo I love poultry keeping but a year now my interest shifted to Turkey keeping in particular bcos of meat quality and taste . However two months ago I lost 15 young poultry due what some experienced farmers call turkey pox that spread to all of them . I had applied gumboro earlier to prevent further applied vaccines through the efforts of available veterinary professionals but to no avail. I decided to quit the business or what should I do about turkey pox infection please ?
My pet turkey has severe dry skin what do I do for that? Also she picks at her foot a lot and it seems to be hurt but I’m not sure what’s wrong we’ve been to the vet and they gave us antibiotics she’s moving around more but the foot still seems to be a problem.
Why may male turkey not drumming like other male
They still not puff up their feather
He is 5 month old
My adult turkey about year and half is acting strange last two days. Won’t eat and tired like drained. Barely lifts head sleeps alot. Not eating or drinking. Poo is dark and runny .. he’s our family pet andcwe live him. How can we make him better
Hi Mary, Sorry your bird is ill. Diarrhea in turkeys can mean coccidiosis or hemorrhagic enteritis. Contact local vets and see if they’d be willing to test a stool sample so you know if it’s a bacterial or viral infection. For bacterial infections, antibiotics are a possible treatment. In the meantime, isolate your turkey from any other animals you have, provide lots of clean water. Thoroughly clean their living area (coop, pen, run). Change all the bedding, remove all poop, and sterilise everything with a mild bleach solution. Let me know what happens: editor@backyardpoultrymag.com
My tirkey has stop peecking food and its dul
Good morning, my turkey is having a swelling in the stomach, it has stopped eating two days ago, I went to veterinary, antibiotics and vamirex were given to me, I have been adding it to the water since yesterday, the turkey was taken the water but refuse to eat. Hope the turkey is safe?
We have a flock of wild turkeys that usually visit daily and we feed them wild bird seed. 1 turkey born 2 years ago was a runt and was picked on and never acted just right, like she was slow mentally and physically. Currently she is still small and ostracized by the others. She has a lame foot she lifts a lot as well as 4 lumps on top of her head nickle size the color of acorns that touch and make her head look unkempt. Is there anything we can do for Wilma?
I have a small flock of Turkeys and I think 1 of them is eating rocks and then poops in the 1 of 2 water containers but also there is blood in the water is that something to be worried about?