The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: harry on February 17, 2010, 04:57:25 pm
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ive now given in and am trying turkeys this year.. whats the answer about turkeys and chickens, ie blackhead, are they safe to mix after a few weeks or months? what is the full story about this and having turkeys on chicken ground, can he turkeys be vaccinated? ive googled turkeys mixing with chickens and got this http://back40forums.com/index.php?topic=276.0 SOME SAY YES SOME SAY NO ?????
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Hi, yes I do turkeys for christmas and learnt all about blackhead when mine all died! Basically if you want to keep them with chickens or on ground previously occupied by chickens you need to worm them at 3 weeks old with flubenvet for 7 days, then worm every 3 weeks until 16-18 weeks old, there is no vvaccine to prevent blackhead and no licensed medication for turkeys with blackhead, although a vet will prescribe an anti biotic is doesnt always work, an untreated turkey will die, quickly! any other queries fire away! also look at the turkey club forum, not a busy forum but lots of info on there!
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have you found the flubenvet better in water or mixed with oil and coat some grain... i suppose i could withdraw water for half a day or all day and put water in at evening time , they should drink plenty. same with feed i suppose
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I weigh the right amount of feed put in a large bucket/container pour on some sunflower oil, mix it well with a wooden spoon then mix in the flubenvet, it sticks then rather than just go powdery!
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A friend who was visiting from Aberdeenshire yesterday told me they are going to get some mini turkey day olds and rear to about 12lbs - anyone heard of these?
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you say worm to 18 weeks, after 18 weeks are they safe
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Yes they become immune! If you were then to keep them as adults they would need worming 6 monthly.
Not heard of mini turkeys as such but there are different strains of different breeds ie kelly bronze do roly polys, plumpys, cant remember the others but some grow much smaller than others, thats how they gorw them to suit different customers ie some want a 14lb bird others want a 24lb, at least thats how I understand it, i could of course be wrong!! :chook:
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My parents kept turkeys and chickens but never together - they had their own ranging space and their own sleeping quarters. I personally don't think it's wise to mix them.
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How do you know if youve never had any experience. Reading from people who have it seems ok done correctly
DIXIE, do they just become imune with age or is it because they have been wormed for the first 18 weeks.
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Because when I was growing up, I remember my parents having to deal with dead turkeys before they separated them from the chickens, and I remember them telling me to never mix them because the turkeys get sick. I don't have to repeat the same mistakes my parents made, if they've gone through the experience before. Ultimately it's up to you what you want to do.
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i thought blackhead was a recent visitor important from the eu. harry just make sure they are both wormed and with luck you will be fine. as you know nowts sure with animals. i think its because they have toughened up and would have been exposed. a bit like citti whatever it is the flock birds are immune but introduce a new oneand if your not careful it will get it,
how did your wild turkeys do our neighbor has some the look quite small.
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Ohmygod, how old do you think I am,lol! Blackhead was around in the eighties, and anyway, it's actually an ancient disease that's reemerged.
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youmgman ;D
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SHETLAND, wild turkeys doing ok got a stag coming soon from a local shoot. they make at best 14-16lb but fed wild they are mainly drumsticks and some breast not like the commercial ones ie 80%breast, thats why the wiLd ones can fly, hoping they will lay after i get a stag, a nice addition to the pheasant stock. About blackhead etc maybe weve moved on a bit in 20 years and the medication is about to mix chickens and turkeys, plenty of people seem to do it succesfuly now at home and in usa.
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You've got a point, Harry, cos it was more than twenty years ago, and hopefully things have moved on
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Its fine to keep them together with chickens as long as you worm them as described! They become immune because of the worming rather than age, if you didnt worm them they would probably die at around 8 weeks. The blackhead is a protozoa that is carried by chickens and lives in the ground, once its in the ground its extremely difficult to get rid! You can turn the ground over and lime it but I'd prefer to have a strict worming programme, make sure its flubenvet though and not a herbal type wormer!
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i was also thinking of limeing the ground what sort of lime is it, is it the same as builders lime
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I keep turkeys and chickens together, worming as described, i do keep the youngsters seperate until at least 10 weeks old unless they are being reared by a chicken broody of course ;D.
turkeys can be a bit possesive of the grub but found a spiral feeder makes sure everyone gets a share.
mandy
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right got my flubenvet. what a performance. my farm supplier told me i can only have a 60grm tube as hes not allowed to sell it anymore. a tub to do 6 birds for 6 months £20 plus vat, sod that. so i went to my feed suplier mill up the road, asked if it could be added to feed ,yes he said min 40 tons, so may wait for the game breeders to order some then ask him for a couple of 20klo bags, he could sell me 60 grm tub for £10.50 plus vat so i had that, but he couldnt sell me a a 240 grm tub or more (regs), so i said can i buy 6 or more 60 grm tubes he said yes ???????????????? bloody eu rules,
Now as i understand it my breeding turkeys will eventually become imune but they must be allowed to become infected then treated then they become imune, THEY CANNOT BECOME IMUNE IF NEVER INFECTED, IS THAT CORRECT.
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very true. maybe they get a slight dose of the bug between treatments. however the most likely reason is that you don't have the bug in your flock. i don't know but not worth the risk. the EU do seem to have something against turks banning the drugs that treat blackhead and now making a good wormer harder to get.
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I thought they get immune through maturity? In any case you must worm as I advised to prevent blackhead. I bought flubenvet off the internet, has that been stopped then? will have to investigate!
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you can get small tubs only 60 grm... none on ebay at all, its seems strictly controlled sales now
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I have heard both sides..tales of turkey flocks been wiped out cause of Blackhead, which are true and very tragic to those who are in denial and say older Turkeys' DO NOT' get it. I buy flubenvet off the internet in large tubs and they do last a while. I would rather be safe than sorry and there are other worms that infest poultry you know.To me you should worm regularly as you would any animal. Hermit
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can't argue with that. just is it safe to use vermex against the blackhead worm. like you i prefer flubenvet
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Vermex is a herbal wormer, more of a deterent I feel, I prefer Flubenvet myself aswell.I want to know the job is done .