Backyard Turkey Health

While there are several disease conditions that can affect both chickens and turkeys, raising turkeys as pets or for small-scale processing requires additional management and disease control considerations. Proper husbandry/management and biosecurity are essential for disease prevention and control in small/backyard turkey flocks. Turkeys have different nutritional requirements from chickens and should be fed a turkey-specific diet appropriate for their life stage (e.g., brooding, growing, finishing). Although there are several vaccines available for prevention of disease in turkeys, vaccination is generally not recommended for small/backyard flocks unless there is a history of a specific disease challenge on your premises.

Raising chickens and turkeys on the same site poses increased disease risk to the turkeys. Turkeys are highly susceptible to Blackhead (Histomoniasis), a fatal disease affecting the liver and ceca caused by the protozoal parasite Histomonas meleagridis. Histomonas has a complex lifecycle and can be carried by the Heterakis cecal worm. Chickens are less susceptible to clinical disease from Histomonas and Heterakis and can serve as an amplifying host for the cecal worm and therefore for the Histomonas parasite. There are currently no approved medications for prevention or treatment of Blackhead in the United States, so successful control of Blackhead is dependent on limiting exposure of turkeys to worms carrying the Histomonas parasite.

There are two species of Mycoplasma commonly seen in small/backyard flocks.  M. gallisepticum (MG) causes respiratory disease and occasionally synovitis (infection of the leg joints); M. synoviae (MS) primarily causes synovitis and occasionally respiratory disease. Antibiotic treatment of infected flocks can reduce disease severity and mortality; however, relapses following treatment are common. The clinical signs of Mycoplasma infections are not specific for Mycoplasma; laboratory testing is required to confirm the diagnosis. Many backyard chicken flocks are chronic carriers of MG and MS and can pose a risk for the introduction of the disease to turkeys. Mycoplasma can also be vertically transmitted from the hen, so hatching poults from infected hens can perpetuate the disease in your flock. Strict biosecurity and obtaining poults from NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Plan) "Mycoplasma Clean" flocks/hatcheries is the best way to prevent Mycoplasma infections in your flock.

Coccidiosis is an enteric disease of poultry caused by various species of Eimeria, a protozoal parasite. There are seven different species of Eimeria that are known to infect turkeys; however, only four of these species are considered pathogenic (capable of causing clinical disease). Coccidia are host-species specific; the coccidia that infect turkeys will not infect chickens, and vice versa. There are fewer approved medications available for control of coccidiosis in turkeys than are available for use in chickens. The clinical signs of coccidiosis are not specific, so it is best to have your veterinarian or local diagnostic laboratory confirm the diagnosis.

Consult your veterinarian for assistance in the diagnosis, treatment, and control of disease in your flock.