Blackheads

Steptoe · **Joined:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:20 pm **Posts:** 5

Is the treatment of copper sulfate the best for blackheads disease and at what ratio to food is enough but not too much?

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

I believe that it is much wiser to obtain the correct medication from your vet for proper treatment and control of blackhead in your fowl.

http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/27_2733.htm

purefeather · **Joined:** Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:36 pm **Posts:** 736

G'day Steptoe, that's good advice you've just recieved from Sebducks. Worth following up , if you find that your vet doesn't have a good knowledge of poultry complaints then I would suggest that you encourage that vet to do some homework and come up with the appropriate medication. There's nothing better than having a pet vet.

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

The two most common medications are Flagyl and emtrol some are unavailable now so there would be an alternative the vet could source for you.

andre · **Joined:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:21 pm **Posts:** 612

Steptoe wrote:

Is the treatment of copper sulfate the best for blackheads disease and at what ratio to food is enough but not too much?

What kind of bird?

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

I don't believe that copper sulphate is at all useful as a treatment for blackhead disease.
As Andrew wrote-what kind of bird are you asking about and how do you know it has blackhead?

The golden rules with blackhead prevention are:
1) Keep chickens away from turkeys and make sure there is no cross contamination between the two ( eg runoff, on boots etc)
2) Regular worming eliminates the transport host Heterakis whose egss contain the blackhead organism
3)keeping runs dry with sunlight exposure helps to reduce infectivity
4) Use appropriate medications as instructed (unfortunately they are all prescription ie vet-only drugs.

Hope this is of some help.

Steptoe · **Joined:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:20 pm **Posts:** 5

It's in prep for turkeys a mate is giving me 6 and I know the buggers can get blackheads so I want to be prepared. I won't let them near the other birds so should be little risk factor for the chooks and ducks and guinea fowls. My mate has never had it but reckons if he suspects they do he kills them quick, me I like to try and fix things so a little treatment first is my way

andre · **Joined:** Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:21 pm **Posts:** 612

Unfortunately there is nothing in the way of drug that is on the market for blackhead in turkeys. Emetryl used to be mixed into feed as a preventative, but it has been taken off the market by the APVMA.

Parvo has indicated the best control measures.

Personally, I do sometimes keep chickens with the turkeys, but only after worming the chickens and only in concrete-floored pens which can be kept clean.

Sebducks · **Joined:** Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:41 pm **Posts:** 812

Prevention is better than cure and I am glad you don't have this disease. Parvo gives good advice re the prevention of blackhead. There will always be people who successfully run turkeys with other fowl without incidence of this disease. I believe good hygiene and maintenance of the poults is crucial as is worming on a regular basis. My turkey run is a very dry enclosure they do however mix with any and all of my other poultry, not because they are housed together but because my turkeys fly over the fence. Even with one wing cut they can fly fairly well. I don't know whether its my maintenance, worming regieme or they may have some resistance passed down their line, or plain luck but I certainly would recommend you setting up your poults in a dry run away from other poultry and following a good maintenance schedule. Remember to feed turkey starter to them as it contains all the medication that a turkey poult needs, you must also rememeber that turkey starter is not recommended to be fed to other types of poultry.

Steptoe · **Joined:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:20 pm **Posts:** 5

Thanks tons for all that you wrote I can say its an enormous help so thank you

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Blackheads

Who is on the Forum