Help please! My turkey friend was attacked by something.

I have a Royal Palm turkey, he is 1 1/2 yrs old. He was taken from his perch last night by something. Pile of feathers under his perch and a trail of feathers, though no blood, that gies 10 ft into the woods. When we came out of the woods looking for him, he was standing in front of a shed we put him in on nasty nights. We scooped him up and brought him in ( we have a perch for him in there and is his spot). He didn't go up on it, instead, he tucked into a corner. This morning he was still in that corner, standing, breathing with open mouth somewhat heavily. I checked on him again a couple hours later, he hasn't touched his food or water and is now laying on his belly but listing to the right with his right wing out a little bit ( still no blood and haven't found a wound yet). He only opened his eyes a couple times while I was with him, about an hour, and seems like his breathing is more labored.
He is my friend,while some may thing it's silly, thus guy has given me joy when I thought I'd never experience again after losing my son. If anybody has any suggestions I'd greatly appreciate 🙏

Hi Gillian,
I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but when a bird is not eating or drinking after being injured, that is not a good sign. I'm not a turkey expert, and many animals can heal from incredible injuries, but I would be prepared for the worst.

I'm not a turkey person, but I have ducks, chickens and geese.

1. Shock is a killer. Make sure he's warm. Have you heard of "Rescue Remedy"? It's not one I've personally used, but my friend used it all the time on her chickens. I've used Homeopathic remedies for shock, and my understanding is that Rescue Remedy is a mixture of those that's simply more commonly available.

2. Can you feel broken rib bones?  Or bones around the wing that could be causing pain when breathing?

3. I wouldn't worry about food at this point, but getting some sugar/electrolyte water into him, even if you have to gently syringe it into him, might be worth a try as you don't have much else you can do.

I'm not sure where you're located, but I specifically have what I call a "chicken hospital" which is really just a solid plastic crate that I made a mesh lid for, and at this time of year, I would move a friend like that in near the fire to make sure they're warm enough. I have a hanging waterer that fits. I don't drink those "energy" drinks, but consider the ingredients in one and add similar to the water (maybe minus the caffeine???).

Good luck! Warmth, safety, and a bit of fluid may be your best option!

We've moved him in close to our woodstove, yesterday he drank a little water on his own and stood up a couple times, but today I had to syringe some into him again. He seems to be favoring his right wing/side. I've very very gently felt for any bones that feel out of place but I'm seriously out of my league here. He is worse today than yesterday 😔He is my first turkey, one of the first birds actually so I have no clue other than what information I've been able to find by Googling. It's day 2, there aren't any bird vets near me. There is a wildlife rescue/park nearby, they don't treat people's pets but I will call Monday morning too see if they can provide me with some ideas/help with a guess as to what's wrong. I won't allow him to suffer,if I cannot help him  heal first.
Thank you to everyone who replied. 🙏🦃

*Update: my dear friend passed on last night.
We did find out what attacked him as it came back. It was a large bobcat.
Before I got this turkey I never gave much thought to them before. It didn't take long to discover that the Tom's at least are noble,loyal, protective and followed me everywhere. Stayed beside me during some awful times at my son's grave. If you think a turkey is just a bird that is raised for Thanksgiving or Christmas, that they don't have feelings, then you haven't spent any time with one. My Embden gander attacked me one day, I was starting to get a bit worried when he wouldn't quit, all of a sudden, my turkey is there beating on my gander with wings and feet,chasing him off and away from me. Every time after that I went anywhere near my gander, Juice ( my turkey) was next to me.
Thank you again for all your helpful suggestions and care.💜🦃🙏

I wish I had better suggestions for you but I'm hoping your turkey friend pulls through.

As you probably appreciate, hydration is important for your turkey's recovery. If you have access to a poultry electrolyte supplement that you could mix up, it might help it's system regulate better than if you just used plain water. It can help pull them out of shock. I'd only use it for a day or two.

Gillian, don’t give up on him, he’s young (meaning he has great vitality) and, after all, he was able to escape and scare away the predator on his own. So the injuries are maybe not fatal?

I would make for him some electrolyte with freshly squeezed fruit juice (when my rooster was similarly injured I had oranges on hand, but you can use anything- apples, tangerines etc). To the fruit juice you add a pinch of salt. This will give him sugar, vitamin C and salt.

Since he is tame and he knows you, I urge you to spend time with him, talking with him gently, telling him how much you love him, that you’ll make sure he’ll be safe in the future. Of course the turkey doesn’t know what you’re saying, but animals do have the concept of hope (psychiatrists did experiments on rats). The turkey won’t know what exactly you are saying, but he’ll definitely get your meaning.

I’m so glad to see homeopathy was mentioned here! It is indeed exceptionally useful in predator attacks. There is something that cancels the fear:

 Aconitum napellus (Acon) – Extremely useful for INTENSE FEAR. Severe shock, especially shock from fright or accident. Acon is often the first remedy given to an adult or older juvenile wild animal brought into rehabilitation since they are in shock and terrified from being captured and handled by a predator (human). In cases where fear is a primary reason for selecting Acon, it is often only given one time at a 30c, 200c or 1m potency. If initially selected due to animal’s severe fear, it may be followed a short time later (15 to 30 minutes) by another remedy for another condition, such as Arn.

But by now your pet probably calmed down. So what he probably needs now is ARNICA:

Arnica montana (Arn) – Often selected as the first remedy for TRAUMATIC INJURY, such as bruises, head trauma, sprains, fractures. Extremely useful in treating injuries, falls, blows, contusions and shock from injury. Patient does not want to be touched. Cannot get comfortable. Sore, lame, bruised feeling with tendency for bruises to hemorrhage. Some vertigo (dizziness) after head trauma. Overuse of muscles. Tends to be cool. A very common homeopathic medicine used with wildlife since so many wild animals arrive in rehabilitation as a result of trauma (falls, accidents). Considered when a trauma, however remote, may have caused the problem.

Here’s the whole article, please dear people, at least skim it. It’s written by serious people, with decades of wildlife rehabilitation experience. And what’s good for wildlife, is good for our animals too.

https://www.ewildagain.org/homeopathic-first-aid-tips-wildlife  

Sorry Gillian, animals are not simply animals. They can be companions and even family when it comes down to it. You did what you could and that is commendable. Take the time to grieve your friend, learn from the experience, and in my opinion continue to nurture and raise the animals that you enjoy.

Timothy Norton wrote:.....animals are not simply animals. They can be companions and even family when it comes down to it. You did what you could and that is commendable. Take the time to grieve your friend, learn from the experience, and in my opinion continue to nurture and raise the animals that you enjoy.

Chiming in with this sentiment and thanks for what you bring to the world, Gillian.  Another obit in harmony with your own if you've never heard of Cornelius the Tom:  https://boingboing.net/2023/09/27/happily-ever-esther-farm-sanctuary-says-goodbye-to-long-time-house-turkey-cornelius.html

I would just add, Tim, that cosmologically, animals even go beyond family....revered by many cultures as possessing wisdom beyond our own.  If not mistaken, some Native American cultures believed that humans had lost many sensibilities during creation that non-humans had retained.  Hence the need to observe and learn and respect animals and other beings as ancestor...

Strange coincidence, Gillian, that just as you were losing your your friend Juice, we had a wild turkey show up amongst our geese (below)!  In another thread, I noted losing 4 of the geese over the weekend to coyotes,.... have we gained another being from another species in all of this?  Sympathies on your loss, Gillian, and understand the connections mentioned......

Gillian, I'm sorry for your loss. If it was a Bobcat, there's a good chance there were internal injuries that you could not see or treat, but you gave Juice emotional support and what comfort you could, which is important for both of you.

I don't know if you're ready to hear this, but I have an apple tree named Marguerite, and one named Bilbo. I made simple wooden signs and wood-burned the names on. It's my way of respecting the circle of life - those animals fed the soil near those trees, and the trees incorporated their goodness and are now named for them.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Gillian. Even losing 'mere livestock' is a sad & horribly frustrating setback, more so, when we've tried to provide a healthy, happy life for them. But, losing beloved pets that we've connected with... that's a whole different, and heartbreaking ball of wax. For us, it was a turkey hen, named Breakfast (because who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?), but she stole her way firmly into our hearts. She was sitting on a nest of 16 eggs, when she was attacked and killed by a raccoon - as were all the eggs. The battle must have gone on for some time, because we found her a good 20yards from the nest, with feathers and blood scattered between - she'd fought hard to save her babies, and we didn't even hear the ruckass. We cried and grieved hard. That was about 2yrs ago (the males were another sad tale), and we just haven't had the heart to get more turkeys, but they're amazing, often very sweet critters and easy to get attached to. Hugs...