What causes this ?

I have been having some trouble with my newly hatched turkey chicks .On died , one is doing rather well ,although it seems small .two are having trouble standing ,one being a bit older by a day or two seems to not able to stand for to long and then it falls down on it's back and has to be helped back up ( rather hard to do when you're not there 24/7 !!!!!!! What is the cause of this ?? I have another two dozen plus eggs that will be hatching in a few weeks and I hate the thought that they might be doomed at birth .

Sounds to me like temp issues during hatching so poults are weak. Sounds like you are probably right that they are doomed. I would try putting vitamins in their water to possibly save them. Usually when they flip onto their back they dont have much chance

Sorry I couldnt be more positive about this!

I had a chick do the flopping on the back. It was like its legs were either bent for it to lay or straight, no in between. I took an old coffee cup that I use to scoop feed and put the chick in it and tapped it so that the chick could "stand" but not flip over. It worked, she is out there laying eggs for me even now. As for what causes it, I would have to agree it sounds more like a temp issue. I have heard of it with chickens. Also I have noticed that poults are weaker and take longer to get going then the chicks.

They hatched with chicken chicks ? same temp straight through so I have to question that ? The chicken chicks are doing great ,I have been thinking of what I could rig up so that it wouldn't fall down when it stands .........and it can stand , it looks like it has muscle cramps when it's down ?

turkeys need more heat, so possibly could be they have chilled, or their floor is too slippery also. The chicken chicks can deal better with a little lower temp either in hatching or after hatching than turkeys do.

Yes, I've found the same things - chicks have better tolerance for temperature variances it seems. Some years my turkey poults are really really weak and it is hard to watch them die one by one while the chicks go from strength to strength. Wish i could offer a better forecast.

But what do you have for them to stand on? Make sure it isn't slippery.

They are in a ""box"" with a towel for walking on , I don't think that they have splayed legs ? I thought that they had the same temp for hatching as chicken chicks ?

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I don't see the brooder temp as being a issue , it's more then warm enough .

Only thing I have to add to the discussion, is where are your eggs from? If they are not your own, perhapse the parent stock had a genetic issue, or were fed incorrectly? Just a wild guess, how are they doing now?

One is doing better then the other , but it's also a day or two younger ,the other one I'll try feeding some cooked egg yolk today because he /she doesn't look to be eating .I have been as well as my wife has been getting it to drink .It wants to be with teh other chicks but as soon as it moves a bit it falls and then they peck at it ? We'll see what happens