With the purpose of identifying the causes of disease and death in backyard turkeys, 768 interviews with growers were carried out in communities of the coastal region of Oaxaca, Mexico. Later, a clinical sanitary evaluation was performed on five randomly selected turkeys of different age and sex. The laboratory tests included: necropsy for clinical diagnosis of diseases and for a histopathological examination of tissues with macroscopic lesions to identify microscopic lesions; hemagglutination inhibition tests to diagnose Newcastle disease and avian influenza; agglutination test to identify Mycoplasma gallisepticum, M. synoviae, and Salmonella pullorum; and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to identify infectious bronchitis and infectious bursal disease. Both internal and external parasites were identified. The data obtained by the interviews showed that sudden death, avian pox, respiratory disease, and diarrhea were the most important manifestations in backyard turkeys. The laboratory tests found avian pox, avian influenza, and infectious bronchitis; sensitivity to M. synoviae and M. gallisepticum; protozoal infections by Eimeria meleagridis and E. dispersa; internal parasite infestation by Heterakis gallinae and Ascaridia gallinae; and mycotoxicoses.