LaidWithLove
Songster
- Nov 26, 2017
- 50
- 114
- 101
... yeah this is a weird story.
to make it short:
- my mom found an egg in the woods foraging. it was abandoned, and nothing came back for it.
- she brought it home and stuck it in the incubator with some chicken eggs
- it hatched!!!!!!!!
- we named the baby turkey Phyllis
- we did not expect Phyllis to live given the reports from friends who knew about wild turkeys
..
-she lived
anywayyyy she's about 3.5-4 months old. she runs the world. she is the wildest critter of all time. yet, she could leave. and does not leave. Phyllis ensures her chicken friends are in their coop before she flies up to the tree near the coop. she sleeps there, and returns every morning, eager for breakfast. she is allowed to free range the days we are home, and seems healthy (how does one tell these things?) and loves to chatter.
any ideas on gender?
(we ARE in the process of getting her a permit but it's a slow roll)
these pics are a month old, she is hard to photograph and I have been working late/unable to get a good shot of her. she still looks like this only bigger/longer, and has zero red. her snood looks like it's developing as a hen would, but it is very small still. we have her on a 22% starter crumble with our other birds, because in our area there's no way to get grain mite free gamebird feed. she also ranges most all day so she eats tons of bugs. either way, she seems remarkably healthy/happy. she does fly up the trees to hang out, prompting the rest of the chickens to start squalling because they would like to folow their mighty tailed friend to the canopy of the pine trees. she does have feathers on the top of her head, making me think female, but they are short.
I can try for more pics to upload tomorrow. Thanks!
to make it short:
- my mom found an egg in the woods foraging. it was abandoned, and nothing came back for it.
- she brought it home and stuck it in the incubator with some chicken eggs
- it hatched!!!!!!!!
- we named the baby turkey Phyllis
- we did not expect Phyllis to live given the reports from friends who knew about wild turkeys
..
-she lived
anywayyyy she's about 3.5-4 months old. she runs the world. she is the wildest critter of all time. yet, she could leave. and does not leave. Phyllis ensures her chicken friends are in their coop before she flies up to the tree near the coop. she sleeps there, and returns every morning, eager for breakfast. she is allowed to free range the days we are home, and seems healthy (how does one tell these things?) and loves to chatter.
any ideas on gender?
(we ARE in the process of getting her a permit but it's a slow roll)
these pics are a month old, she is hard to photograph and I have been working late/unable to get a good shot of her. she still looks like this only bigger/longer, and has zero red. her snood looks like it's developing as a hen would, but it is very small still. we have her on a 22% starter crumble with our other birds, because in our area there's no way to get grain mite free gamebird feed. she also ranges most all day so she eats tons of bugs. either way, she seems remarkably healthy/happy. she does fly up the trees to hang out, prompting the rest of the chickens to start squalling because they would like to folow their mighty tailed friend to the canopy of the pine trees. she does have feathers on the top of her head, making me think female, but they are short.
I can try for more pics to upload tomorrow. Thanks!
