Teeker

So, we are sitting in our outdoor kitchen visting with a friend when we see this (first picture) under out cook table. A baby chick? None of our hens have been sitting on a nest. They all sleep in their henhouse. Could a fertilized egg have hatched all by itself in the heat, hidden in the woods?

No, it is a wild turkey! I thought a turkey chick should be bigger than this, but we googled pics and that's our baby!

The turkeys on our land keep thier distance from us so we are still puzzled about how it wandered all the way to us, but here it is. I tried to leave it near where the turkeys roost, hoping a mother would take it in, but after waiting and waiting for them to go into the area where they normally roost and it was getting dark, we figured they must have another roosting place also and we took the baby home. It could not have made it alone through the night.

I think she has accepted me as her mother- she follows me when I walk away and comes running when I scratch in the dirt. Last night, we had no way to keep her at the 95 degrees necessary, so she slept with me :) Today we will have a warm light and little home set up for her with a cage over our raised garden box. I am also trying to find her another turkey chick friend- if you know anyone who raises them, please let me know. We have heard that it is very difficult to keep a wild turkey chick alive, but this one seems to be doing very well. She is eating, drinking, pooping and all things I would imagine a turkey chick should- scratching, pecking bugs and even chasing RJ's toes!

Because of the surrounding circumstances, she (or he) will not be Thankgiving dinner and they live for 10-15 years, so if she makes it through the next few days, we have a new pet!

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