Wild Turkey Adopts Duck Eggs After Mom Killed By Hawk
CHICAGO (CBS) -- After a wild turkey took over for their mother, who was killed by a hawk, a nest of duck eggs has begun hatching at a west suburban animal rescue center.
Jean Lowe, a registered nurse at Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, watched in horror earlier this month as a red-tailed hawk swooped down and grabbed a duck hen off her nest outside the hospital window.
"We didn't know what to do with them. They'd been sitting out most of the day in the sun, and then I kept them in a basin with warm blankets and towels until I could get them home, and when I got them home I put them in a bedroom with a space heater, and I kept them overnight, and brought them to the Fox Valley [Wildlife] Center the next morning," she said.
That's where a wild turkey named Talulah, took over for the mom, keeping the eggs warm until they began to hatch on Thursday.
"This turkey is nesting, sitting on them, and just protecting them, and they're all running around her like that's their mother," Lowe said.
Talulah has been at the wildlife center for about a year and a half, recovering from a severe wing injury.
Fox Valley Wildlife Center officials said she's now thriving in her role as foster mother for the ducklings.
Nine of the eggs have hatched, and the ducklings will probably stay with Talulah for a couple weeks before they'll be moved to a brooding box.