A couple more new friends you need to meet! 😍😍

We are BEYOND full but I just couldn’t turn these two girls down. Spot is the lady in my lap, and Coretta is the darling peeking over our shoulders! I was contacted by one of our kitty fosters about these ladies. Spot has a foot with severe infection/arthritis/something and the farmer had zero interest in getting her any help. My foster’s daughter had been caring for them but was moving out, and long story short, these girls weren’t going to make it long without her around. They are Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys - meaning they were bred and purchased for meat. Like our Cornish Cross chickens, they need to be on a limited diet and struggle with weight issues. They both have an upper respiratory infection for which we have started them on antibiotics, and Spot will have her foot checked out by a vet this week.

Spot is a total lover. She wants to be in your lap, her head against your chest. She is amazing. Coretta is still learning to trust. She is younger and watches Spot, following her friend’s lead most of the time. They are valuable, incredible souls and I can’t wait for them to get settled in here.

Sweet Coretta. Isn’t she absolutely gorgeous?

She loves fresh grass, relaxing in the sunshine, and her best friend, Spot. Coretta was purchased as a baby at a farm supply store, intended to be used for her flesh. She was bred to become obese as quickly as possible. As a result, her weight causes her foot and leg problems, and the feathers on her tummy are missing because she spends so much time sitting down. But she doesn’t know anything different. She has no idea how close she came to being killed, or that humans have wreaked complete havoc on her body. All she knows is that today the sun is shining and she and Spot get to spend the day finding bugs and that there’s broccoli near the porch. All she will ever know until the end of her days is love. She, and all turkeys, deserve so much better. She is someone, not something.

Poor Coretta is going through a heavy molt (where old feathers fall out as new ones push in) and she did NOT appreciate the snow yesterday. All her tail feathers have fallen out except one that’s barely hanging on! Her tummy gets more bare every day and she has goofy looking patches all over her back. Still, she is the cutest little marbled rye biscuit I’ve ever seen!

Coretta has the most beautiful soul. She is timid and sweet. She gets scared easily and doesn’t like to be picked up, but when you pet her tummy she will melt right into your hand. She is low in the turkey pecking order but will chase off the manliest of roosters. She is the only one willing to eat her leafy greens.... but only if you’re holding them. Not after they’ve touched the ground. She is a beautiful individual and I am so glad she lives here.

Coretta was bred for meat, but she is so much more. She is a friend, not food. Please stop hurting people like Coretta.

Coretta suddenly can’t stand up today. 😕 Instead she launches herself forward and face plants. After speaking with our local vet, we’ve started her on pain meds and an antibiotic today and will try to get her into the avian vet tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for her as I genuinely have no idea what’s causing this. In the meantime, we’re hanging out and making sure she’s comfortable!

Coretta went to the vet tonight where we found out she has a broken leg!! Or... used to. It could be an old fracture that didn’t heal well. But no freakin wonder she is having trouble standing. She was very stressed being at the vet. She has an appointment with the avian vet in the morning but we will have to see how she’s feeling because that will be more time in the car and longer hours at the vet. We have greatly increased her pain meds so keep your fingers crossed that this is something she is able to heal from.

Broad-breasted turkeys like Coretta grow unnaturally large even on a severely restricted diet. Humans have wronged them so deeply, and there’s nothing we can do about it except take the best care of them possible and speak out about it. But she would NOT be having these problems if she were normally sized. Please keep your fingers crossed that we can get her healed up and healthy again.

Miss Coretta has started eating on her own again!! She also was able to walk enough to move out of her crate! She has a long way to go, but it’s clear she’s feeling so much better! 🙌

Our wonderful, beautiful Coretta is back to being a normal turkey! PHEW!!! She needs to lose some weight to get her liver functioning properly again, because it turns out we’ve been overfeeding a bit. 😬😬😬😬 But she can stand, and walk, and she’s eating on her own, and she gets so mad when breakfast is late, and this is SUCH A RELIEF. We will be starting her on liver support supplements that will be life-long, and we’ve actually decided to put all of our larger birds with crap genetics (our turkeys and all our Cornish Cross chickens - ie “meat” breeds) on the same supplements because they are much more prone to fatty liver disease. Coretta, we love you so darn much. Thank you for fighting through this. We’ll keep fighting for you, too. ❤️

Snow day!! Coretta has warm, dry places she can go, but tromping through the snow is much more exciting!

Coretta. She is a broad-breasted bronze turkey - bred to grow very large, very quickly and be killed for her flesh at 18 weeks old. We think she’s much more valuable alive.

She’s sweet, inquisitive, independent. She loves tomatoes and broccoli. She likes to make sure her rooster neighbors know she’s in charge. 😆 She’s not one for snuggling humans but she definitely doesn’t mind butt scritches. She has the softest skin, and tiny baby feathers on her neck that feel like peach fuzz. She is an individual, and her life matters.