When I got the call about this bird and saw it for the first time I was baffled. It looked to me sort of like a turken which is another name for a bare-necked chicken. But the feathers were not at all like normal chickens. And the knob on top of his beak???? He was tame and probably someone's pet but whose????
He arrived at the Coca Cola office on the Husky Road this morning. Mike McCarthy, the gentleman who called me, said he'd seen it on Sunday around his yard but didn't give it a thought other than wondering what it was. He lives in Wapiti, 20+ miles west of here, and when he stopped his truck at work this strange looking bird jumped down from underneath it.
I stopped by Linda and Elijah's to ask their opinion and to have them foster it until the mystery was solved. They're the ones who thought they knew what it was.....a turken crossed with a silkie. I Googled that and sure enough, that's what he is. We decided to name him C-REX (chickenasaurus rex), doesn't he look like a species of dinosaur? And those weird feet! Mike is going to ask around his neighborhood to see just where he came from so we can get him home.
UPDATE: His name is MARVIN and he'll be a year old next month. He was a learning project for a kindergarten class at Eastside School last year. Because of his personality and uniqueness he remains with his teacher and will do so forever. Yay, MARVIN!
This is a photo from the internet of a very beautiful female turken x silkie, isn't she something?
For the readers of Ironside Bird Rescue BlogSpot - I thought it would only be appropriate to extend a heartfelt thank you to Marvin's caretakers (Susan, Linda, & Elijah) for their respective efforts over the last few days. Given the fact that we live in Wapiti, it would seem as if Marvin is a true traveler at heart since he was able to hitch a ride into town (Cody) under the hood of my neighbors truck (Mike). We lost Marvin during the crazy winds over the last few days when particularly strong gusts jiggled open a latched door. We were sure he was food due to his diminutive size but we are happy to be wrong. Thank you also to Mike for checking with us otherwise we would have never known where he was or that he was alive. Now we will be sure to stay up to date on the current bird rescue news on www.ironsidebirdrescue.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
The Dimsey Family