A turkey on pcp.
Posted on 04/18/2006 2:53:48 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(Wild bird escapes from empty home after face-off...)
A wayward turkey created havoc after smashing through a window of a home on the city's southwest side, eventually prompting the police to resort to a Taser to get the bird to leave.
Officers Chad Joswiak and Daniel Borth were called to the home at about 4:45 p.m. on April 7 after motion detectors set off an alarm.
Steve Hird, the son of the couple who own the home, said the officers found a nearly 2-foot-wide hole in the 24-inch-by-50-inch window "smack dab in the middle." The bird flew at enough force to go through two panes of glass and hurtle through thick drapes, Hird said. The glass spray stretched for about 15 feet inside the house.
"It's just hard to believe you could come in with that much force, through a window and a storm window, and not kill the bird," he said.
Hird's parents - who asked not to be identified out of fears their home might become a target for burglars - were vacationing in Florida, so the officers called Steve to let them in.
His wife, Sue, showed up first, walked into the kitchen and spotted the big bird. The bird, in turn, spotted her, unfolded its wings and flew at her.
"You just hear this fluttering," Steve Hird said. "She screamed."
The officers told her to run for it, and they went outside to ponder their next move.
According to police spokesman Mike Hanson, the officers called an Animal Control officer, who told them it was turkey mating season and the city was rife with complaints about misbehaving birds. They were busy with other calls, Hanson said. The officers were on their own.
Meantime, Steve Hird and another officer arrived.
Following a suggestion by the Animal Control officer, the officers tried using a blanket from behind to coax the bird out the door. It didn't work.
The turkey resolutely stood its ground in a corner, pecking at the wall. One of them threw a cup of water on its head, which stopped the pecking, but the bird didn't move.
They rearranged the furniture, hoping to fashion a funnel that would lead the bird out the door. They watched hopefully as the bird made its way down the path, then with dismay as it ignored the door and headed for a chandelier upstairs, leaving blood splotches on the ceiling but not damaging the light. Then it ran down the upstairs hallway and took refuge behind a futon.
Mindful of the damage already done to the home, Joswiak tried to end the ordeal by zapping the bird with a Taser. It had an effect, but not the desired one - the turkey flew up and broke a ceiling light.
Hird said the wing span of the bird was between 4 and 5 feet.
"It turns from what doesn't look that huge to a monster," he said. "I cowered. I ran, and the other police ran, down the hallway."
Joswiak again got a clear shot and fired the Taser a second time. It's still unclear if the darts penetrated the bird's feathers.
"Maybe it stunned it, but it didn't look like it," Hird said.
At any rate, the bird had had enough. With the second jolt it flew down the hallway, down the stairs and out the front door.
Hird believes that mating season had something to do with the bird's flight through the window.
"It's mating season," he said. "It probably saw its reflection in the window."
Hird said he and his wife were able to move some valuables out of the bird's path during the ordeal. It was still uncertain how much damage it caused, but he said it could have been much worse. If the motion detector hadn't alerted the security company, the turkey could have been in the house for days.
"If they didn't have a security system it probably would have destroyed the place," he said.
Ping for your list. :)
All they needed to do was to darken the inside the house (lights off, curtains closed) and leave the doors to the outside open.
Let see, their son is Steve Hird. How hard could it be to figure out who his parents are?
A turkey on pcp.
Ok, now I'm REALLY LMAO!!!
The layers of feathers on a gobbler are all but bullet proof. They are tough 'ol birds. I doubt a tazer wouldn penetrate deep enough to do its thing.
Did someone call PETA? There was no mention of Miranda being issued.
Hey! I've got a lamp just like that, LOL! Not really...but I've got a pretty, mounted fanned-turkey tail. DH made an awesome piece of jewelry to hold the "beard" too, so it's a very pretty display. :)
I will agree that those suckers are HUGE when they stand tall and fluff themselves up. I'm only 5'2" so they're the size of me when disgruntled. However, I remain 5'2" when disgruntled, though my tongue does get sharper. *Smirk*
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