Thelma and Beauty

Thelma & Beauty – A Special Friendship

Thelma and Beauty

Taking care of animals has been the biggest joy of my life, and a return to my childhood growing up with farm animals as friends. 
People think that turkeys are not intelligent, but I can say from my experience raising them and living with them, they are extremely intelligent and loving beings with personalities of their own. My sweet turkeys, Thelma and Louise, are as different as night and day. Thelma is loving, caring and affectionate to humans, and Louise is aloof and not as trusting…and they were raised in the house with me, picked up and hand fed and lived in a playpen until they were big enough to live outdoors.

But this is about Thelma and Beauty, a turkey and a chicken. A few days ago Beauty, the Rhode Island Red I’ve raised since a chick who is now 5 years old, hurt her leg and won’t step on it, and jumps around on one leg. (I’ve treated her, however, it just has to heal.)

Every morning when I let all of them out of their coop to roam around scratch, peck and dust bathe, and devour the fruit & veggies I put out for them. Beauty struggles getting to the outdoor feeding area and most times I carry her. This morning, she made an effort herself, but stopped midstream and stood there for quite some time, holding her precious foot up. Thelma decided that Beauty shouldn’t be alone and stood right next to her, eventually laying down next to her, in what I perceived as an effort to befriend to Beauty, as if telling her it was ok to lie down – she was there with her to protect her.

This, to me, was incredibly kind – a turkey, forgoing the feed area to protect and accompany her friend Beauty. They crossed the species barrier and are live long friends, and it all started when Beauty was hurt.

I only hope that someday the human race can fathom the sensitivity, brilliance, and pure love animals express. I live with them, which proves to me day in and day out how incredible they are – and every day I wonder “how on earth could anyone kill and eat these amazing little beings”.