Erica Laurenzi was watching her dog Stella play with something that didn’t look like a toy on their 250-acre property in Maine with their other dog when she suddenly noticed. Then, astonishingly, she discovered that her dog found mystery egg.
Initially, Laurenzi couldn’t tell what kind of egg Stella had uncovered. The egg’s origins remained a mystery, but she and her boyfriend tried to track down the egg’s parents in the hopes of returning it to its rightful owners.
Laurenzi told The Dodo, “Amazed that they didn’t manage to break it,” that they went looking for a nest. There was still no luck an hour later. If given a chance, I strongly believe in returning the child to their mother.
Without a nest, Laurenzi decided to take the egg home with her. She had previously rehabilitated birds, so she understood how to care for the mystery egg.
Laurenzi confessed, “I have raised many sparrows and robins, but never an egg.” “The Googling began right away… The only thing I didn’t know was what kind of egg it was. Due to a few times we’ve seen turkeys scavenging around, we assumed it was an animal from the area. After conducting a Google search, it was confirmed that the egg was indeed a match. I drove to Tractor Supply with the egg in my sports bra in search of the Rolls Royce of incubators. Nothing but the best will do for this egg’s best chance of survival.”
Laurenzi was able to get the egg safely inside the incubator, where it remained for the next twenty-five days. Finally, on the morning of her birthday, she saw the first signs of the egg’s development after months of careful preparation and diligent attention. Stella sat and awaited the impending hatching of the baby turkey. As a result of her excitement over discovering the egg, she eagerly offered assistance to her mother in welcoming her new baby brother or sister.
According to Laurenzi, “you could tell she knew something was happening the morning it began hatching. As high as possible on our kitchen counter, we placed the incubator to protect it from potential dangers. By the end of the day, she and I were seated on our counter stools, watching it pick at its egg shell in frustration. She watched it dry off all night long and get its bearings.””
Stella and Laurenzi were in awe of the tiny turkey when it finally arrived. Despite all that had happened before he came into being, the turkey’s emergence was still quite a shock to everyone.
Even though Laurenzi and her team were confident that the egg contained a turkey, they were “still as stunned and amazed” by the discovery that all the tiny bird needed was home inside the egg they had stared at for nearly a month.”
Around a week old, the baby turkey is thriving. Now that he’s beaten the odds, his rescue family is determined to give him the best possible life.
It will serve as the mascot for Laurenzi’s off-grid cabin rental venture, Lost Mile Organic, which he plans to launch in the spring of 2017. The egg was found on that land, so we plan on reintroducing it to its natural habitat as soon as it is strong enough and self-sufficient, but we will keep it in a very lush enclosure where it can come and go as it pleases during the day and be protected at night.
Despite her affection for her pet turkey, the two have mainly observed one another from a distance. For safety reasons, they don’t want him to believe that all dogs and other furry wild animals are his friends, which could put him at risk. But, on the other hand, Stella adores being a part of the turkey’s birth and watching him grow into a young man.
@lostmileorganic That time your dog comes out of the woods with a mystery egg 🤷🏻♀️🐣🦃 Happy, healthy, growing and warm! #babyturkey #ReadyForHell #MINDORDERING ♬ Flowers (feat. Nori) – In Love With A Ghost
It’s not uncommon for Laurenzi to see Stella peering over the side of her brooder to see if her little friend is okay. When Stella found a mystery egg, Laurenzi had no idea what to expect, and everyone was grateful it worked out the way it did. When the turkey is ready, they’ll release him back into the wild and can’t wait to see what he does.
