By Danya Bazaraa and Emily Jane Davies
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A pet turkey that caused mayhem for its owners by chasing them around their garden and stealing food from their kitchen has found a new home and three new feathery friends.
Widowed father Paul Griffiths made a plea for a new owner for ‘Lurky’ after discovering she was ‘aggressive’ and terrorised his chickens in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
He had adopted the bird four months ago for his wife who was affectionately known as the ‘crazy chicken lady’ – but the 53-year-old eventually decided it was time to pass the bird on.
Animal lover Debbie Foley came forward and took in the ‘temperamental turkey’ to her sanctuary in Stonea, Cambridgeshire, at the weekend.
She told the BBC: ‘Turkey-Lurky now has a home for life.’
Paul Griffiths adopted the turkey – named Lurky (pictured above) – four months ago
Mr Griffiths lives in a farmhouse in Cambridgeshire with his dogs, ducks and three chickens
Lurky is settling in with Ms Foley’s other turkeys – Colin, Stanley and Jenny.
Mr Griffiths had made it clear he did not want Lurky to end up on a Christmas dinner plate when he put out a plea for a new owner – and luckily Ms Foley is vegetarian.
His daughter Ophelia, who is a dog walker, said Lurky would often make her way onto the kitchen counter and steal food.
Ophelia and her father – whose wife sadly who died from a stroke in April aged 52 – couldn’t handle the bird any longer.
She said the turkey was ‘very friendly’ when they first got it, but as time went on she became aggressive, tried to attack the family and would chase her around the garden.
Turkeys can grow to 10kg and can run 25 miles an hour.
Ms Griffiths, 21, told The Telegraph: ‘I tried to pick her up once, and then instead of her letting me do that, she basically just pecked my face and I had a massive bruise on my upper lip, she was horrible.
‘She would run up to you with her wings out, obviously turkeys are quite big animals, with her wings spread, and try to attack you.’
Ms Griffiths said her pet turkey would often ‘pick fights’ with their chickens and ‘as soon as you step foot in that garden, she was on you’.
Dr Viola Ross-Smith, from The British Trust for Ornithology, told the BBC that a new owner would struggle to retrain Lurky as ‘that ship has sailed’.
‘They have a pecking order and maybe Turkey-Lurky thinks he’s the top bird in the whole house,’ she said.
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