Much like the San Francisco Giants player he was named after, Timmy the Transylvanian naked neck chicken is something of a mop-headed freak.
The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA took custody of the strange looking fowl on Oct. 7, when a Good Samaritan in East Palo Alto reported trapping what appeared to be an injured quail.
A quail, however, it was not.
Perplexed humane society officials concluded the bird was most likely a Transylvanian naked neck chicken. The creatures are also known as "turkens" because their featherless necks give them the appearance of being a cross between a turkey and a chicken, agency spokesman Scott Delucchi said.
"It's our best guess," Delucchi said of the hypothesis. "If it is, it's the only one we've had in 60 years."
Timmy, however, is mysterious for more reason than one. The humane society is having trouble figuring out whether the avian, estimated to be about two months old, is male or female.
"So far, all this little guy or girl is doing is chirping," said Delucchi, noting that officials are leaning toward female since it has no comb and isn't crowing.
The humane society's unfamiliarity with Transylvanian naked neck chickens is due to the fact that they're native to Europe and more common there, Delucchi said. However, the birds, valued more for their eggs than their meat, are available for purchase in the United States, according to backyardchickens.com.
In any case, the humane society is hoping to find a home for Timmy. When the agency took custody of the bird, it was suffering from a wound under one wing and a swollen eye. Antibiotics cleared up both maladies and officials do not believe either was caused by abuse.
Delucchi said the turken is friendly and would require the same kind of care as any other chicken.
Humane society officials dubbed the bird Timmy after Giants pitcher Tim "The Freak" Lincecum, because of its similar scraggly looks. It remains to be seen whether the name will stick, especially if the creature ends up being female.
"We jumped the gun on the name, I think," Delucchi said.
The fee to adopt the bird is $10, Delucchi said. The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion is located at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame. -Mercury News
The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA took custody of the strange looking fowl on Oct. 7, when a Good Samaritan in East Palo Alto reported trapping what appeared to be an injured quail.
A quail, however, it was not.
Perplexed humane society officials concluded the bird was most likely a Transylvanian naked neck chicken. The creatures are also known as "turkens" because their featherless necks give them the appearance of being a cross between a turkey and a chicken, agency spokesman Scott Delucchi said.
"It's our best guess," Delucchi said of the hypothesis. "If it is, it's the only one we've had in 60 years."
Timmy, however, is mysterious for more reason than one. The humane society is having trouble figuring out whether the avian, estimated to be about two months old, is male or female.
"So far, all this little guy or girl is doing is chirping," said Delucchi, noting that officials are leaning toward female since it has no comb and isn't crowing.
The humane society's unfamiliarity with Transylvanian naked neck chickens is due to the fact that they're native to Europe and more common there, Delucchi said. However, the birds, valued more for their eggs than their meat, are available for purchase in the United States, according to backyardchickens.com.
In any case, the humane society is hoping to find a home for Timmy. When the agency took custody of the bird, it was suffering from a wound under one wing and a swollen eye. Antibiotics cleared up both maladies and officials do not believe either was caused by abuse.
Delucchi said the turken is friendly and would require the same kind of care as any other chicken.
Humane society officials dubbed the bird Timmy after Giants pitcher Tim "The Freak" Lincecum, because of its similar scraggly looks. It remains to be seen whether the name will stick, especially if the creature ends up being female.
"We jumped the gun on the name, I think," Delucchi said.
The fee to adopt the bird is $10, Delucchi said. The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion is located at 1450 Rollins Road in Burlingame. -Mercury News
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