SoCal turkeys put up for adoption

PALMDALE, Calif., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- An animal-rights group in California says don't get any sneaky ideas about adopting a pet turkey in time for Thanksgiving.

The Farm Sanctuary says it is looking for homes for 25 baby turkeys someone dropped off at its facility in Palmdale, and Thanksgiving chefs need not apply.

"Not wanting to eat them is the No. 1 thing we're looking for," shelter director Susie Coston told the Los Angeles Times.

Coston said the baby birds, known as poults, were in rough shape and may have been smuggled out of a commercial turkey farm by a guilt-plagued worker.

The bedraggled poults could get a new lease on life with a family. Coston said turkeys actually make pretty nice pets, although local zoning laws often restrict poultry pets to nothing larger than a chicken.