Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe ELBURN, Ill., May 12 (UPI) -- A turkey at an Illinois animal shelter took an unorthodox route to motherhood when she adopted a group of ducklings. Fox Valley Wildlife Center shared photos of Talulah, the education turkey, who spent most of her life incubating unfertilized eggs before getting the opportunity to hatch a batch of 13 duck eggs. Advertisement "Talulah, wanted nothing more than to be a mom. But without a male turkey around, she could only lay unfertilized eggs," they wrote. "So we decided to do a little experiment; we gave the first group of viable mallard duck eggs we received to Talulah to incubate (the mother duck was killed by a hawk). And they hatched!" Nine of the 13 ducklings survived and Talulah was finally able to recognize her dream of becoming a mother. Staff were unsure what to do about the unusual pairing, but celebrated Talulah's budding relationship with her adopted ducklings in a Mother's Day post. The Kane County Chronicle reported that Talulah continues to treat the ducklings as her babies and they also view her as their mother. The ducklings will eventually be moved outside and away from Talulah once their water-proof feathers develop. Staff are unsure how Talulah will react to the separation, but said she is content for now. Advertisement Read More Indian woman gives birth at the estimated age of 72 Raccoon causes power outage for 40,000 Seattle residents Alligator stares down cat through home's glass door
