Turkey smashes through Apple Valley family's window, sits on couch

This turkey just wanted a nice place to sit.

​It's pretty much universally accepted that turkeys are colossally stupid. We can now also confirm not only this, but also that they're also pretty damn tough.

Or, at least one of them, namely the bird that flew into Kathy Ganzer's house -- the hard way.

Ganzer wasn't home on the evening of September 7, but her neighbors filled her in on what they think happened.

Four wild turkeys were hanging around in Ganzer's neighborhood, which is apparently quite the hot spot for these feathered idiots. Something must've spooked the birds, because three of them shot right out of the yard and into a tree.

The fourth went the wrong way, crashing right through Grazer's double pane window and into her den.

"The one turkey must've gotten separated from the other three, and I guess he decided to make an entrance into my home," Ganzer said.

The moment of impact sounded like "an explosion," witnesses told Ganzer, and people from throughout the neighborhood came to the house to find out what made the noise. Instead of a gunshot victim, they found a turkey that was even more confused than usual.

Ganzer's daughter, who is on the autism spectrum, was at home with her caregiver at the time, and the caregiver quickly snapped a few pictures. Most didn't turn out because the damn thing wouldn't stop fluttering, but one photo captured the turkey, looking rather comfortable, sitting on Ganzer's couch.

​

Neither the daughter nor caretaker wanted to deal with the scary-looking beast, which wandered around the room, checking the not-broken windows for an exit. (Pssst, buddy, use the one you broke!) Eventually, a neighbor volunteered to shoo the turkey -- which survived the crash without a scratch (!) -- out another door, where it returned to its stupid life in the wild.

The turkey smashing through the window sounded like "an explosion."

​

Ganzer checked with her insurance agent about coverage, and he requested to see some evidence.

"It was a new one for him," she said. "In fact they wanted the photo. It was a first for them."

She duly provided the photos, which showed a mischievous fowl lounging on her sofa and shattered glass everywhere. Eventually she just paid for a new window out of pocket. She also couldn't keep the story to herself, so she gave over the photos to Thisweek Newspapers, and now City Pages.

Ganzer said turkeys are always around in her neighborhood, and she's seen as many as 16 in her backyard. She said they're "kind of crazy," and no one quite knows how to get rid of them. Ganzer did issue an ominous threat, which the turkey should keep in mind before it pulls another stunt like this.

"You know," she said, "if it was legal, I could've it shot it, for turkey for Thanksgiving."