Wildlife: First Fawn of the rehab season, 1 by jylgaskin

jylgaskin wrote:
The fawn is completely well! He is back to gaining weight and tonight will be the first night that he sleeps outside all night. (Unless I start feeling sorry for him in the middle of the night again) He is eating about 12 to 15 ounces of goat formula four to five times a day. This morning I let him out after feeding and he bounced all over the yard and chased the poor old beagle back into the house. We walked around the back yard and I offered him bits of raspberry leaves and other favorite browse. I brought some leaves back to his pen, but he was in no way ready for a nap. He went over and pestered the red squirrel for a while then found a nice spot in the sun.
Now, about the red squirrel. I'm not fond of the little buggers. They get in my attic and bowl with black walnuts. They chew wires (especially on Christmas lights). They eat baby birds and eggs and even worse to think of, they castrate other squirrels. We call them "Little Napoleons". They sit in the trees and bark at us and have no fear of anything. Most people share my feeling about them, but when they are confronted with a handful of orphaned babies, they melt to putty in their little red paws. Of course, this year people have brought me lots and lots of red squirrels. I've already released 5, but this little guy was to young to go with the rest.
As soon as he could drink out of a dish, I put him in with the other reds. He had milk on his head and they licked him so much that they licked all the hair off the top of his head. So the others went far, far away and he remained. Two mornings ago, I went out to feed him and he was gone! He had chewed the clothespin that held the cage door shut and escaped. My husband was not happy. He said, "You know the rules. Coons go 5 miles away and NO red squirrels released in the yard!" He really didn't appreciate the fact that it was an accident.

The little devil taunted me all that day and the next, staying just out of reach. Then a bit before sunset, the peacock startled him and he ran right up my pant leg. My husband came out of the house just in time to see me disrobing on the back deck, trying to get a red squirrel out of my pants. This, of course, he appreciated.

It finally ended with the red back in his cage and the next door neighbor applauding. He'll be ready to go next week. (The squirrel, not the neighbor.)

I'll try to get a photo of the "salad plate' bird tomorrow. He is fully feathered now and able to fly, unfortunately, NOT able to feed himself. So, inevitably, as soon as you open the door to feed him, out he comes! Then we play "chase the sparrow" for at least a half-hour. You know the old song about "His Eye is on the Sparrow and I Know He Watches ME"? Well, knowing that God is watching him, may be the only thing that keeps me from getting out the fly swatter.

Time to go there are babies to feed and furry butts to wash.