Wildlife: Ranch Rehab: Who says possums can’t be cute?, 1 by jylgaskin

jylgaskin wrote:

Somebody said that over 500 people have checked in on my rehab threads. Wow. I have been so busy with the gardens and the animals that I haven’t had a chance to update till tonight.

Socks the squirrel is doing great. He is outside in the big pen now and drinking his milk out of a dish. We had a bit of a crisis tonight though, when one of the previous tenants of the cage stopped in for a snack. I’m not too sure how he got in (maybe from the bottom somewhere), but little Socks got hysterical and I could hear the screeching from the house. SO I went out and removed the offending trespasser (who is only a few weeks older than socks) and gave him a little bottle to calm him down.

Buckwheat the fawn is doing excellent, though he would be happier with another fawn. He plays with me, he plays with the dog, he even chases the baby turkeys, but nothing can take the place of a good game of tag with another fawn. Normally, at this time of year, I am turning away fawns because I’ve hit me limit. This year though there has been only this one and a call about a blind fawn. When I could not guarantee that the blind fawn would not be put down, the caller got very angry and hung up. We tried to save a lame fawn once and after a year of her living with us; coyotes killed her right in the front yard. A blind deer would live in misery and terror unless penned for it’s entire life. I tried to explain to the caller that a deer is a prey animal and every sound, shadow or smell is perceived as a potential threat. It’s not like a dog, which can cope with blindness; it is and always will be a wild animal.

The fox is nearly ready to be released. She has been banished from the house after an argument in front of the fridge last month. It involved a roast, growling, barking, snapping and a lot of peeing on the floor. I won’t tell you who was doing what, but I got the roast back.

Tonight, I heard honking in the back yard. I went out and a Canada goose that I raised last year has come home. I opened the gate and he walked right in and back to the ducks he was raised with. It’s odd, I raised and released the goose and a mallard last year and they were gone the entire winter, but in the last week they have both come home. The duck didn’t stay long; I don’t know how long the goose will. Funny, but my farm ducks let him right back into the group.

Now, about the possums. I told someone in Dave’s Garden that they actually have a “cute” stage. It doesn’t last long and granted, is a bit subjective, but they can be cute. I got 5 of them in today. Thank goodness they are in that brief “cute” stage. Their mother was killed two days ago and I knew they must be half starved, but I couldn’t get them to eat. As I tried to feed each one, I would put it in the pocket of my bib overalls so I wouldn’t feed the same one twice. Finally they were all in my pocket and I offered the r syringe to them there. Very quickly, there were 5 full bellies. I let them sleep there for a few hours while I listed my ebays. Now one of them is watching me from their box in the cage. I gave them scrambled eggs and cat food a little while ago and they all wallowed in it making that funny “chuffing” noise that they make when they are small.

I just love their little white heart shape faces and the tiny “opera gloves”. They are very soft at this age and they curl their tails around your fingers to hold on. You can even see the tiny pouches on the females already. If you move too quickly, they open their mouths in what we call the “silent scream” posture.

Well, I need to go, the Labrador is on a diet and I have to lock up the kitchen trash. This morning is was all over the house. He ate the corncobs and a bowl of radishes that were on the counter. I hope he looses weight fast….