any wildlife rehabbers out there?

Hi, i am new member of DG and work with wildlife rehab. I posted on general discussion but the peeps there told me to come here. Are there any other rehabbers in DG? I work mainly with baby squirrels and opossums. I am training to rehab songbirds (my passion). I also have a resident chipmunk at the moment that I am desperately trying to treat as she is very ill.

you don't have to be a rehabber to get into the thread. love of wild animals will do just fine!

Anna

A big ol 'hearty' welcome to DG .. to ya, Anna !!

I applaud your training, wisdom, values and your efforts .. with (our) critter world!

For sure, want to 'see' and read .. as you and any others .. share more info about the songbird re-hab training!! Oughta prove to be most valuable info ...

Definitely luv the wildlife .. but I've not been given the opportunity (thank goodness!) .. to lend any aid to any vermin in quite a few years. However, I do know that there is some folks that do .. here, on DG.

Just give 'im a lil while .. the other DG re-habbing-capable folks .. will show up shortly. I'm gonna sit back and 'stay tuned in' to the info that will surely be shared between all of you ..

Blessings!

- Magpye

This message was edited Jan 10, 2006 5:04 PM

I started to do rehabing in the early 1970 (long time ago) before you had to take courses and be certified and all that. Basicaly I worked with one of the local vet that would see the creatures and not charge me any fees since they were wild. I went from rescuing baby squirrels, to baby birds ,jays, cardinal a lots of robins, some doves, some messenger pidgeons then baby raccoons who were adorable and drove the cats crazy they had to be bottle fed, grown possums and baby possums few screetch owls that had been hurt by careless hunters.
And last and not least the seagull that was tangled in a kite string for many hours with no sense of humor, and a baby crow that stayed with me for five years and then slowly decided that he was going to start eating grubbs and things outside, mingle with the locals crows that is , and move out. My sons were always ready to bring me some sort of strays wild or otherwise and I was doing a lot with the local SPCA . After the state made mendatory to take the rehab classes and me having to pay for those classes to be certified I gave it up. I had been doing rescues and releases for years with success at my own cost .
For the past ten years I have been too busy with my business to be able to do any kind of rescues other than a squirrel once in a while.

Oh sorry forgot to give you a big welcome when I directed you here. I don't have any training to rescue animals as you have, but I do my best using common sense and make some phone calls to get as much info as possible when I do get in the situation that a animal needs help.
I have raised two Magpies and released them. the nest was tared down by some kids that got the order from their parents to do it just because the Magpies disturbed their morning sleep. when I got there, four cats was trying to get to the Magpies and the parents was desperately trying to defend their kids. But because the nest was gone I had nowhere to put the kids and the parents couldn't hold off the cats much longer. I called the zoo for help with feeding advise and the birds made it back to the wild again.
I have also brought up a seagull that where abandon by parents because it had fallen down from the roof it was born on. its easy but dangerous to check if they are abandoned. I know that one man lost his eye because he got to close unaware that they had a nest there. just stand close to the kid and if you don't get to seagulls attacking your head within 10min its abandoned. I stayed for over an hour just to be on the safe side. I put him in my pocket and went home. I did learn him how to feed in the wild by taking him outside as many times I could and he was hunting bumblebees and ate worms and things and then I knew he would make it (simplified explaining) I also had him hunting for food in the kitchen zink and when I finally releast him in a neerby lake the first thing he did was to hunt the small fishes in the lake.
Janett

When I was in France couple months ago I tried to take some pictures of some magpies. We dont have them here in Maryland. I was not so lucky , as soon as I was ready to take a pic they would fly away . I cant understand people grying to get rid of birds or whatever wild creatures because it ever so sightly disturb them. When the Cardinals start courting the male is up bright and early(5AM) or earlier and I just enjoy it because to me they are arbinger of spring and to me that is great....

Hi peeps!!!

Orchidfancy, fortunatley I did not have to pay anything for my rehab course. It was free and at the end the vet center gave me lots of surgical instruments, food, bandages, syringes, medication and cages. Georgia needs rehabbers. 12 people started the course but at the end there were just three of us left. I don;t think the course is essential. i thik if you stick with someone that knows and is prepared to teach you and you ask for information when needed, you can be an excellent rehabber. The main thing is to be prepared to work sometimes 24h a day for free.

Tayson, what a lovely picture! Do you still do rehab?

Magpie, vermin???what vermin?!?!?!

if I come across and animal I will always help it out the best I can. I WILL NOT however contact our agriculture department for any advise. They do not let you help the animals and if you haven't found one place that have permit for doing it within 24 hours they kill the animal EVEN if its an endangered animal. There was a woman that rescued and White-tailed Eagle that had a badly broken wing. She had a vet operate on him and had nursed it back to health and trained it to strengthen his wing just a few weeks before she would let him out to the wild the A.department knocked on her door. someone had told them about the eagle and they killed it. you should know they where mangled by folks and the press, but what did that help. A beautiful endangered eagle was already dead.
They don't have a list to those who have permit either. even if they are the ones that makes the permits.
IS THIS NUTS OR WHAT.......................we don't have the options that you have, otherwise I would be the first one to enlist.
Janett

Howdy, orchidfancy .. a big ol 'hearty' welcome to DG, to you also!!
- Magpye

This message was edited Jan 12, 2006 10:58 AM

spider-I'm curious to know what's afflicting the chipmunk.

tayson-I'm glad you got there in time to protect the magpies from the cats. And thanks for posting the picture.

Hi Greenlife!

The chipmunk was hit by a car and had brain injury. The result of it is that she spins in circles for most of the time. I tried homeopathy and am still treating her with remedies.

She gets very stressed out and tired from all the movement. Sometimes I have to syringe feed her with puppy milk and baby cereal. She has been with me for 2 months now but there is no sign of improvement.

I am in touch with a lady that is an expert in homeopathy for wildlife, so, fingers crossed. There is no treatment for it in normal type of medicine so animals have to be euthanised, I will keep trying until i find that she is getting better. Then I will take her to a place that is inhabited by chippies and release her.

Thank you for asking. you must be a very kind peep!

oh no...The chipmunk sustained a brain injury???? She's been through some tough times. Even though there's no conventional treatment for animals with brain injury, I'm still grateful she is in good hands. I hope you'll soon see some results. I think we share a love of animals but in my case, I wouldn't know what to do if I were to find a little animal that's just been hit by a car.

From what I have learned, two things are important. Keep them warm and see to that they can get water. Distressed animals loose water quickly. Also if they are hyper due to stress, cover them up. A cave like situation always calms animals down. contact someone/or here at DG that knows anything to help the animal. You can always do more than you think.
Janett

I'll be sure to keep that in mind. And I know that the first thing to do would be to log onto dave's garden and ask for some advice.

Hi Greenlife!

Janett is right. you should keep it warm and in a quiet place. Then, the proper thing to do would be to contact a licenced rehabber and take the animal to her. If you can't find one, take it to a vet center and explain the situation. they should be able to find a rehabber to care for that animal.

The rehabber usually needs to be qualified so they know the best way to treat and rehab the animal. It has to have the right diet ( and we learn a lot about it) the right way to feed, depending on the type of animal, they have to have training in vet practices and have the right type of medication. They have to know what to do if the animal gets worse.

There are lots of kind people who try and care for wildlife but they have no idea about the animal needs and, in the end, the animal is the one that suffers and dies.

Lots of people try and raise baby squirrels feeding them with the wrong milk so, the majority dies.

lots of people find baby animals very cute and raise them but, once they grow and become wild, people abandon them and, unable to feed by themselves and unable to know what to eat in the wild, they die.

Lots of people try and raise wildlife as pets, with dogs and cats. These animals will have no idea of what they are. They will be unalbe to mate and may be mistaken for an animal with rabies as they will be tame and go near humans.

So, you see, rehab is more complicated that it looks. And when birds are involved it is even harder!

Also, you have to have all the right cages, all the right stimulation for normal animal growth and interaction.You have to know about their wild foods and where to release them....and the list goes on and on...

opsss, feeling a wee bit guilty by raising the seagull with my dog..............no not really :0)) the seagull and I had no other choice if he was to go back as an adult seagull to the wild. The dog I had then was the one in a lifetime dog that neither of those who met him will forget.
According to the pic it looks like the dog and bird are friends, that's not quite the case. The seagull only came close as long as Zorro was absolute still, however I had learned the dog two words that let him know that that particular animal was big nono. Careful.........baby. then he would never touch that animal but he would try to hunt the same kind outdoors if I hadn't put those words about that animal.
We don't have your problem with Rabies because we don't have it here.
When I took care of the Magpies I was phoning around a lot to get help, but the advise I got from authorities and other places due to it being a "common ordinary plenty of animal" wasn't an option. Put it down or leave them to the cats kind of answers.
The only place I got help from was the Terrarie/aquarium that is privatly owned by Jonas Wahlström. It is situated in the Capitol Zoo in Stockholm. But he doesnt have the space to take all the animals that needs help, But one can always call him to get proper feeding advise for every animal. But if I was to encounter Eagles Owls or Hawks he have space or make space and I know that that one would be back in the wild if its possible. otherwise they would have them for their breedingprogram and release the kids back to the wilderness.

the Seagull didnt "mingle" with strangers he was healthy "scared" of them and I didnt let people visit and touch him as many had wished because I knew that would destroy for him in the future wild.
Janett

Noooooo, Janett, I did not talk about your dog. You did a wonderful job with the seagull!

Its okej. Spider......To the rest of you..........The hardest part isnt how to help them. the hardest part of it all is to set them free back to the wild. But its also the most rewarding thing when you do.
Janett

Spider-All the points you made were VERY insightful. There's absolutely no question that aside from treating wildlife medically, it's equally important to incorporate care that is socially appropriate. I completely agree with you on good intentions going horribly awry.

I could be very wrong here...but a brain damaged chipmunk that spun around in circles..I would have put down. It just seems hopeless. Brain damage in animals is a hard thing to overcome. Dode.

Brain damaged animals that spin can be cured and become normal again. some need treatment, some need just time to recover.

I wish the best of luck to the Chippie.

thank you dodecatheon!

Hi Anna,

Welcome to DG and the Wildlife Forum! I tried my hand at rehabbing some tiny squirrels. Boy did I fall in love quickly! LOL I released them to licensed rehabbers when I realised that I couldn't let them go anywhere nearby...for their own safety. I think about them everytime I see a squirrel chastising our dogs. I've added a link to the thread and pictures

Bless your heart, what you do is wonderful and I too wish the best for your little chipmunk

http://davesgarden.com/place/t/455979/

Stacey

Hi Stacey!

Thank you very much for the link. They are adorable!

Why don't you do it seriously? Wild animals need rehabbers!

Just some of those 'subtle' HINTS fer ya, Floridian/Stacy !!! .. LOL ..
( .. jes gotta luvinly tease the both of ya a bit, Anna & Stacy .. )

- Magpye

WOW, what happened with my post?!?!

Everytime i clicked the message disappeared so I had to write it again.

So Stacy, like Magpye said, it is a hint!

Subtle, huh? LOL

It's all about time Anna. After working full time Paul and I spend most weekends (and any other time off) out in the field taking pictures and exploring. If we came across an animal in need we'd never hesitate to see that it was taken care of one way or another.

Have y'all seen the new Hiking, Camping, Boating forum? So far it's pretty slow but I think it's a good cross over forum for those of us in Wildlife. http://davesgarden.com/place/f/camping/all/

And as far as the multiple posts...Dave is having some problems and the site is very slow. Once you send the message you just have to sit back and let it go til you get the message that it has been sent. If I'm responding I just open another browser and continue surfing til the message goes through. Dave will get this figured out soon and all will be well once again.

I enjoy reading all the success at rehabing animals . I dont envy you when the baby population explosion arrive in the spring. I had so many calls I did not know waht to do. I had a friend of mine who was a vet teaching pre vet at the university of maryland and he helped many time with my animal issues. It is always cheerful to see the success and relese to the wild, and so hearthbreaking when you lose one of your protegees.

population explosion arrive in Spring???????

I haven't even had a winter break yet.LOL! I have babies all the time. Yesterday, 4 two week old squirrels arrived and they are soooo thin... It means night feeds as well. I am so tired! But they are as cute as the baby flying one.

Thank you for the link Flo, I will check that.

Greetings :)

I just became a member. An Arizona gardening forum gone bad (bought out by another company, etc.) prompted many of us *gardeners* to defect to Dave's Garden... to a new 'Southwest Gardening' forum kindly created by Dave! Yay!

I am too tired to write much at the moment--just wanted to post that I was a wild bird rehabilitator from 1983 until 2002. Started a non-profit in 1989; we took care of 4,000+ birds per year... until my health deteriorated to the point of it all folding in 2002. I did little else but live and breathe birds... and won't go into all the work involved in running the organization! I still have my permits, still have a few birds in an outdoor aviary... but for most practical purposes I'm retired.

I'm so glad to have found this website ( :>

Welcome Magpied!

I am training to rehab birds. Such hard work!!!

A big ol 'hearty' welcome to DG .. to ya, magpied !!!

What a gathering of folks .. that we can read & learn from.

- Magpye

Welcome to all the newbies and what you bring to us here at DG's.

The more the merrier, the more knowledge the better, the more tips and tricks the easier and it's always good to be around other nature lovers.

I live on a farm, am retired and make some of my neighbors just a little angry because I allow no hunting, and feed almost everything that comes in for food. I don't allow my fields to be plowed until the Canadian Geese get their fill of grain and corn.

I have a habitat but it isn't registered. I have dogs who are trained to NOT hurt any creatures, but protect them. I have a cat who has her own fenced in property in an upper garden where she can't lay in wait for a bird....a mouse is OK...but no birds. I have trouble with Blue Herons who like to raid my Koi ponds but with proper netting, they no longer get to enjoy my Koi. There is a big river not far away....I should put a sign out to direct them there.

I use to take in rescues of the canine variety but can do that no longer because of health reasons.

I wanted to do rehabing but didn't have the time it takes to do the job correctly. I envy you and what you do. Keep it up....it is so important!

Well Bingsbell, if you were running for presidency I woul d certainly vote for you. The world needs more peeps like you. Well done!!!

Big hugs
Anna

Howdy guys ...

I've got a couple of rather important inquiries to make ...

What size string and mesh, etc .. would one need to obtain and use, as a throw/cast net of sorts .. to catch a bird -?-

Where should/would one search (on-line) and/or go about finding and obtaining such a net; ready made -?- The ol coot will be more than willing to knit such a net, but we still want some idea of the type/size of string to use, and the size mesh 'holes' ...

Headin' off to bed tonight .. but, please: should some of you seemingly more qualified folks .. have any clues and info for me - please, please post .. or drop a DGmail to me, please ...

- Magpye

This message was edited Feb 11, 2006 11:06 PM

Good Morning Mags~

Most banders use 'mist nets' to catch birds, bats and the like. I googled a search for you. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mist+net These nets aren't cast but strung up, I'd think that the weights needed for a proper cast might accidently do more harm than you'd want.

What type of bird are you looking to catch? You might try contacting bird banders, rescuers or rehabbers for more net info. Our Philomel here at DG participated in bat research. I pretty sure they used mist nets too.

Stacey

.. Thanks so much, Stacy!! ..

To answer your question tho' .. the net will be for any bird that visits here and I SEE that it just so happens to be toting an uninvited disgusting hitchhiker!!

More .. is here > http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/575867/

- Magpye

Hi!

I have just seen this message. I do not have much experience with birds as I will be starting their specialised training this spring. Most of the birds rehabbers get are babies or injured folks that can't fly.

I know that some peeps use the type of nets you use to catch a butterfly. You know, the one at the end of a long stick. I do not know the name for that.

I hope you can save lots of birds and killed the ticks DEAD!!!

Anna