Ranch rehab: I will not feed my children to the cat

This has become my new mantra. I will not feed my children to the cat. I will not feed my children to the cat. I will not feed my children to the cat.

The "starlings" turned out to be cow birds and the others, I still think are grackles and they are absolutely driving me nuts! At least they no longer scream like emergency locators.Now it's more like fingernails on a chalk board. They are always hungry and worse yet are starting to fly. This is the worst stage, when they can fly, but not feed themselves. Every time I feed them (which is a dozen times a day), it is all I can do not to call "here kitty, kitty, kitty.

Yesterday, soemething happen that has never happened in all my years of rehabbing. I was attacked by an animal without provication. I have been bitten many times, but it is usually one quick bite and it's over, but this animal jumped on my back and viciously started biting me. My husband had to pull him off to save me. Now I have several deep bites on my shoulder and neck. I was convinced that I was going to die. And believe me, geting chewed to death by a squirrel is a hard way to go.

Yes, I said squirrel. A baby squirrel. Worse yet I raised the ungratefull little bugger.

There are two young squirrels in the back yard that are still looking for milk. One was ready and was released weeks ago and the other (of course the attacker) was freed by his homeboys. The gang members dug under the pen to share in his easy bounty of milk and premium seed, then they liberated him to join their group of thugs. Yesterday I was out feeding the fawns and the two young squirrels were dancing around waiting for me to put the left over milk in the bowl on the fence post, like I usually do. Well, the baby ran up the tree and jumped down on my head. For some unknown reason, he started scratching and biting me... hard. I screamed and tried to reach him to get him off, but couldn't. Luckily my husband was close by and came running thinking that I was under attack from rampaging bears or lions. By the time he stopped laughing long enough to pull the vicious little devil off me, blood was already running down my neck. He could have hurried. I think he was going for the jugler.

Now I go out armed with a spray bottle of vinager and have posted "Warning! Beware of Squirrel" posters in the yard.. He's watching though. He sits in the tree taunting me to walk underneath. He flips his tail and waggles his butt every time I go out the door. Next he'll probably pull the "Oh, I'm hurt. Come help me scam". Hah! I'm too smart for him, I'll wear a kevelar vest.

I want to laugh at your description of the little tree rat, but I can't, thinking of the attack he gave you. I guess you weren't getting the milk to him quick enough? Sheesh.

Sorry to hear about the attack and the pain. It is not hard to believe a little guy like that can do that much damage as they live in the wild and are not wimpy like us. Forget the vinegar and start carrying bear spray!

Your DH sounds like mine, he would have had the same reaction. (laughing while the blood was spurting because of how preposturus the situation was)

I almost thought you were attacked by your new nasty noisey birds. They will be next.

Wow--hope you can get that thug out of your area before he gets full-grown! Some squirrels are especially nasty natured. There used to be one that lived in the woods behind my house when I lived in Little Rock and it liked to chase my cats all the way to the house.

Cow birds! I think they are awful. I have way too many of them around here. They have all but run off all the song birds away from my bird feeders. I'm about ready to sit on the front porch with my shotgun!

Better go to the doctor for tests urgently - rabies, tularemia and bubonic plague are all possibilities from rodent bites, particularly when the animal is acting out of character.

Resin

Most people know I don't care for squirrels too much. But I watch their behavior and are usually only very agressive to their own kind.

Yesterday though, I saw one on the bird feeder and it leaped down and attacked a dove that was feeding on the ground. (the dove got away).
I have seen them scare away birds before, but to jump on one that was at least 10 feet away, I thought was just odd...and mean!

Resin, thanks for the concern, but if I went to the ER every time I got bitten, I'd have my own room. know the squirrel was healthy as I raised him since before his eyes were open. Rabies and other mentioned deseases are so rare as to be non exixtant in Northern Michigan. Our winters (and some summers) are so harsh that only the strongest and healthiest survive.

I think he was like any two year old. He was hungry and I wasn't moving fast enough. He threw a temper tantrum. I went out today and he came creeping up and crawled in my pocket. The animals I rehabilitate are wild and I raise them to know that they are wild because the will be returning to the wild. I would be stupid to believe that they are anything else. I'm just glad that it was a squirrel and not something bigger.

cpartschick: Red squirrels are the most agressive. I've seen them kill a bird and eat it. I won't allow the little bugger to remain in my yard.

Oh yes, the reds are really bad. The one that attacked the dove was a black squirrel. I thought that was odd. But, the black squirrels are always agressive with each other.

Isn't that odd that there seems to be a diffrence between blacks and grays. They are the exact same squirrel, just diffrent color phases, but I swear that grays are smarter and more friendly.

I think you are right. They are less aggressive.

Glad you said that, I thought i was just me. I was afraid I was prejudiced.

For what it's worth, I consulted with my vet husband regarding the likelihood of a squirrel having rabies (I know they are not considered "high-risk.") The odds of a squirrel getting bit by a high-risk species (bat?!!!) and/or being bit and SURVIVING (a fox who caught a squirrel would most likely devour it) are quite low.

That's pretty much what I figured too. Now if it was a skunk.....I'd worry.....a bit

If a skunk jumped onto my head and started scratching and biting, I'd worry - a lot, and for several reasons.

around here that could be considdered fairly normal, or at least not unexpected. I had a friend visiting one summer night. We went out after dark to check on some new baby rabbits before bed. As we were walking along the edge of the woods, all of a sudden she started shrieking and flailing her arms. I had forgotten that I'd just released 6 young flying squirrels and they dropped in to say hi. She was convinced that she was being attacked by bats, not licked by baby squirrels. She won't stay here any more. I wonder why.

Baaaaawwwwwhaaaaaaa ahahahahaha.
Good thing I swallowed that ice tea before reading that! Too funny. (only because I was not attacked by kissing flying squirrels)

I think we have a skunk visiting our barn and going up in the loft with the hay. That is also where I leave the food and water for the barn cat. What can I do to discourage it from coming around?

Skunks are not known for their climbing abilities, how does it get up there? Could it be a raccoon, now THEY can climb! Other than live trapping it out, I'm not sure you can discourage either one. Raw eggs or marshmallows make good bait for the live trap and cats generally won't go after them. If you trap it, it needs to go more than 5 miles away. Trust me on this one, we found out the hard way.

We have a wide ramp that goes up into the loft. Easy access. You can see the ramp going to the loft in this pic. Please do not think this is the way we keep our barn. I took this pic when we first started renting the barn and clean it up. This was about the halfway point in the cleaning process so you can imagine what we faced. We didn't have any animals in it until it was clean.

This will give you a better idea of how it looks now. This is my DGS, Knock, brushing his pony, Goldy.

It's a beautiful barn. I would try the live trap. If you catch a skunk gently cover the trap with an old blanket or something and then you can move it. It won't spray unless really startled. It possibly might be a possom and if that's the case, you'll really what to get it out of there.

What kind of pony is goldie, she is so pretty.

It is definietly a skunk. There is no mistaking that odor. A possum only stinks as a defensive ploy. We had one for a pet and it lived in the house with us.

I have been keeping the sliding door closed on the loft cutting off access to the loft and the cat food and as long as i do that it hasn't stayed around. Haven't smelled it outside either. Thank goodness!

Knock's pony is a Hafflnger and she is worth her considerable weight in gold. Her only "fault" is not being easy gaited but you can't hold that against her! Anyone can ride her. Knock loves to give pony rides when we take her places. This was at a western themed wedding my DH performed.

I no longer need to feed the children to the cat. hey were released from their outdoor pen yesterday and are flying all over the yard. I call them four or five times a day to feed them, but they are starting to pick things up on their own. Now all I have are two robins in the house, but they are not noisy at all!

Oh my...I cannot stop laughing......Jyl,
Your thread is tooo funny.......I too am a wildlife rehabber ( of 30 yrs).....You take me back to soooo many memories, including the indoor resident possum. Mine was non-releasable due to her littermates cannabalizing her tail. She lived with me for 3 1/2 yrs. Knew her name, came when called, had her own room ( with litter pan of course ), and 3 story house/bed. When on educational outings, she would calmly lay on her back in my arms like a baby and the clildren could )quietly 1 by 1 ),,,aproach and with a single finger feel the inside of her (furry pocket ) pouch. She was the most wonderful possum embasador in the world, and I will forever feel blessed to have had that wildlife relationship.
Squirrels can be the worst at not knowing the difference between loving you and attacking after reaching adolescense. How fortunate you survived your burley attacker.....I am still chuckling over the tale of your friends "attack" of the kissing flying squirrels, and will share it (no doubt) with my cohorts in wildlife adventure and my vet.
Please continue to share your tales...er tails..with us ....
Aren't spring and fall wonderful seasons...exhausting, but wonderful....I doubt anyond appreciates the other 2 seasons like we rehabbers...LOL

Keep up the loving care,
Sheri

I had a situation this year with the birds out back, that I had heard about, but had not seen before.

We have a resident robin that always builds a nest on my DH's ladder hanging on the side of the garage. This year, DH got smart, knowing he was going to paint and need the ladder...not wanting to distrub the robin. SO he moved it.

Mrs. Robin moved her nest to a nearby pear tree. The eggs and nest were at my eye level so I would watch what was going on. Well, there was a strange looking egg....and then a strange looking bird...in the nest.

Yes, a "cow bird" added to the nest. But Mrs. Robin sat on those eggs....and I watched her with that baby out in the yard, feeding it just like it was one of her own.

You are so right...one of the noiseist creatures I have ever heard. Thankfully her three baby robins survived...but she sure had her "beak" full with this other guy!

Debbie

well, I have sure read about them, but this makes it all seem to real. Immagine that. I wonder how many eggs they go around depositing in other nests, and how many atimes tahey lay. At least Robin babies are nearly athe same size (I guess...never have seen a cow bird...I don't think!) and the real babies had a chance. From what I've read, ofaten athe Cowbird lays in a much smaller birds nest , and the "real" babies don't get enough.

It is legal to cull their eggs. Where I live the Chipping Sparrows seemed to be the favorite pick for the Cowbirds this year. It was very disheartening to see.

I could tell the difference when the babies hatched, the cowbird just a bit bigger than the robin babies. Thd baby robins just looked at other baby like "are you sure your my brother?"

Adults here have black shiney wings with a dark brown head that doesn't shine as much as the back feathers. Certainly are noisy little things though.

I think I may have seen them . about the size of a starling?
Thanks Nanny,....... then, I say cull the eggs whenever you can..Songbirds have enough challenges to deal with.

our cowbirds are gray with brown heads, the iridescent blacks with the brown heads here are female grackles. Whenever I find a nest with one big egg amoung smaller ones,I remove the big one. It's always a safe bet that it doesn't belong there.

This shows pics of the Brown Headed Cowbird. They are a real threat to our songbirds!

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Brown-headed_Cowbird.html