News from Ranch Rehab

Radish is cute as a button! Is Turnip her twin? I can not imagine a little deer so tiny....even my smallest cat is 8 lbs!

No, they came from diffrent mothers. Radish is very red and dark and turnip is light blond and was found near an apple orchard. Usually deer who live near swamps and deep woods will be darker than thoes who prefer more open areas. When we were kids, we always hated it when dad brought home a dark almost black deer. That ment it was a swamp buck and was going to taste like hemlock!

Radish was about 5 pounds when she came. I have had twins as small as 3 1/2 pounds come in. She was about 6 to7 days old when found and Turnip was around 2 or 3 days. Turnip weighed a healthy 6 1/2 pounds.

Were their mothers found dead? how do they know these were orphans? I used to rehab and the instruction was pretty clear on leaving fawns alone unless the mom was known to be a goner or the baby was dehydrated.
You sure have quite the set-up and I am very impressed with your expertise. do you worry at all about your babies being someones super in a few years?

Birdie, I cant speak for Joan....but I know sometimes people panic when they find the babies....and not being "versed" on whats right or wrong...they take them immediately to a rescue...by then the rescuers hands are pretty much tied on what to do...they then have a forced orphan of sorts.

I have had it happen to neighbors here....and they bring all sorts of critters to me. I am not licensed....all I can do is tell them what they should have done in the first place....and point them to the licenses rehabber. I have done baby squirrels for weekends, a few birds, rabbits and that is about it for wildlife.

If a fawn is lying quietly in a fairly safe place, he is usually fine and I tell people to leave them alone and check back later. If the fawn is up, wandering around and crying, then mom is gone and it is time to intervene.

Rhubarb was lying in the middle of the road, Radish was wandering near a highway with a dead doe nearby (we looked later, but could not find the twin, if there was one) and Turnip was trying to nurse on a Labrador.

Only once, have I removed a fawn from a mother that I knew was alive. She was very young and kept placing the fawn in the middle of a construction site. The fawn would have been killed sooner or later. I also have returned fawns that people have removed and had the mother reclaim them.

Usually the best rule of thumb is 1. is the baby in immediate danger 2. is he in distress (hungry or hurt) 3 if the baby is not in immediate danger, observe from a distance for a time and see if mom shows up.

There are many times that mom is still around, especially in the case of birds, but it is obvious that she will not be able to feed and keep the baby safe in the present situation. Then it is best to remove the baby and get them to a rehabber, the sooner the better. Unless you know exactly what that baby needs nutritionally, do not feed it. Way too often well meaning people have doomed an animal by feeding it the wrong thing before I get it. The only safe milk is goat. That can be given universally in a pinch. Never give birds bread dipped in milk (I'd love to know where that one started), if you can't get them to someone right away, feed them soaked dog or cat kibble (way easier than worms). Keep the baby warm and in a place where fleas or mites will not spread to you or your house. And for heavens sake, please, when you call a rehabber don't expect them to come get the animal, be willing to deliver it if possible (it's amazing the number of people who get furious with me when I won't drive 20 miles to pick up a starling) And when you make arrangements to deliver an animal, please show up in a timely manner. It drives me nuts to wait all day for someone who said that they will bring something"right out".

Rehabbers have a life too (albeit in short increments). We are probably taking care of a dozen animals as well as our families at any given time. If we took the time to run all over the country to pick up animals, we wouldn't have time to feed them. We also will be bearing the financial burden of raising that animal till it can be released (anywhere from 6 to 8 bucks for a bird to the $125 for a deer. This all comes out of our pockets and no one reimburses us for gas, animal food or medical supplies. If you can afford it, offer the rehabber a few bucks to support the animal.

When you drop the animal off, please don't be offended if you don't get a tour or invited in. Rehabilitators DO NOT opperate petting zoos. We, by law, have to limit access to the wildlife in our charge. Once people are in my house, it takes an average of an hour each time to get them out again. I HATE to be rude, but there have been times I resorted to it. Last week I was just home from the hospital and we could not get some people to leave until I nearly passed out. You can imagine what it is like on a day where 5 or 6 different people will bring animals out. They bring their kids, they bring their husbands, they even stop and pick up grandma on the way. I can get NOTHING done.

If you want updates on the animals condition, please call the rehabber, don't ask her to call and report to you. Sometimes I will have 20 or more calls to deal with on my machine. Oh, and don't ask how "sampson or Mr Fuzzypants is doing", chances are I'll have no idea who or what you are talking about. I seldom name the animals and never remember what you called it.

Sometimes a rehabber will find it more merciful or necessary to put an animal down. I myself, will not try to save an animal that cannot be returned to the wild. It is unfair to keep an animal alive and in pain, even if there is a remote possibility that it may recover someday. Our primary concern is the well being of that animal and sometimes what is best for that animal is not the easy thing to do. I hate putting animals down, but sadly, it is necessary. Please don't argue with the rehabber if this is the case.

Lastly, and this is a personal pet peeve...Always remember...just because you read it on the Internet doesn't always mean it's true. It drives me nuts when someone comes in with an animal and starts telling me exactly how I should handle or take care of it because they "looked it up on the Internet" The Internet is a valuable tool, but it does not compare to years of experience and practice.

If you come to my house, make sure you read my new sign. It says...Please do not leave raccoons on my porch...the freezer is full. People have been sneaking up when I am not home or not looking and leaving raccoons. Most of them know that I try not to take them in and think they have found the way around it. Well, maybe I have too.

Ok time to step off my soapbox. This will all be in my book, if I ever get it done.

very good and interesting advice. it sounds like your book will be full of much needed info along with a lifetime of experiences. best wishes in that endeavor.

You are an angel, and you educate well. I always find your posts interesting.

Are the fawns this year extra cute or what???

Jyl, What a wonderful post. Exactly what so many people need to know. As a former rehabber I know just where you are coming from on many of your comments.
You are an a angel. Keep up the wonderful and obviously dedicated work!!

Sheri

I wish your post could be sent out to every newspaper in the US.
Thanks for all you do.

I know you said to please not drop raccoons off at your place, but I find myself with a very, very sick raccoon. I was wondering if you might be able to advise me on how best to help her. Essentially, she was severely injured. I don't know how, possible a run in with a large dog. I've been trying to give her food and water while she heals. Now it looks as though most of her wounds have healed nicely. She is still limping quite a bit due to a damaged foot but has begun walking on it a bit which is a major improvement.

Now I notice that she is positively emaciated. When she shows up most nights she only eats a small amount before the others push her out and take her food. She isn't able to defend herself very well right now. I was wondering if you could give me any suggestions as to how I might be able to put weight back on her before she 'goes away' completely. I was feeding her cat/dog food. Today, in desperation, I went out and got some Evo kitten food made with organic chicken, fish oil, and rice no soy, wheat, corn, or non-meat protein sources in hopes of getting her to eat more. I also got some organic [non-hydrogenated] coconut oil to add to the food (a teaspoon per 15lb)

I thought I'd check with you to see if there is anything else that I might do to help her. She really needs to put some weight on ASAP. Or should I try to capture her and get her to a rehabber? With so many raccoons around, I don't know how I would manage to get this particular one in a cage. Thanks for any advise you might be able to offer for helping this raccoon. (Does this violate the rule about not leaving raccoons?)

Rabies is VERY high in Racoons especially in the Carolinas. Even licensed rehabbers are told NOT to rehab them and if taken to a vet, the animal must be tested for rabies. You know,...sending the brain to the state lab. I would truly caution you to let nature take it's course...hard as that may be on yoour heart, it is most likely the safest thing to do.

I failed to say that if you should get nipped or bitten in the effort to help this racoon, it must be killed and tested for rabies... PLUS you will need to have the rabies innoculation series also.