'tis the season
spring is sprung
grass is riz
and lilacs, violets, lily-of-the-valley, apple blossoms, and periwinkle are all blooming
That means it's Baby Season!
Within the past 10 days I've taken in:
Squirrels (3, unrelated and different ages)
There is a third one, oldest of the three, who does not stay still long enough to be photographed.
Opossums (3 siblings. 2 are hissy and shy and one is very curious and calm)
A tiny creature I *think* was a white footed field mouse (sadly it died after three days, and before it became big enough to be positively identified).
It was pretty tiny. Challenging to feed.
and Bunnies. Lotsa bunnies.
First there were 5 + 3 - 7 bunnies before I left for Oregon, eyes still closed. One survived to be released (no photos, they don't really count for ones received in the past 10 days).
Then there were four to welcome me back from Oregon (eyes closed) -
And earlier this week a litter of eleven (ELEVEN for goodness sakes) arrived, eyes wide open
(sorry it's so dark)
The reason it matters if their eyes are open or not is because it is very difficult to hand raise bunnies separated from their mamma more than a day or two before their eyes have opened. Their eyes open right about the time they are starting to eat solid food (i.e., grass). They are born with sterile guts and need mom to populate their guts with the correct probiotics in order to digest the greens, which she does in the days just before their eyes open.
This batch of 11 is doing well, There are two runts who seem very happy to have access to all the formula and greens they want. They tend to come out of hiding and ask to be fed when I am feeding squirrels. A few are too skittish to formula feed and will be released soon. The others will be kept a bit longer to grow a larger before being exposed to the great wide world.
I've been tag-teaming the babies with Mariah this year. That's been fun. Of course she's been helping with them since she was a tot, but this year she's actually taken them in and flown solo with them for a few days before turning them over to me. It's terrific having a back-up. On the other hand, she is the one responsible for bringing the eleven bunnies to me. 11!
>.<
In other wildlife news, the twelve turtles are still in residence and still growing (and still nibbling on toes). They'll be released this summer. We rescued a painted turtle trying to cross a highway (when I say "we" I mean I stopped the car and Alex jumped out and carried the turtle across the road) and later I rescued one that had been hit by a car but survived. I took it to the local rehab center to have its shell glued back together. Apparently (I just learned this) painted turtles and snapping turtles, and no doubt others, will instinctively climb up in search of higher ground to lay their eggs, If there happens to be a road on their way uphill then it becomes a much more dangerous journey. Since ponds are in low areas, with roads going past on higher ground, many females are killed by cars crossing the road in search of high ground to lay their eggs. Of course the baby turtles then have the same risky journey in reverse after they hatch.
grass is riz
and lilacs, violets, lily-of-the-valley, apple blossoms, and periwinkle are all blooming
That means it's Baby Season!
Within the past 10 days I've taken in:
Squirrels (3, unrelated and different ages)
There is a third one, oldest of the three, who does not stay still long enough to be photographed.
Opossums (3 siblings. 2 are hissy and shy and one is very curious and calm)
A tiny creature I *think* was a white footed field mouse (sadly it died after three days, and before it became big enough to be positively identified).
It was pretty tiny. Challenging to feed.
and Bunnies. Lotsa bunnies.
First there were 5 + 3 - 7 bunnies before I left for Oregon, eyes still closed. One survived to be released (no photos, they don't really count for ones received in the past 10 days).
Then there were four to welcome me back from Oregon (eyes closed) -
And earlier this week a litter of eleven (ELEVEN for goodness sakes) arrived, eyes wide open
(sorry it's so dark)
The reason it matters if their eyes are open or not is because it is very difficult to hand raise bunnies separated from their mamma more than a day or two before their eyes have opened. Their eyes open right about the time they are starting to eat solid food (i.e., grass). They are born with sterile guts and need mom to populate their guts with the correct probiotics in order to digest the greens, which she does in the days just before their eyes open.
This batch of 11 is doing well, There are two runts who seem very happy to have access to all the formula and greens they want. They tend to come out of hiding and ask to be fed when I am feeding squirrels. A few are too skittish to formula feed and will be released soon. The others will be kept a bit longer to grow a larger before being exposed to the great wide world.
I've been tag-teaming the babies with Mariah this year. That's been fun. Of course she's been helping with them since she was a tot, but this year she's actually taken them in and flown solo with them for a few days before turning them over to me. It's terrific having a back-up. On the other hand, she is the one responsible for bringing the eleven bunnies to me. 11!
>.<
In other wildlife news, the twelve turtles are still in residence and still growing (and still nibbling on toes). They'll be released this summer. We rescued a painted turtle trying to cross a highway (when I say "we" I mean I stopped the car and Alex jumped out and carried the turtle across the road) and later I rescued one that had been hit by a car but survived. I took it to the local rehab center to have its shell glued back together. Apparently (I just learned this) painted turtles and snapping turtles, and no doubt others, will instinctively climb up in search of higher ground to lay their eggs, If there happens to be a road on their way uphill then it becomes a much more dangerous journey. Since ponds are in low areas, with roads going past on higher ground, many females are killed by cars crossing the road in search of high ground to lay their eggs. Of course the baby turtles then have the same risky journey in reverse after they hatch.