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Wild Babies in the Back Yard:
When and How to Help
Please Note: These tips are designed for common, urban wildlife problems. Although much may apply to other situations, very different steps are required to help adult animals of any species, and other babies not mentioned here. Helping wildlife in distress can be a gratifying experience - or it can be a disaster! Even the best intentions are no protection from the risk of injury to yourself, further injuring the animal, violating state or federal wildlife laws or the transmission of disease. Call OWL at 542-3625 or 631-6566. That's what we're here for!
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Do:
Observe. Do you see a parent or a nest nearby? Is it a healthy juvenile who's just out feeding and exploring? Or is it: injured? tiny and pink? cold and weak? in danger from dogs, cats or children? If you can answer "yes" to any of these questions, find out what to do:
Show your children. The babies of our wild neighbors are fascinating things!
Don't:
Don't rush to pick it up. Many of the "orphans" we receive calls about are perfectly healthy animals.
Don't touch. Children understand when you tell them that unnecessary handling and stress can kill a wild baby. Also, some animals will bite or scratch in self defense, and may have transmittable diseases or parasites.
Don't try to care for it yourself.
Wild animals are protected by state and/or federal wildlife laws. It is
illegal to have a wild animal in your possession - even if you are trying to
care for it. It is illegal, unsafe, and unwise to try to keep a wild animal
as a pet. To avoid breaking the law and being subject to fines or other
punishment, and to offer the animal the best chance for survival, wild babies
must either be:
- Left alone if they are healthy and being cared for by their parents.
- Provided minimal assistance (such as returning a bird to a nest, or
keeping dogs away from baby mammals).
- Taken to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Remember:
The care needed by wild babies varies greatly depending on the age and species. Many young mammals remain in hiding (away from their parents) to avoid predators. The mother may only return at night for feedings, so you may not see her at all. On the other hand, most young songbirds are fed almost continuously from dawn to dusk and are doomed within hours if their high metabolisms are not kept fueled. They will not survive the cool of the night on their own until they are fully feathered and self-feeding.
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| Finding Mom and Dad - Returning Babies to Nests
If the baby is small and has little or no fur or feathers but is still warm and active and chirping, it may have just had an accidental spill out of its nest. If you can't find or reach the nest, put the baby in a small container, in a warm and quiet place and give OWL a call - we'll help you determine its condition. Start looking for the nest and keep an eye out for adults that may be its parents.
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| Do:
Return a songbird to a nest if it (the nest) is within reach. Or, make an artificial nest out of a berry basket lined with nest material, and hang it in a safe place with the baby in it. If the baby is chirping and calling, the parents should find it.
Observe from afar. Mom and Dad won't come near if you're too close. Watching from inside a nearby window is ideal. If parents are not yet
feeding a very young bird within an hour, call OWL for further instructions.
Re-cover cottontail nests (shallow indentations in the ground) that have been disturbed. Place the grass, leaves or weeds that were moved back over the top of the nest. Remember to steer clear when mowing until the babies are old enough to be easily spotted and/or fast enough to get out of the way.
Don't:
Don't wait too long. The little one will quickly become cold and weak. Then it won't have the strength to chirp and call for its parents, and they may give up.
Don't handle any baby animal any more than is absolutely necessary to return it to its nest. Baby cottontails in particular often become severely stressed very quickly. Usually a "calm" baby rabbit is really in shock and needs fluids and peace and quiet or it will succumb from the trauma of handling.
Remember:
Songbirds do not have a good sense of smell, or counting skills. The mother bird will not reject a baby because you have touched it. In some instances, you can add a "foster child" to a nest of the same species if "siblings" of the same age are already present. This won't work with all species however, so call OWL and check first.
Mammals detect unfamiliar smells and disturbances more easily than birds. Be quick and minimize contact. To tell if a mother cottontail is returning at night to feed babies, leave a thread around the nest and see if it is disturbed in the morning. If the babies are warm, chubby and active Mom's doing her job well so leave them alone.
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| Just Out and About - Finding Food, Learning to Fly...
If the animal appears healthy and is moving about, eating or exploring, or
practicing its flying skills... it probably doesn't need help, just some
privacy.
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| Do:
Watch and enjoy from afar. Keep people and pets away. When reminding children to stay away, give them the job of watching out for the little creature, and reporting to you if a dog, cat, person or other danger is near.
Don't:
Don't touch!
Remember:
It may mean keeping a pet inside, or leashed temporarily, but babies grow up quickly and just need a short while to gain speed and defensive skills. Call OWL if you are unsure of the animals species, age or condition. We will help you determine whether or not the animal needs help - and what kind of help it may need.
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When a baby is ill, injured or truly orphaned, it needs help immediately!
Signs of Illness or Injury:
- Any bleeding
- Abnormal use of limb(s)
- Was in a dog or cat's mouth
- Odd head position
- Unconscious
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- Drainage from eyes or nose
- Behaving abnormally
- Cold and lethargic
- Has been wet and chilled
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Signs of True Orphans:
- Crawling with fleas and/or ticks (wild mothers almost always keep their
babies clean and parasite free).
- Distress calls - loudly chirring raccoons, squeaking squirrels or
"hacking" opossums are hungry and looking for mama.
- Rough, patchy fur, "skin and bones" appearance, hunched back, stunted
growth means a young one is alone and malnourished.
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| Do:
Put the animal in a safe, dry, and dark container, like a cardboard box, and keep people and pets away! Keep in an un-airconditioned room or enclosed porch, out of the sun. Use soft rags or tissues to make an artificial nest to support weak songbird legs and necks, or to provide warmth and security for very young mammals. Use a box just big enough for the baby to stand or sit in comfortably. Make some ventilation holes (before adding baby) and make sure to tape the lid shut!
Call OWL immediately. We will help you decide the best steps to take to make sure the animal is transported as quickly and safely as possible.
If for some reason you can't transport immediately, place ONE END ONLY of the container on a heating pad set on LOW ONLY. Unless it's very young or unconscious, the animal will move towards or away from the heat source as needed. Until fully furred or feathered, babies can not maintain
adequate body temperatures on their own - parents and siblings are the
outside heat source that keeps a baby warm. A chilled animal needs to be
warmed slowly. Normal body temperatures of baby mammals and songbirds vary
from 101 - 106 degrees. So if the animal feels "normal" or cool to you, it's
already in big trouble.
Wash your hands and disinfect the containers and rags you used also.
Don't:
Don't use glass or wire cages meant for birds or rodents. Many animals will end up with severe injuries to flesh and feathers after trying frantically to get out of a wire cage, or through the side of a container they can see out of.
Don't give food or fluids without getting specific instructions first. Babies aspirate (inhale) fluids and food easily, which can
cause either an instant, or a slow and miserable, death. Diets are very
specific for each species and developmental age. Too much, too little, or the
wrong food can easily, and quickly, cause illness or death.
Don't handle at all once you have it contained. The animal is already
debilitated and additional stress could easily finish it off. Also, never
wash a baby animal even in warm water. Dry and dirty is safe for now. Getting wet and chilled, or snorting in a little water can kill an already debilitated animal.
Don't wait to transport to a licensed rehabilitator. Time is critical, as it would be for an injured person or a human baby left exposed to the elements.
Remember:
We at OWL are volunteering our time and are extremely busy (30-50 calls a day during peak baby season). If you find an animal that needs to be transported, unless you are physically unable to do so, please drop off the
animal at one of our facilities. If it is impossible for you to do so, however, we can help. We have volunteers who are able to pick up animals at various times in many areas. Or we can direct you to the proper office or agency for help with a variety of situations.
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| Age of Independence - Common Backyard Wildlife
It's sometimes difficult to tell if the "middle-aged" baby animal you are
seeing needs help or not. Here are some guidelines to help you determine if
a healthy animal is old enough to be on its own. Juveniles may look small and in need of assistance, but may actually be old enough to be out and
about, learning to care for themselves.
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| Garden Songbirds:
4 - 8 weeks old. Must be full grown, fully-feathered, capable flyers, and self-feeding.
Cottontail Rabbits:
4 weeks old and 6 inches long, or about the size of a tennis ball when sitting. They are eating vegetation and are fully weaned at this age, but are still very vulnerable to predators.
Opossums:
14 weeks old and 5 inches long, not including the tail. Opossums are the size of honey bees and weigh only 1/20 of an ounce when they are born. They find, and remain attached, to teats inside the mother's pouch until they are 60 days old, at which time they are about the size of a house mouse. Between 60 days and 14 weeks of age, they venture in and out of the pouch and spend time riding on the mother's back. Some fall off and get left behind. Sometimes the mother is killed by a car, but surviving babies are still in the pouch or milling around nearby. A sure sign of trouble is a baby opossum's distress call - a repeated, open-mouthed, hack-sneeze sound.
Squirrels:
8 - 12 weeks old, self-feeding and nearly full grown. Squirrels are born and raised in trees all around us, and if all goes well, we usually don't see the babies until they're nearly full grown. Usually seeing a small baby squirrel at all is a sign of trouble. If a nest or large branch has fallen, or a tree has been cut, wait to see if the mother retrieves the baby. If she is uninjured, she'll do her best to rescue her baby. If nothing has happened to the nest, something may have happened to the mother (look in the street). You may find one or more small squirrels out on their own, perhaps clinging to a tree or on the ground, and emitting a distress call (high pitched squeaking). That means they were hungry enough to leave the nest before they're old enough to do so.
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Thanks to OWL volunteer Christy Kennedy for contributing this article.
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