Animal Corner - Springtime baby animals - 2 September
In springtime, baby animals start being born. Often people will
find orphaned animals and want to help them. Here is what to
do:
Hedgehogs
In spring not only are hedgehogs being born but people
often leap into action and start tidying up the garden. Hedgehogs
have their babies in nests in warm dry places and often will make a
nest in compost.
Our advice is:
-Be careful when you are digging in your compost heap as
we often end up with orphaned hedgehogs as the mother has been
killed by a garden fork
-If you find a nest leave it alone until the babies leave the nest
at about a month of age
-If you find orphaned hedgehogs take them to your local SPCA or
vet. Don't feed them cows milk as they can't digest it. If you do
have experience in feeding baby animals then feed baby hedgehogs
goats milk which is readily available in supermarkets
Ducklings
Before trying to catch ducklings, make sure there is
definitely no mother around. If you see a mum with her ducklings in
an unsafe spot, try to heard them to safety, but don't try to catch
them. If you do find orphaned ducklings take them to your local
SPCA or vet. They are really hard to keep alive once they are away
from their mother.
Lambs and goats
Look around for a mother who will be calling for the baby
if you find a lamb or kid by themselves. If no mum is around try
and find the farmer who owns the land. As a last resort take them
to a vet or SPCA.
Baby birds
If you find a nestling it will be bald and not able
to stand up. The nest will be nearby, find the nest and put the
bird back in. Birds have a really bad sense of smell so will not
reject the chick because you have handled it.
If you find a fledgling it will have almost all it's feathers and
have been kicked out of the nest to learn to fly. The parents will
still be feeding it, so put it in a safe place near where you find
it (like on a hedge away from cats) and leave the parents to look
after it.
Kittens
We get lots of orphaned kittens at this time of year. If
you find a litter of kittens make sure there is no mother looking
after them. Even if there is a mother, call your local SPCA as they
will want to catch the mother cat with the kittens so she can
continue to look after them.
If the kittens are orphaned you need to get special kitten milk to
feed them, don't use cows milk as they can't digest it.
