cassgrimm
09-04-2021, 11:27 AM
Sorry, everyone, but this is going to a bit long-winded.
My current singleton, Thor, came from a drey that is on my property. He’s my first self-found rehab, as normally they are brought to me. Due to this, I’m not usually my babies’ initial human contact and, thus, am unfamiliar with the finding part of rehabbing.
I moved onto my current property just over a year ago. It came with a horse barn that has exposed rafters and trusses, and ventilated crawl spaces over a few sections. Previous owners were not exactly wild animal friendly and baited rodents. One of them even advised me to get pest control in as soon as possible to set up bait and such to prevent rodents from moving in. I smiled and nodded and, obviously, did not do that.
My current tenant, an adult EGS, moved into one of the crawlspaces late last fall. She’s grown quite used to me moving around the barn and often perches on the stall tops and watches me muck stalls and groom horses whilst happily munching away on Wild Bites. It is unusual for me to go more than a day without seeing her. She had a litter this past winter/spring somewhere in the barn. I didn’t interfere other than to offer her extra food. All went well. This season, however, things are not going well for her.
Thor is out of her current litter. I am unsure as to why he, alone, ventured out of the crawlspace, but at only 5 weeks, he was unable to manage the rafters and fell. I don’t know if she attempted to collect him, but when I tried to reunite, she did not come for him. I do know, though, that she has not chosen the best location in terms of carrying kits back up into the roofing system. The barn is metal sheeting and there are no trees within a jumpable distance. It is a pole barn, but, unfortunately, the poles are encased by heavily sealed boarding from the ground to about 10 foot up. The mother manages this climb well enough, but the juveniles do not. She may have attempted to collect him, but was possibly unable to juggle his weight with the difficult ascend.
I write all of this to get to the current problem: Thor’s littermates have left the drey. They are 7 weeks old at best. I have not seen their mother in two days.
Yesterday afternoon, I heard them calling for her from the crawlspace above the tack room and my heart sank realizing I had not seen my wild momma. I shut the barn down like normal and prayed she’d be back. I’m usually in the barn just prior to sunrise, but I stayed away until 8am to keep things quiet and still in the hopes that she would return. No such luck.
Found one baby zipping around the barn aisles as soon I rounded the corner this morning. It took one look at me and bolted. The other one is still in the rafters but has left the crawlspace. Its head pops up, it stares at me curiously, and then it ducks back behind the wood. I poked my head up into the crawlspace and spotted the drey. It is vacant.
At this moment, they are not catchable. I know as they weaken that will change. What can I be doing in the meantime? Is there any hope for the mother to return? I sincerely hope she is alive and uninjured but I know that this is unlikely.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.
My current singleton, Thor, came from a drey that is on my property. He’s my first self-found rehab, as normally they are brought to me. Due to this, I’m not usually my babies’ initial human contact and, thus, am unfamiliar with the finding part of rehabbing.
I moved onto my current property just over a year ago. It came with a horse barn that has exposed rafters and trusses, and ventilated crawl spaces over a few sections. Previous owners were not exactly wild animal friendly and baited rodents. One of them even advised me to get pest control in as soon as possible to set up bait and such to prevent rodents from moving in. I smiled and nodded and, obviously, did not do that.
My current tenant, an adult EGS, moved into one of the crawlspaces late last fall. She’s grown quite used to me moving around the barn and often perches on the stall tops and watches me muck stalls and groom horses whilst happily munching away on Wild Bites. It is unusual for me to go more than a day without seeing her. She had a litter this past winter/spring somewhere in the barn. I didn’t interfere other than to offer her extra food. All went well. This season, however, things are not going well for her.
Thor is out of her current litter. I am unsure as to why he, alone, ventured out of the crawlspace, but at only 5 weeks, he was unable to manage the rafters and fell. I don’t know if she attempted to collect him, but when I tried to reunite, she did not come for him. I do know, though, that she has not chosen the best location in terms of carrying kits back up into the roofing system. The barn is metal sheeting and there are no trees within a jumpable distance. It is a pole barn, but, unfortunately, the poles are encased by heavily sealed boarding from the ground to about 10 foot up. The mother manages this climb well enough, but the juveniles do not. She may have attempted to collect him, but was possibly unable to juggle his weight with the difficult ascend.
I write all of this to get to the current problem: Thor’s littermates have left the drey. They are 7 weeks old at best. I have not seen their mother in two days.
Yesterday afternoon, I heard them calling for her from the crawlspace above the tack room and my heart sank realizing I had not seen my wild momma. I shut the barn down like normal and prayed she’d be back. I’m usually in the barn just prior to sunrise, but I stayed away until 8am to keep things quiet and still in the hopes that she would return. No such luck.
Found one baby zipping around the barn aisles as soon I rounded the corner this morning. It took one look at me and bolted. The other one is still in the rafters but has left the crawlspace. Its head pops up, it stares at me curiously, and then it ducks back behind the wood. I poked my head up into the crawlspace and spotted the drey. It is vacant.
At this moment, they are not catchable. I know as they weaken that will change. What can I be doing in the meantime? Is there any hope for the mother to return? I sincerely hope she is alive and uninjured but I know that this is unlikely.
Any ideas are greatly appreciated.