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3069. Macnas - 5/16/2005 9:34:54 AM COn, I had to laugh, "rats with antlers", never heard that before.
Isn't it always the way though? To those who do not have them invading land and eating everything in sight, they are just plain deer, maybe a bit bambi like, or maybe even majestic.
To those who, as a farmer once said to me, are "feeding 100 cattle by day and 50 deer both night and day" they are quite the pest. I've never shot deer, nor have any hankering to do so, but I have been asked more than a few times. Farmers who usually have no interest in letting you set foot on their property become very welcoming when deer are competing with cattle for food. 3070. PelleNilsson - 5/16/2005 12:15:24 PM Why don't you shoot deer? Ethics? Practicalities? 3071. Macnas - 5/16/2005 12:41:07 PM Bit of both I suppose Pelle.
Ethics wise, I have no idea as to the sustainability of any deer herd I may be culling from. Deer are better managed as opposed to being shot as opportunity arises, pest control or not.
Practically, There are no deer in my immediate area (yet, they are slowly but surely increasing in numbers and range), and in any case I am not personally tooled up to shoot them. By that I mean I do not own a large calibre rifle at the moment. I'd want a .243 or the redoubtable 6.5x55 Swedish to tackle deer properly.
I have a very good feel for any game or vermin I shoot. I know numbers and keep records of everything I shoot, and as well as that of everything I see. So by looking through my diaries I can get some ready statistics for the amount of, say, woodpigeon in my area. I know that in comparison to last year there are less this time around, so I lay off shooting them.
The corvid population has gone through the roof, so I'm comfortable thinning down the numbers.
I've always thought of it like this: My family has lived in this area for hundreds of years. I am as much a part of this environment as any other animal, so I am part of the balance of things. Therefore I balance what I do with what I see and perceive in the countryside around me.
3072. PelleNilsson - 5/16/2005 12:53:29 PM You are a dedicated man with a sense of tradition, Macnas. I like that because in many ways I am, too. 3073. Macnas - 5/16/2005 2:33:11 PM Well, tradition is both happenstance and subject to perception, but I do consider myself traditional.
Tradition is good, as long as it's a good tradition!
3074. ronski - 5/16/2005 6:24:52 PM concerned,
You're lucky you only got a bad taste in your mouth. Those tablets can also burn skin. Never handle them without gloves, and be careful not to breath in any of the dust that accumulates in the bags. 3075. judithathome - 5/22/2005 3:31:38 PM Someone, quick, I need help! We just found a little nestling on the ground...a jay bird...he's fat and has all his feathers and markings, even a little "hat" but his tail is very short. He was walking around but unsteady and he flaps his wings a bit but isn't able to fly.
We scooped him into a box and I dribbled some water into his little open beak. My question: what can I feed him to give him some strength?
3076. thoughtful - 5/22/2005 3:54:32 PM J@H, I would strongly recommend contacting the nearest audubon society and seeing if they have someone who will care for baby birds.
A friend of a friend did that for them and it requires a great deal of dedication and specialized care. She would get up every 2 hrs to feed the chicks just as with an infant...she would take them with her wherever she went just like with an infant so she could feed them on time. And she would make specialized mixes of food depending on species out of things like corn meal and dog food and all kinds of stuff.
It is not a task for the untrained if you expect to be successful. 3077. wabbit - 5/22/2005 4:48:28 PM Baby birds don't need feeding at night, but they are labor intensive during the day, wanting food about every hour. And some water, which you already know. Think about the daylight hours - if you tend to sleep late, keep the bird around a light for a few hours after sunset and feed him accordingly, then keep him in the dark until you get up. That way his feeding schedule keeps the right number of hours, but on your body clock.
Thoughtful is right, food depends on the type of bird. Seed eaters should get some kind of mash (pidgeons are particularly difficult), insect/meat eaters can have cat food. Moist dog food with a bit of cornmeal is a good middle ground.
You also want to have the baby on some kind of twigs/straw/grass. Their little feet need to be able to grab at something, or they won't develop properly. Also, after eating, they will back out of the nest to poop off the side.
Thoughtful is also right about finding someone to take over for you. It's cute for a day or two, but hand-rearing baby critters will take over your life for a while, so if you have a local group that will take the bird, that's a good way to go. 3078. wabbit - 5/22/2005 4:49:56 PM Also, if you can put him back in the nest, do that. The old saying about birds rejecting babies that people have touched has never held true in my experience. 3079. thoughtful - 5/22/2005 4:51:19 PM wabbit i guess you're right about the birds not feeding at night...depending on the bird though.
This woman cared for all kinds of babies including mammals who do require night time feedings. 3080. wabbit - 5/22/2005 5:12:40 PM Me, too. I did wildlife rehab years ago in NJ/PA. I've reared sheep and deer, cats and dogs, raccoons, possums, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, rats and countless birds. I had a robin that used to fly around behind me when I mowed my lawn after he was released. The cats I had back then never bothered anything that was in the house - I guess they figured if it was indoors, it was mine, but outdoors it was fair game.
The various mammals were 24/7 and were a lot of work, but I enjoyed it. Owls wanted night feeding, but you could adjust them to your schedule by keeping them in the dark during the day and in a lit room at night. 3081. judithathome - 5/22/2005 5:23:39 PM Thanks, you two...I went to a site on the internet and it said basically what you both said. It also said that sometimes a baby bird is on the ground because the parents are "ground training" it. So I put him back outside and sure enough, the parents came and are feeding him even as I type this.
Keoni went to the store and just asked a few people if they knew anything about what to do....he said a shopper told him and even showed him the cereal to buy (baby food multi-grain for infants) and showed him where the syringes were and told him how to mix the stuff and feed the bird. So he came home with the goods just as my friend who'd come for breakfast and I let the baby out into the yard. We all sat out there and drank Mimosas and were so relieved to see the parents show up.
They will keep any cats away, I'm sure...they've been dive bombing Klaus every time he goes out there and of course, he won't be going out there for a few days now. 3082. arkymalarky - 5/22/2005 8:21:41 PM Neat reading after the fact, and a happy ending!
It's been a long time since we had a baby bird rescue attempt, and we were never successful. Now we'll know more about how to do if the circumstance arises again. Friends of ours had a baby owl they found on the side of the highway that they successfully raised and freed as an adult, but they're the only ones I know off hand.
3083. arkymalarky - 5/22/2005 8:23:06 PM We've got a mockingbird nest in the backyard shrub that Mojo wants very badly, but it's out of her reach. When the babies start trying to fly it could be a problem. We've had swifts nest on our porch, which Bob hates because of the mud, but I never knew if the babies survived. I suspect not. 3084. wabbit - 5/22/2005 9:03:51 PM Grocery Store Wars, starring Cuke Skywalker, Ham Solo, Chewbroccoli, Princess Lettuce, C3 Peanuts, Tofu D2, Obi Wan Cannoli, and Darth Tater. 3085. Macnas - 5/23/2005 8:27:56 AM I was having a smoke in the porch at the weekend, in my mothers house, or the homeplace as we call it.
Our 14yr old nephew wandered in and said that there was a small bird flopping around outside. Out we went, where we say a near to fledgling mistle thrush, looking very feeble and exhausted.
The brother, being a bit of a dab hand with wild creatures after all his time surveying the lower Rhine for flora & fauna recovery, picked it up carefully (from the back, with his palm against the birds back and his thumb and fingers holding the wings against the body, middle and index at either side of the neck) and knew where it had come from.
Since he came back from Holland he has done all the gardening, and knew where the nest was (indeed, knows where every nest is), in a climb of thick ivy against the wall of one of the out buildings. We got a set of steps and he placed it back in the nest. He said he didn't know if the parents would forsake it or not.
He reckoned that this was the second hatch that the thrush’s had, the first being lost to magpies. It's harder to control these most prolific egg thieves now, as my sisters property makes it awkward to use a gun.
3086. alistairconnor - 5/23/2005 8:38:25 AM How about an air bazooka? that'd blow the magpies away... momentarily 3087. Macnas - 5/23/2005 8:40:46 AM You and your new fangled new-age gadgets. 3088. thoughtful - 5/24/2005 6:03:07 PM Skirt steaks are on sale at the grocery store this week so i had hubby stock up for the freezer. If you've not had skirt steaks, you don't know what you're missing. I sprinkle them with montreal seasoning before grilling and they serve up tender and juicy. Like having dessert for a meal!
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