Important advice on rescuing wildlife
We have a constant stream of wildlife coming in to us at the moment but many members of the public are doing all the wrong things before the animals get to us thus jeopardising the animal, which then needlessly dies.
PLEASE DO NOT GIVE BIRDS WATER DOWN THEIR BEAKS. Many people are doing this before getting the birds to us. Squirting water down a birds beak invariably ends up flooding the lungs with water and the animal suffers a slow and painful death from pneumonia.
DO NOT FEED BIRDS CHOPPED UP WORMS. Many baby birds have different plummage to their parents so lots of people may now know what a particular baby bird is. For that reason we need to see the bird to see what kind of bird it is and what food is appropriate. We never ever feed chopped up worms to baby birds as it usually kills them, especially seed eating birds.
DO NOT COOL DOWN THE ANIMAL DESPITE THE WEATHER. Even in this weather animals are coming in to us cold, and we can do nothing with a cold animal. Make sure the animal is warm and next to a hot water bottle filled with warm water (not too hot, and in a box where the bird can move away from the heat source if necessary). Animals often die of shock before dehydration or starvation due to the body cooling down.
IF YOU SEE HEDGEHOGS OUT DURING THE DAY THERE IS USUALLY SOMETHING WRONG. Hedgehogs are getting dehydrated at the moment (often wandering around during the day and wobbling as they walk). They usually need to be seen by a rescue centre for rehydration. If they are out for too long then they often suffer from flystrike which can be fatal.
