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A Fallow fawn we took in a few weeks ago, now recovered and moved onto Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue to join others in preparation for release.
The boys Speedy and Freddie bonding, with Gracie getting on with life in the background.
This is a very rare admission, in the years that we have rescued thousands of birds, only once before have we ever had a rare cuckoo. This cuckoo was found grounded and quite bedraggled, they could not fly or even stand up. After treatment and being tube fed a suitable rearing formula, we have seen a remarkable improvement, they are now standing, walking and have even flown a short distance!! Whilst this is amazing news to see such progressive improvements, thier are a long way from being released, they have to be perfect to make the epic migration to Africa for the winter.
Sunset over the sanctuary
Here we have two x-rays completed today by our wonderful vets Vets4Pets Eastwood. Although x-rays are very expensive, often they are essential in allow us to fully assess to determine the chances of a full recovery as well as help with any treatment plan. The first is of a hedgehog that was admitted this morning. Hogs often require expensive x-rays, so that they can be uncurled and be examined fully. Sadly this one has had some major trauma, thier spine has been broken, they are no longer suffering, we had no choice but to put to sleep. The second x-ray is the Tawny owl that arrived on Saturday having been found handing in a tree by thier right wing, tangled up in fishing line. Despite hanging for an unknown time by the one wing, there are no breaks, they are now recovering from the anaesthetics, we will continue with thier treatment plan.
Today we admitted this tawny owl, they were spotted hanging upside down high up in a tree, thankfully members of the public managed to get help to free them, they found that he was in fact tangled up in fishing wire. We removed the fishing wire, it has caused injury to his wing and extensive feather damage, the owl arrived very weak, we do not know how long they had been hanging upside down from their wing. We have managed to give some food, they remain in balance, only the next few days will tell if they will survive. We hope that they will be strong enough for an x-ray on Monday, we are very concerned for the right wing. We receive several calls each and every week for wildlife trapped by carelessly discarded fishing line, hooks and weights, in many cases we are unable to help due to a lack of resources or often, the animal in need of rescuing is on water. When we do manage to rescue them, the devastation caused by fishing line can be quite horrific with deep lacerations and often amputations.
Just as we rehome our last three goats, three more arrive to fill the space, we are always at capacity, 1 out 1 in.
Too often with wildlife rescue, we have to let animals go to end suffering. Today was such a case, we took a call for this grounded Heron. We easily caught them, thats never a good sign. A quick examination, they were extremely emaciated and weak. A thorough examination at the vets revealed an old injury to his leg and an amputated toe. Its likely that this debilitating injury led to his decline. We couldn't save his life, we have undoubtedly saved him from suffering.
We have received many more calls than normal this year to take on so called cade lambs, these are lambs that for whatever reason need to be hand reared. We take on what we can, hand rear then find life-long homes as pets. When we can't help and often we can't, we try to make contact with other rescues. We believe that the increase is largely impacted by the high costs of lamb rearing formula. This trio came from a farm some months ago, we have hand reared them and this week moved them to a great new home where they'll be loved and live a full natural life.
Update - The new born fallow fawn we took in nearly three weeks ago is doing well. She arrived having been found trapped in a wire fence shortly after birth. We are still treating her wounds, it is taking some time to heal, however it's stopped getting worse, the healing is now in process. As deer get very stressed, hand rearing is particularly difficult especially during the initial stages, we are not mum! She was a very reluctant feeder taking only a small amount, we were feeding her from dawn until dusk. Now, although thankfully still very wild, she is drinking well. Deer are herd animals, it's important that we get her with other fawns of the same species as soon as we can and minimise all human contact. Once her wound gets the all clear, she has a bit of a journey to another rescue to join two other Fallow deer fawns.
Big thanks as always to the lovely bikers who attended the 40th Cow Pat Rally and donated all their seating bales to us. ❤️. Thanks so much. @shoulder_of_mutton_mcc
Our three goats went to a great new life-long home last week, the new owners love them, its great to know they have settled in. We are always at full capacity, its 1 out 1 in and as we have 3 sheep also going to thier new home this week, we allready have more goats and sheep lined up to come in. On arrival they will be health checked and treated, the males castrated and assessed ready to be put up for adoption.
Meet Chloe, Patch, Matthew, and little Eddie. Three super lovely cats and a kitten all looking for their forever home. Visit our cat rehoming page on the link below for more information on them. https://www.catchat.org/shelter_centre/index.php?route=shelters/shelter&path=534 If you wish to make an appointment for a viewing, please use the email address listed on each cat profile. They are all so adorable and deserve the to find their perfect home. A big thanks to our foster carers for taking such good care of them while they look for their new home.
Can you remember Stevie the abandoned Angora rabbit we took in? When Stevie arrived, he had been severely neglected, his fur was so matted, he could hardly move, he had maggots in the dirty matted fur and his back end very inflamed and sore. It took us several hours of clipping, washing and then treating his wounds regularly. Once healed, he had the all clear to be castrated. Now just look at him, he has a new home with an experienced rabbit carer where he'll live with other bunnies, be loved and cared for and never again be neglected.