The latest call was over an abandoned raccoon. For some reason...this little guy got kicked out of his nest when he was a week old. This is very unusual raccoon behavior. You can drop any baby raccoon into a raccoon nest and it will more than likely be taken care of. Well...three weeks later and he's becoming a toddler...
Raccoons are adorable and they're fun and...they're a whole lot of trouble! Luckily we found a home for this little guy at a wildlife sanctuary up on the Vermont state line.
Over time we've had everything in the barn from woodchucks to flying squirrels and we even had a distressed fawn for a short while. Our most common orphans are squirrels.
Baby squirrels get blown out of their nests. Their mothers get run over by cars or maybe fall prey to coyotes. And they find their way to our barn.
The nursing syringes get bigger as they get bigger. Their first solid food is usually Cheerio's.
But the funniest thing of all with squirrels is..."release day". Once they've grown and they're able to take care of themselves they get released.
Did you know it takes 3 days to release a squirrel? It's very funny.
Day 1. Take squirrels out to the woods, turn them loose and have a seat. And for 30 minutes they'll sit your lap and look around. The world is such a scary place!
Day 2. Take squirrels out to the woods, turn them loose and have a seat. They'll start in your lap and after a minute or two will start to wander around and look at stuff. They may travel as far as 12 feet away but frequently come back to your lap for reassurance.
Day 3. Take squirrels out to the woods, turn them loose and have a seat. They'll start in your lap and after a minute or two they'll wander around. They'll look back. Then they hit the trees and you'll never see them again.
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