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Some of my more regular readers may remember the little fallow deer fawn which came in back in July after being caught in a fence by a hind leg.
A common problem with deer, and usually not a happy ending, but this ones injuries healed well but we couldn't release him back where he came from as he was too young to be on his own.
He has been with us since then while we decided where he was to go.
Today, we took him over to Bob Lawrence, the Head Keeper of West Midland Safari Park, where he is to join a group of over twenty young fallows which will be released together at the Park. This will be an ideal place for him, and it was great to have a fence casualty success story for a change - all too often the injuries sustained are horrific and the poor animals cannot be saved.
Today, as well as more hedgehogs, we have had yet another barn owl chick in, very thin and dehydrated like the one brought in a few days ago, who is doing very well by the way!
One lesson that I always try to teach anyone interested in wildlife rehabilitation is not to miss any injuries or problems. For example, just because an animal has been brought in after being hit by a car, maybe with an obvious injury caused by the collision, always remember that there may be another problem which caused the animal to be in the road in the first place. It is all too easy to find an obvious injury and set about treating it, whilst missing another important problem. This was the case for another deer casualty:
A young fallow deer was brought in by the RSPCA the other day, again after being removed from a fence. By the time I was called to the Treatment Room to look at him, he had already been anaesthetised in order to look at his leg and an injury to his tail. I always like to look at an animal before examining it to see its behaviour and general demeanour, but as this one was already asleep I didn't get the opportunity. He didn't appear to have any injuries to the leg which had been entangled in the fence but his tail had been quite severely injured and we had to call the vet in to amputate the end of it. A straightforward operation which went well and we discussed the possiblity of releasing him in the next couple of days as he had dissolvable sutures in the wound. The sooner deer are released back out, the better they do.
Unfortunately, as soon as he came round from the anaesthetic it was obvious that he had also sustained a head injury which I hadn't treated him for. He couldn't stand and had no coordination at all. We started the treatment for this as soon as we realised, but if I had seen him initially, the treatment could have been started earlier. I will let you know his progress.
Always take a good look at an animal before diving in and starting an examination or treatment. Look at the way it behaves, breathes, stands, lies, sits, moves, look at its eyes, legs, wings, check for symmetry, listen for noises when it breathes.
Once you learn what is normal, you will immediately spot something not quite right with an animal.
A common problem with deer, and usually not a happy ending, but this ones injuries healed well but we couldn't release him back where he came from as he was too young to be on his own.
He has been with us since then while we decided where he was to go.
Today, we took him over to Bob Lawrence, the Head Keeper of West Midland Safari Park, where he is to join a group of over twenty young fallows which will be released together at the Park. This will be an ideal place for him, and it was great to have a fence casualty success story for a change - all too often the injuries sustained are horrific and the poor animals cannot be saved.
Today, as well as more hedgehogs, we have had yet another barn owl chick in, very thin and dehydrated like the one brought in a few days ago, who is doing very well by the way!
One lesson that I always try to teach anyone interested in wildlife rehabilitation is not to miss any injuries or problems. For example, just because an animal has been brought in after being hit by a car, maybe with an obvious injury caused by the collision, always remember that there may be another problem which caused the animal to be in the road in the first place. It is all too easy to find an obvious injury and set about treating it, whilst missing another important problem. This was the case for another deer casualty:
A young fallow deer was brought in by the RSPCA the other day, again after being removed from a fence. By the time I was called to the Treatment Room to look at him, he had already been anaesthetised in order to look at his leg and an injury to his tail. I always like to look at an animal before examining it to see its behaviour and general demeanour, but as this one was already asleep I didn't get the opportunity. He didn't appear to have any injuries to the leg which had been entangled in the fence but his tail had been quite severely injured and we had to call the vet in to amputate the end of it. A straightforward operation which went well and we discussed the possiblity of releasing him in the next couple of days as he had dissolvable sutures in the wound. The sooner deer are released back out, the better they do.
Unfortunately, as soon as he came round from the anaesthetic it was obvious that he had also sustained a head injury which I hadn't treated him for. He couldn't stand and had no coordination at all. We started the treatment for this as soon as we realised, but if I had seen him initially, the treatment could have been started earlier. I will let you know his progress.
Always take a good look at an animal before diving in and starting an examination or treatment. Look at the way it behaves, breathes, stands, lies, sits, moves, look at its eyes, legs, wings, check for symmetry, listen for noises when it breathes.
Once you learn what is normal, you will immediately spot something not quite right with an animal.
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