Countdown to the 'Mad Season'

Well, the baby bird and mammal season is looming once again and before very long our Hospital will be brimming with tiny mouths calling out to be fed every few minutes. We have all been enjoying the quiet (ish!) winter months but we are now gearing up for the intake of the majority of our annual patient total which come in between April and August.

We could see fox or badger cubs any time now with baby birds starting to hatch towards the end of next month.

One plea before the madness starts: Please, please if you think you have found an abandoned wildlife baby, ring your nearest wildlife centre for advice before picking it up. More often than not it will not have been abandoned but the parent will not come back to it while you are anywhere near. Many baby birds will spend several days on the ground when they first leave the nest, before they start to fly properly, deer fawns will be left sometimes for many hours while mum goes off to forage for food. They should not be touched.

A majority of the baby birds brought in to us have been caught by cats. Please try to keep cats in if you know there are baby birds around, but if your cat does manage to catch one, please take it to a rescue centre as soon as possible as it is vital that the bird receives antibiotics within a few hours for it to stand any chance of survival.

Please call us for advice if you have any concerns at all about wildlife, we will be happy to take your call and will give the best advice we can.