state wildlife rehabilitation council, inc....
TRANSCRIPT
Volume 35, Number 4 July, 2015 THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE NEW YORK
STATE WILDLIFE REHABILITATION COUNCIL, INC.
NYSWRC Board of Directors
Kelly Martin, President [email protected]
Barb Hollands, Vice Pres. [email protected]
Cheryl Hoople, Secretary [email protected]
Amy Freiman, Treasurer & Release [email protected]
Jean Alden, Membership [email protected]
Barb Cole [email protected]
Maggie Ciarcia [email protected]
Virginia Frati [email protected]
Sue Heighling [email protected]
Beverly Jones [email protected]
Ellen Kalish [email protected]
Terri Murphy [email protected]
Veronica Serwacki [email protected]
Lauren Schulz Eddings [email protected]
Matt Zymanek [email protected]
Advisory Board: Andrea Sammarco, Attorney at Law
George Kollias, DVM, PhD
Noha Abou-Madi, DVM, Msc.
Karen Moran, DVM
www.NYSWRC.org
Back issues of Release are available in color online.
NYSWRC Board Meetings are open to everyone. E-mail Kelly Martin, President 2015 NYSWRC Annual Conference Nov. 6-8 in Syracuse at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotels Spring, 2016 Oil Spill Response All day seminar on Long Island, sponsored by NYSWRC with course by Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc.
Editor’s note: I welcome your articles, poems, information, questions and artwork. We are pleased to print articles from our members, but caution each reader that NYSWRC is not responsible for the accuracy of the content or information provided, and does not necessarily endorse the policies proposed. Submissions should be sent to: [email protected]
Conference 2015, by Kelly Martin Lions and tigers and bears ... Well, no lions or tigers, but certainly bears; and coyotes, rabbits, songbirds, bats, turtles, snakes, hawks, waterfowl, woodchucks, porcupines, raccoons, and skunks. All those species along with accompanying information on how to treat their problems and rehabilitate them better, including their natural history, behavior, anatomy, biology, and physiology will be featured at the 2015 conference. There will also be topics on cage building, educating the public and dealing with the public, and a nearly full day on reptile care. Workshops this year are: avian and mammal necropsy, avian bandaging techniques, fluid therapy, webbed feet and songwriting. NYSWRC will once again offer the Animal Basic Care course for new rehabilitators or those interested in becoming licensed. For those wanting to obtain authority to rehabilitate rabies vector species (bat, raccoon, skunk) we will offer the state mandated course, along with the Departments of Environmental Conservation, Health, and Agriculture & Markets. This year we are proud that once again, most lectures and workshops qualify to offer licensed veterinarians and technicians continuing education credits. Encourage your cooperating veterinarians to attend Sunday's all day veterinary session. Make sure they get conference registration materials or provide us with contact information and we will mail directly to your veterinarian. Consider offering to pay for your veterinarian and/or their technicians to attend as a way of thanking them for helping with wildlife or to encourage them to help.
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Rehabilitation of Orphaned Cottontails By Virginia Frati
Nothing can be more frustrating and heartbreaking than
rehabilitating baby Eastern Cottontails. Even with the
best care, many just simply pass away. The weaning
process is blamed, along with a stressful environment.
The following are tips that I've used over the years to
improve the success rate.
Initial Exam and Intake
Once you have determined that the bunny(ies) do, in fact,
need to come in for rehab, have the caller bring all the
nesting materials in with the bunnies (unless, of course,
other bunnies are remaining in the nest). Mother rabbits
line the nest with their fur, and it has been my experience
that bunnies do much better when they are cared for in
their original nest.
Immediately upon intake, stimulate the bunnies to urinate
with a warm wet q-tip. Mother rabbits only visit the nest
twice a day, and many newly admitted bunnies have not
emptied their bladder in quite some time. Do not be
alarmed if the urine is brown; this can happen if the
bladder has not been emptied in awhile and is not always
a sign of dehydration. Note if the bunny has a full belly
of milk from the mother. Sometimes you can see this
right through the bunny's skin on the abdoman. If it is
full of milk, I will not nurse that rabbit that day at all, but
will give the first feeding before bedtime (see section on
Feeding below).
If the bunnies are cold, place the nest in a cardboard box
and place on a heating pad set on low. Place the nesting
material over the top of the bunnies. If you do not have
nesting material, a piece of fleece material works nicely.
To fully make use of the talents of our keynote speaker, environmental educator Chris Rowlands, we are scheduling a songwriting workshop. Chris will join forces with John Frink (singer/songwriter, and performer at past conferences) to work with those attending conference who also aspire to create music. Perhaps a special performance piece will arise out of this unique session? Other special programs include a panel discussion on Friday evening and of course our annual business meeting, "Veterinarian of the Year" award, and the infamous Saturday raffle and silent auction, otherwise known as the 'Matt & Pat Show'. Please bring great and wonderful items to donate to our main annual fund raiser. As always we are grateful for the generosity of our line up of speakers who are certainly among the best there is in the field of wildlife care. This year the line up includes: NYSDEC, Ag & Mkts, and Health staff plus NYSWRC members, Dr. Jeff Baier, CO), Dr. Flo Tseng (Tufts, MA), Dr. Erica Miller (Brandywine Zoo), Dr. Dave McGruer (Wildlife Center of VA), Dr. Noha Abou-Madi (Cornell Wildlife Health Center), John Adamski ( Seneca Park Zoo), Harriett Forrester ( Turtle Rescue and Rehab, NJ), Kathy Michell, Alexxia Bell, Natasha Nowick (NY Center for Turtle Rehab & Conservation), Carol Holmgren, Martha Sterba (Tamarack Wildlife Rehab & Education Center, PA), Dr. Michele Goodman (PA), Peggy Hentz (Red Creek Wildlife Center), Wes Laraway (NY Wildlife Rescue Center), Jen Lewis (BatWorld Conservation), Ben Montgomery ( Toronto Wildlife Center), Jayne Neville (Mount Vernon Songbird Sanctuary, CT), Diane Nickerson (Mercer County Wildlife Center, NJ), John Frink (DE) Chris Schadler (Project Coyote, NH, VT), Dr. Renee Schott (Wildlife Rehab Center, MN), and Chris Rowlands, our keynote speaker. We look forward to seeing our regulars this year and hope to see lots of new faces. Conferences are a great opportunity to enhance our network of resources, meet new people with shared interests, and to swap stories and share knowledge. See you in November! Registration information will arrive in the mail within the month, or may be accessed on the website.
Conference 2015, continued
Conference Scholarships are Available
NYSWRC will offer several scholarships and free registrations to our current NYSWRC members. These are offered in memory of Connie Feissner, Trish Zimmerman and Marie Miller. To apply, request scholarship assistance by writing (email) to Steve Freiman at: [email protected]. Make sure your membership is up to date and explain how this assistance would help your rehabilitation efforts. Continues next page
Page 3
schedule below:
1 to 3 days old - 4x per day
3 days old till eyes open (about a week) – 3 times per
day
Eyes open till 2 weeks old – 2 times per day (should be
starting to eat)
2 weeks old to 3 weeks old – 1 per day
I do both tube feeding and nursing with a Catac nipple,
depending on how much time I have or how many
bunnies I'm caring for. I have not noticed any
difference in success rate, except that the risk of an
accident while tubing is always a concern. Be careful
that any tubes you are using have not dried out over the
winter time. This could possibly pierce the rabbit's
cheek and result in milk being injected into the
subcutaneous area of the neck. Always use new tubes
each season for this reason. Holding the bunny on its
stomach, wrapped in a soft cloth in a straight position,
gently twist the tube with your thumb and index finger
to find the esophagus. Never force the tube! A size 3
French works well with newborns and often right up
until weaning. You may need to strain the formula with
a kitchen strainer so it does not clog the tube. Always
bring 2 tubes with you to the feeding area in the event
one clogs. Soak them in the warm water with your
feeding syringes to make them soft and pliable.
Nursing bunnies can be time consuming and frustrating,
and hence may be more stressful for the rabbits.
However, in time, they may learn to become eager
nursers; and this undoubtedly is the safest, most natural
way to feed. Hold the bunny on its stomach, wrapped in
a soft cloth. Gently pressing two fingers alongside the
bunny's mouth seems to stimulate the nursing reflex.
Stimulate the rabbit to urinate after every feeding with a
warm, wet q-tip. Dab the genital area afterwards with a
piece of gauze to dry.
Weigh the bunnies every day at the same time. If the
bunny is losing weight or is otherwise not thriving, there
is a good chance that it has coccidia. Since getting a
fecal sample from tiny bunnies is challenging, I start
them on Albon 50 mg/kg SID for 5 days.
Housing and Weaning
For newborns, I use simply a cardboard box lined with a
soft cloth with the original nest. Place the box on a
heating pad set on low. Twice a day, I pick a few
greens from outside and drop into the nest with them. I
have witnessed eyes-closed bunnies nibbling at grasses.
This probably makes the weaning process easier.
Make sure any material you place in the box does not
smell like other animals. Even better, rub the material in
some outdoor grass before placing it in the box.
Even though it is usually the protocol not to feed wildlife
when newly admitted, I always make an exception with
both baby and adult rabbits. As soon as possible, pick a
small amount of some outside greens (clover, dandelion
leaves) and place it next to the bunnies. This is not for
eating, but for smell. Bunnies are so easily stressed that
the smell of the fresh greens will comfort them.
Check the bunnies for dehydration – pull the skin up
gently on the animal's back and see how long it takes to
return to normal. Count...1001, 1002. If the skin is still
tented at the end of 1002, they are dehydrated. Give
warmed fluids, either Lactated Ringers SQ or Pedialyte or
other electrolyte fluids orally. The initial dose of fluids
should be 2.5% of the body weight in grams. So if the
bunny is 30 grams, you may start with 0.75 cc's of fluids.
Check for any wounds and clean thoroughly. You must
be extremely careful when cleaning the wounds of any
Cottontails!! Their skin is like paper, and merely
cleaning the wound can tear the skin even further – many
times without your realizing it! A tiny wound suddenly
becomes an open, gaping wound. (I have seen this
happen even when our veterinarian cleaned the wound!)
Flush the wound with a curve tipped syringe, and blot it
with Silver Sulfadiazine (SSD) cream on a Q-tip. Do this
once a day until the wound is healed. Generally, unless
the wound involves a cat attack, I do not administer
antibiotics due to the sensitive nature of the rabbit's
digestive tract. A rule of thumb is if more than 25% of
skin is missing in a particular area of the animal, then it is
a candidate for euthanasia.
Feeding
Mother rabbits only visit the nest twice a day to feed their
young. While the stomach capacity of most baby
mammals is 5% of the animal's weight in grams, bunnies'
stomach capacity can be as much as 10%. However, the
only time I will feed 10% of formula is when the bunny is
well established and healthy in rehabilitation and eagerly
nursing. Otherwise, I stay at a comfortable 5 to 7% of the
animal's weight.
Never use full strength formula with newly admitted
bunnies. At the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons,
we use Fox Valley 32/40 with added Fox Valley
Lactobacillus. Whatever formula you choose, follow the
instructions for mixing, then dilute it so it is only 25%
formula/75% water with the first feeding, then 50%/50%
for the second feeding, then 75%/25% for the third
feeding, then finally 100% formula. Use the feeding Continues next page
Rehabilitation of Orphaned Cottontails, continued
Page 4
When the bunnies eyes open, I use a small clamshell pet
carrier that has the little door that opens from the top. I
line it with a small towel, then scatter a small amount of
Timothy or Alfalfa hay on the bottom. Then I place
their original nest or nesting material on one side and
cover the nest with a small upside down cardboard box
with a hole cut in the front for a door. Do not use
different toweling for the nest – any changes at this point
may likely stress the bunnies. Pick greens from outside
twice a day, run them quickly under water, shake and
place them on a folded napkin in the carrier near the
door of the nest. When you notice them eating, you can
add some shredded carrot, plain Cheerios, and rabbit
pellets. Do not line the carrier with the greens you have
picked outside. It will dampen all the bedding. I simply
pick up the napkin with the old greens and put down a
new napkin with the new greens. I never use a bowl for
the food since that does not simulate natural feeding.
For water, I use a small crock dish filled with small
rocks and then add water to it, although I never see the
bunnies drinking from it. Bunnies get most of their
water intake by eating the moist greens.
Keep the nest section of the pet carrier over a heating
pad set on low.
Do not change the bottom toweling until you see that
they are urinating quite a bit – they need to be able to eat
some of their feces (coprophagia) to aid in their
digestion. Cleaning the cage too vigorously can be
detrimental to their digestive health.
Also, continue to stimulate the bunnies after nursing for
as long as they will let you....it keeps their cage cleaner.
Pre-Release
At the point where the bunnies are getting too large for
the clamshell, I transfer them to a larger ferret cage. If
there are more than 4 rabbits to a litter, I will split them
into groups of 2 or 3 as I have found that too many in a
cage can cause sudden death. Toweling is used on the
bottom of the cage with the Timothy or Alfalfa hay lining
the bottom. I cover the half of the cage containing the
nest box with a towel. Again, I pick fresh outdoor greens
twice a day, run them under water and place them in a
pile on a folded napkin or scott towel and add shredded
carrots, Cheerios and rabbit pellets. Again, I do not use a
bowl for the food, and use a small crock dish for water.
At this point, I change the nest box to a small cardboard
box on its side lined with a small cloth. I also set some
hay down in the nest box. When the cage needs cleaned,
you can herd the bunnies into the box, and cover the front
of the box. Then you can lift the nest box out, and move
it to another already clean cage. This prevents the
bunnies being chased around the cage.
This cage can be put in a protected area outside during
the day and brought back in at night or simply placed
near an open door or window. I do not place them in
caging outside because, even with predator-proof caging,
the proximity of the cage to night time predators would
cause enough stress to possibly kill them.
Remember – Smell is Everything!!
Rabbits have a very strong sense of smell and, as prey
animals, are extremely susceptible to stress and
subsequent death. I keep a separate batch of towels for
rabbits and don't wash them with other rehab laundry. I
don't know about anyone else, but after I've washed a
towel that has been used by a fish eating bird, it still
smells like fish! The same is true with fox and raccoon
bedding. Be wary of anything that is going into the
rabbit's cage. The same is true with your hands. Never
handle rabbits after petting your dog or cat. Always
place the cage near an open window where the smells
from the outdoors can reach the bunnies.
Release
Release the bunnies in very early morning or late
afternoon/early evening. Choose a spot where you have
seen rabbits as this is usually good habitat. Rabbits like a
wide expanse of green grass bordered by thick shrubbery
or hedgerows.
Congratulate yourself
on a job well done!
Virginia Frati is a Class
2 Licensed Wildlife
Rehabilitator and is the
Executive Director of the
Wildlife Rescue Center of
the Hamptons on Eastern Long Island.
She is also on the Board of Directors of the NYS Wildlife
Rehabilitation Council.
Rehabilitation of Orphaned Cottontails, continued
Page 5
“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck... “
It is an interesting trend that nearly every Spring /Summer,
the SPCA Serving Erie County’s wildlife hospital admits a
higher than usual number of a particular species . We
jokingly call it “The year of the xxxx”. In past years, we
have had the year of the screech owl, the year of the red
fox, the year of the wood duck…. This year is decidedly
the year of the woodchuck. Our woodchuck patients varied
from a few days of age to mature adult while their health
ranged from poor to fairly strong. Some were hit by cars
but most were orphaned. Never before had we admitted so
many tiny youngsters in one season. It was fascinating to
see that even at a very young age the color pattern around
the muzzle was very noticeable.
Because we do not have the appropriate enclosures to
house woodchucks long term, we work very closely with
Bob Will, a local wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in
woodchucks. Once stabilized, woodchucks are transferred
to Bob for the remainder of their care. We like to refer to it
as “hospitalize, stabilize and mobilize”! Fortunately for us,
volunteer Jean Alden is willing to do the leg work to get
our woodchucks safely to Bob. Bob has become a local
celebrity as the care provider for “Dunkirk Dave”- the
world’s second longest prognosticating groundhog. In
2013, Dunkirk Dave was chosen by National Geographic
Kids Chapter book series as an animal superstar! For more
info on Dunkirk Dave and Bob you can visit their website
at www.
DunkirkDave.com.
Page 6
Do you need an incubator?
The nonprofit organization Baby Warm has just one goal - to get a free incubator in the hands of every volunteer homecare rehabber who needs one. Since launching in October, they've helped fund 124 incubators (intensive care units) then shipped to the rehabbers at no charge. The only requirements are that you’re a homecare volunteer rehabber and you don’t already own an incubator. The application is available on their website: BabyWarm.org
Conference Keynote Presentation: Chris Rowlands is the entertaining Seminar 2015 Keynote Speaker. Chris is a songwriter, singer, puppeteer, ventriloquist, educator, naturalist — entertainer. Chris will get our Saturday morning sessions off to a great start as he shares stories and songs about things rehabilitators deal with daily (environmental protection, recycling, beavers, eagles, opossums and even vomit and poop. Chris started his career with the CT DEP and is now a naturalist for the Aullwood Audubon Nature Center in Dayton, OH. He performs around the country sharing his energy and enthusiasm for the environment and the critters who share it with us. Chris will also present a songwriting session co-hosted with John Frink. Many of you already own John’s CDs and know how much he adds to our conferences. Now we will get to enjoy a dynamic duo at work.
RVS Corner: Bat Pups, by Linda Bowen Most often big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) are referenced as having one pup per year. Each year in my rehab facility, I have had at least one if not two females give birth to twins, never singles. Almost always, both pups have survived to release. As we are still learning about bat behavior and natural history, we wonder if more (if not most) big brown bats are actually giving birth to twins more regularly in the wild, but perhaps do not always have the resources to successfully raise two. While in captivity, they have to expend very little energy to eat large volumes of mealworms, apparently sufficient to raise two healthy pups. As we are now in the midst of their birthing season, supposedly “abandoned” pups are being found. Reuniting doesn’t seem to work as well as we would like, so it raises a few questions: Are pups being deliberately discarded? Is one pup becoming weak and has dropped or wandered off? Are that many bat mothers meeting their demise? We do tend to see more pups grounded after days of heavy rain perhaps because the mothers cannot forage and become weaker. For those occasions where they may carry their very small pups, are they becoming too heavy with rain soaked fur? I believe that we are seeing many more pups being rescued as the public is becoming more educated about bats and White Nose Syndrome. Could that mean that some of the myths surrounding bats are finally starting to dissipate? Gosh, I hope so.
Minutes old big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) pup with umbilical cord and placenta attached.
Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) mother sheltering one of the pups with her wing as the second pup climbs back to her.
Dorsal view of big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) pup with umbilical cord wrapped around wing.
Page 7
Receive Release via email In an effort to save some trees and postage, as well as making it quick and convenient for our readers, NYSWRC will now offer our members the option of receiving the color PDF issue of Release the same day it goes in the mail. If you would like to receive Release via PDF in E-mail, just let us know by responding to the editor at: Mail to: [email protected] Subject: Release electronically In the body of your message just let us know that: ____ Yes, I want to receive Release via email E-mail address to send it to is: ____________________ Member’s name is:_____________________________ And if you want both the paper copy and email that is OK too, just tell us. If you don’t want Release via E-mail, but want to continue to receive it via USPS, do nothing and it will arrive at your home as usual.
Election of NYSWRC Board Members and
Officers will take place at the Annual Meeting
on Saturday, November 7, 2015 during the
annual conference.
Board members serve for a three year term. Running for reelection are current NYSWRC board members Jean Alden, Beverly Jones, Sue Heighling, and Veronica Serwacki. There is one open position, and we hope you will choose to join our board. For more information on board membership please contact Kelly Martin at: [email protected]
Board service is entirely volunteer. You are expected to participate in meetings ( majority are via telephone ) and to work on behalf of NYSWRC during the conference as well as contribute articles for the newsletter. You serve as an ambassador for all of New York’s wildlife rehabilitators.
NYSWRC wishes to thank Maggie Ciarcia for her service to the board during the past three years. She did a great job and has promised to continue to assist us as we move forward.
THANK YOU, Molly Gallagher! NYSWRC member Molly Gallagher had been our NYSWRC volunteer Webmaster for the past fifteen years. Molly founded the Silver Lair Sanctuary for fox. She has been rehabbing since 1989 and is RVS certified. She usually raises a litter of foxes each year with the help of her ranch fox foster dads, Toby & Dylan, and then rehabs whatever else comes her way. Molly works with orphan woodchucks, gray squirrels, a fish line injured Canada goose, raccoons, etc. All to help benefit the wildlife in her area. Molly also works full time, so she is always busy; but Molly always finds time for NYSWRC.
NYSWRC is in the process of transitioning to a professional web site, and Molly is assisting as we move forward. Thank you so much, Molly, for all your years of support for our organization!
Gold Stars for Molly!
NYSWRC
1850 N. Forest Rd.
Williamsville, NY, 14221
www.NYSWRC.org
NEW YORK STATE WILDLIFE REHABILITATION COUNCIL, INC.
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The Annual Conference,
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the education of wildlife rehabilitators, improvement of the field of wildlife rehabilitation, and the protection and preservation of the environment.
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