Texas

[txnative]

My chicks are 4.5 weeks old now and are getting so big! When the yard dries out some they will be moving to their new tractor.

 

[yinepu]

We tried to rehab 3 baby opossums when I was a kid. Even fed them milk out of doll baby bottles. They were super cute until they got to be about the size of a large kitten. Then they started hissing at us and eating their own feces. Dad made us take them out in the woods and let them go.

I've never had a problem with them hissing at me.or eating their own feces.. sure they would hiss at each other as they got a bit older.. it's how they learn how to be possums.


I always gave them "kitten milk" with a few extras added in (vitamins and protein) when they were still bottle babies.. then added tomatoes, raw egg and other goodies as they got a bit older.. perhaps it's the varied diet or broader nutrition that I was feeding them.. but feces eating is usually a sign of a lack of bacteria in their gut as well as a lack of nutrients

Oh god they probably had rabies! Thank god none of you got bit!

I seriously doubt that they had rabies.. more likely just wild babies learning how to be wild


People are always quick to assume rabies when a wild captive animal just starts to act wild... when it's really no different than a kitten learning how to fluff up it's hair, hiss and spit

 

[yinepu]

My chicks are 4.5 weeks old now and are getting so big! When the yard dries out some they will be moving to their new tractor.

I think mine were doing the backstroke earlier... had to bring a few of the smaller ones back inside when they got soggy and chilled.. silly birds.. you would think they would have figured out to get under a roof when it rains..

 

[fowlmouthgirls]

[quote name="wlhtx" url="/t/44/texas/14550#post_11653778".

BTW, fowlmouthgirls, I think we got them pretty riled up over there... [/quote]

I think so too, they started to just ignore me... Lmao!

 

[jajeanpierre]

I seriously doubt that they had rabies.. more likely just wild babies learning how to be wild


People are always quick to assume rabies when a wild captive animal just starts to act wild... when it's really no different than a kitten learning how to fluff up it's hair, hiss and spit

I had a HUGE opossum that came to my porch several times this winter or spring. I had cleaned the parrot cages and left garbage bags of the papers and of course lots of spilled food on the back port.

When I went out, he looked so sick, mouth gaping, drooling and huffing. I thought he had rabies until I found out that the open mouth drooling is normal frightened defensive behavior. I don't think he was sick at all, just maybe really big and old. He was a huge animal.

I researched a bit and found that opossums only live a couple of years because they are so defenseless. I tried to frighten him away--I didn't want him getting hurt by my big dog. I stopped putting papers on the balcony that only encouraged him to come.

I wonder if this is the same opossum.

 

[hotrodflash]

I don't think they had rabies. They were riding on the mom's back (who was eating our cat food) when the dog scared the mom off. Babies fell off and my mom (super softy when it comes it animals of all kinds) scooped them up before the dog could get them. They lived in our extra glass enclosed shower for months. They were just wild animals that shouldn't have been living in our spare bathroom... They would hang upside down from our fingers though when they were little. It was pretty cute for awhile.

BTW, fowlmouthgirls, I think we got them pretty riled up over there...

Yes you did, and it is quite funny. But I don't know if either of you have noticed but they seem to have a lot more illnesses in their areas than we do. Or maybe they just think they do and cull before they really find out if they have an illness or just one who is a little off on that day. The original thread that spawned that thread was much more natural and less complicated.

 

[wlhtx]

I've wondered about them having more illnesses than we do here. Maybe it's their generally much cooler temp? I think they mostly live in the northwest pacific and Canada... Who knows...

I read the other thread first, and when that one got shut down I moved over to this new natural thread. They are vastly different... I wish I had the time to take all these extra steps they seem to find so crucial. I'm so strapped for extra time that I was shelling peas in my office at lunch today... Can't waste these purple hulls, and our garden is still loaded with them! I got laughed at.

 

[TexasLisa]

BTW, fowlmouthgirls, I think we got them pretty riled up over there...

Yes you did! I loved it.

Lisa

 

[yinepu]

Quote: it probably is the same one

possums tend to stay in the same area during their lifespan. Usually they get killed off by cars, coyotes or people (and dogs).. so they don't last long. But even one that is well taken care of and has no "predators" won't live for more than a few years, even in captivity.

The coolest thing about them is that they are being studied for spinal injury research .. a opossum is one of the few critters that can regenerate it's spinal cord if severed.

 

[hotrodflash]

I've wondered about them having more illnesses than we do here. Maybe it's their generally much cooler temp? I think they mostly live in the northwest pacific and Canada... Who knows...

I read the other thread first, and when that one got shut down I moved over to this new natural thread. They are vastly different... I wish I had the time to take all these extra steps they seem to find so crucial. I'm so strapped for extra time that I was shelling peas in my office at lunch today... Can't waste these purple hulls, and our garden is still loaded with them! I got laughed at.

I think the cooler weather may be part of the issue with illnesses. I remember many a night shelling peas in front of the TV as a kid, if you saw them sitting on the kitchen floor you got a pan full and started shelling, it wasn't a choice of whether you wanted to, it just had to be done.

I don't take all those extra steps either, I find that they over do everything.