Baby squirrels...

Blinky

Blinky

Location
Chapel Hill, NC
OK, I'm sure there are plenty of squirrel haters out there but I'm not one. My idea of childbirth preparation was to rear a couple of baby squirrels that got knocked out of a tree during a storm the year before my first kid was born.

So I'm up in this big 120', dead tulip tree and noticed a pissed off squirrel making her exit. Later I found her nest in a knothole with what looks like two baby squirrels, eyes closed with peach fuzz.

I'm behind on this job and need to get this tree on the ground and I'll be damned if I'll fall it with baby squirrels in it. I went ahead with the top so it's ready to go. The customer doesn't care about the squirrels so it's up to me.

I've witnessed a mother squirrel moving babies from one tree to another after a storm so I'm hoping that's what will happen now that I've wrecked it, but if it doesn't, the only option I can think of is to nab the babies, bring'em home and fledge'em.

These have to be a second brood so there's barely going to be enough time left to get them into the wild. I know all about wildlife laws pertaining to small animals, I was a licensed rehabber for a while. We're talking a couple of squirrels here, not a fawn or a wolf cub... I'll take my chances with Fish and Game.

What I wonder is, does anybody have a better idea? One that will keep the squirrels in the wild with their mother? I can't move the nest, it's gonna fall with the tree.
 
Many years ago,the kids knocked a squrrils nest from the rafters of my cabin.It broke ones little neck but two survived.What to do,what to do.

I bottle fed those little rascals until they could eat nut meats corn etc. on their own and had them caged for around five years.

The formula is either "premi" mix for premature infants or 4 oz of whole milk,one egg yolk and 1 oz of honey.

When they are tiny like that you have to feed them every two hours.Once their eyes are open,about every four.

I might add also that once they are somewhat tame,as they will be,they will never survive in the wild because they have no fear of humans,cats etc.A caged red or gray will most likely live 5 or 6 years and a fox maybe 8 or 10.

Those two I had bit evrybody but me,they thought I was their momma.
grin.gif
 
I had a pet squirrel for 12 years.

Usually I'll euthanize the rascals, but I don't like doing it. If their eyes are open I'll move then to another tree.

Hunters blast the $hit outta squirrels, and since I'm not a hunter I don't feel to bad bringing about their demise. The job is more important than the squirrels.
 
"The job is more important than the squirrels"
hmmm
I beg to differ MB.
Just how I was raised. I have worked with my share of knuckleheads who throw baby birds in the chipper and such.
I always seem to find the time to relocate wildlife...call an local animal shelter...what ever I can do.
And thats all I ahve to say about that.
 
I'm looking at the job as what the customer wants and they want those trees down yesterday. I have to balance that with my weakness for little baby critters so I have to go the extra distance for myself... but the fact is, I've agreed to get the trees down and my livelyhood depends on satisfying my customers... so I can't disagree with the statement that the job is more important... because the truth is, since I ain't independently wealthy and all, it is more important. On the other hand, I can't sleep knowing I deliberately felled the tree with babies in it knowing I could've avoided it by getting them out.

I'm still hoping the mother catches on that her tree is being wrecked and moves them. I'll know tomorrow... wish I'd have left a rope in that tree.
 
If you had access to the nest you could take the squirrels with the fluff of their nest and put it to the side on the ground out of the way...when the job is done the mother will come and get them and take them to another nest, guaranteed .

Just last week we cut a tree which had a nest in it...we did the above and as I was getting paid at the end of the day I saw the mother come and do her rescue thing...it was pretty amazing as I had never witnessed it before, had only seen the vacant nests the following day.

Throwing baby birds into a chipper....if that is true, those boys are building some beefy bad karma....

What about stuffing the knothole with cotton and doing a smooth removal of that section and rope it down?

Or maybe enlarge the knothole enough to reach in and remove the nest/babies.
 
Ya'll act like they are an endangered species. What do you do when you come across a den of baby mice? Squeal?

The job is more important that the rodents.

Period.
 
I think there has to be a rational balance between getting the job done, and not doing something that makes you have difficulty sleeping at night.


However, anyone who has had squirrels in the attic of their house usually doesn't have too much sympathy for the little rodents.


I agree with MB here, there is no shortage of squirrels in this world.


SZ
 
remove the babies from the nest by hand and put them outside the work area. If a crow or raptor gets them before parent can move them, it beats the chipper. Like you said, a 2nd brood won't make it anyway. Eastern Grey Squirrels are an ecological menance out here, but I still can't kill them. European House Sparrows are a different story however. . . .
 
Agreed, but they are babies and defenseless. Spiders and such are plentiful too but I am forever pausing to let them get away from a saw cut or blowing them out of the box/notch with a breath of air before felling.

Spiders are such cool climbers I'm happy to cut them some slack. If one gets killed accidentally or unavoidably its not a big deal. But we've gotta live and let live to survive on the planet I think.

If mice (or squirrels, birds, rodents etc) are damaging my house then sure, I'll remove or kill them, but I won't do something like that without reason.

Get the job done but take a little time to save defenseless creatures that are in the way. It doesn't come up that often.
 
[ QUOTE ]
God gave us Dominion.

Or some kinda nonsense like that...

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like that... and with dominion comes responsibility to those we dominate... although, it could be argued we don't exactly dominate rodents. Like you say, no shortage of them.

I like the idea of leaving them out of the falling path in the nest fluff to see if the mom claims them, the rehabber guideline is that after four hours they should be considered abandoned.

I'm a rehabilitated hunter, I've killed a lot of mammals, I figure I owe them a break now.

If the mom doesn't claim them my daughter is gonna dig feeding and caring for them. I still have my big cage in the woods so it's not a big deal to rear them.

Anyway, those big mother trees are hitting the dirt tomorrow. I gotta get paid.
 
That's cool.

All I would add is instead of 4 hrs, wait overnight before considering them abandoned. At least based on my experience.
 
in my experience. the mommas usually have two or three nests around in different locations. If the saws quite down enough and the people leave, the momma will pick em up and move em. There is a point in there that that the babies are really too big for the momma to carry, yet to little to do much on their own. in these cases they are easy to nuture up yourself. Everything dies one way or another though. A human raised squirrel is pretty much useless most of the time, there is really not much point unless you really want a pet. excelent thing for a kid to do, that will be fun.
 
it seems every removal i do im dealing with baby squirrels, i always transplant them to another tree and have had great success with this, i have the guys fish through the recycling bin of the homeowners house and cut the bottom part of a gallon of milk and we set there nest in there and place it in a small tree, doesnt take but a couple of min and if my boss complains the usual, "you climb it then" does the trick ,i will always take the time for my fellow tree climbers, animals or people, and i will always do whatever i can , there are also a lot of animal santuaries that take these animals, i have donated a couple of bucks to them but i have donated work time free of charge as well, trade for a trade
 
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