Storms and chickens

[The Dogmother]

I had been meaning to post this and just never found the time.... on Tuesday, one of my work colleagues rang me from the staff car park to say that there was a fox down there that 'looked like it was dying'. I grabbed my coat etc as it was bucketing and ran down there; there was a young cub, probably about 3 months old, lying there and obviously distressed. I am guessing that perhaps it ran out behind a reversing vehicle and got in the way. Had a quick look at it while my colleague phoned the RSPCA, and it looked to have significant damage to its rear quarters. The RSPCA weren't able to respond 'until later in the day', so I rang a friend who is a wildlife vet nurse and she could be with us in about an hour. 

Sadly, he died before my friend got there - I went to my car as I sometimes have injectible Metacam in case one of the dogs is injured (although they do less stoopid stuff these days) and my colleague shouted for me to go back as the fox was convulsing. We sat beside it, and covered it with a dog blanket and stroked him as he died. So very sad and too young to die, we were upset that we hadn't found him sooner and been able to help more.

We were astonished by the reaction of some of our colleagues.... one lot found it amusing and were sending out jokey RIP type IMs, which I got rather annoyed about. Others were just dismissive and not bothered about it at all.

Run free little sweetheart

 

Edited June 14, 2019 by The Dogmother

[Valkyrie]

Oh that's so sad - they aren't ready to leave their mums yet either.  I can't understand the mentality of some people.  Sickening really.  Run free over the rainbow little cub.

[mullethunter]

How is there anything funny about that? I genuinely think there’s something wrong with some people. What a beautiful creature - how sad.

[patsylabrador]

I'm glad that you and your friend were there to comfort the little fox. It's sad how few people have empathy for other species. 

[Luvachicken]

Poor little thing.

Your colleagues are probably the kind that would see the little fox cub on the news the other day, that was tossed into an enclosure of hounds, as fun 

[The Dogmother]

I think that they are just divorced from nature and other species, and don't understand the need for empathy in that sort of situation, so they clothe it in 'humour'. Their lives are hygienic and sanitised.... no contact with 'proper life', death or understanding that life really is red in tooth and claw. In fact, I think they are afraid of death. They aren't cruel, just don't understand, and are therefore afraid.

You have to 'be with' death to understand it, and thereby understand your own life and existence; I sat with my mother for hours as she passed, and then hours again afterwards, just talking and comforting her shell, doing her hair and washing her face.

It is important to respect the end of life and there was no way that either of us could have let that wee fox pass unaccompanied or uncomforted.

 

 

[Valkyrie]

I think that's it.  The other day a little chaffinch went slamming into the window (they fly hard to cope with the high winds but find a sudden sheltered spot and crash, mostly birds just have glancing blows and fly off) and dropped straight down.  But on rushing out I found it had been killed instantly.  Even then I tried mini CPR and blowing in it's face - didn't want to give up!  Very sad, so I found a little spot underneath the heathers and popped a daisy over it's little body.  In the meantime lots of young woodpeckers have been window thumping but they have all been fine!  I worry about the windows then!

A respect that is deserved for all life.  Unlike those lads in Wales that tortured a chicken - which was disgusting as was the penalty.  Ian Brady started killing animals and went for bigger - but weaker things - here's hoping that we don't hear about them again in the future.  

[Luvachicken]

Valkyrie, I know net curtains are old fashioned, but I've found they do help to stop the birds crashing into windows.

We used to have a lot of birds crash into the windows but not any more.

If you do manage to get a bird that stays alive, you can pop them into a box and put them in an airing cupboard for a couple of hours to recover. 

[Valkyrie]

We used to have nets years ago, but they make the rooms much darker - didn't notice until we took them down, so ended up using them on the veg patch!  We have large picture windows so the views would be obscured.  I think this weather has been quite unusual for this time of year - the winds have been very strong while the baby birds are leaving their nests, so apart from normal flapping and balancing, they are having to learn to steer in abysmal weather conditions.  They'll get the hang of it soon.

I wonder if the birds will bother trying for another brood this year?  Perhaps one more session, but unless the weather changes, it must be affecting the insect population.

[Cat tails]

Just don’t clean your windows! Everytime I decide to wash them, I get repaid with big greasy prints of pigeons. But that somehow only happens in the first few days. My windows currently are sporting about 4 pigeon prints...

[Valkyrie]

Clean windows?  What are they?  Inside is still sporting fly spray that OH did way too close when we first moved in - and outside just gets a rain wash!