Squirrel Rehab

[Burd]

All of a sudden this winter most squirrels are comping down with mange. I ran out of Ivermectin and couldn’t get any. I just got a new connection, so I made up a baggie of treated walnuts, so far I haven’t seen any, lol there’s a black one that’s 1/2 bald, the triplets I call them, all 3 have it. This black I took a pic of last week is getting bad. I’ll post progress on them as I get it.
you just put one drop on a nut. You can let it dry.

 

[JamieB]

If they have mange, watch out for any furry pets. I’d recommend you contact wildlife control and see if they are willing to catch one and do a scraping to see what the cause is. They may need more than just the meds you are providing, or a different medication. For sure, any pet owners in the range of the squirrels will need to watch their pets for symptoms that they have caught it.

 

[JamieB]

Mange in Wildlife

www.wildlifecenter.org

 

[Burd]

I’ve used this in the past with good results. Usually just after 1 nut, you can see a 5’o’clock shadow come in.

 

[Burd]

I saw pinky yesterday, no change, I did get a other med nut to him. If he stays the same, I’ll trap him and take him to my squirrel rehabber.

 

[j.w]

Yes he looks pretty bad! Must be cold w/o much hair left.

 

[Burd]

Ya. If he doesn’t grow any soon, I’ll trap him.

 

[addy1]

Poor thing! I have never seen any with mange here. I do see cardinals missing some of their head feathers late in the summer from head lice is what I read. Usually by fall the feathers are back.

 

[Burd]

I’ve cured way worse, 3 fox squirrels have it too, they show up at the same time, so they must all sleep together. I haven’t seen them in 2 weeks.
my rehab gal doesn’t like me feeding them peanuts, she gave me a big bag of walnuts. I will by them a big bag at Costco once in a while. I’ve always said we should be able to write off the food you buy fir the states animals. I’m adds up, sunflower hearts fir the squirrels, bird seed, peanuts fir the birds, suet, deer feed, carrots, apples sometimes, I don’t even want to add it up lol.

 

[Burd]

I had a cardinal that his head was bald, I’ve meant to ask my avian vet about that.

 

[JamieB]

The birds balding could also be due to molting ( typically spring, early summer) or if that bird is new to an area, getting a pecking order established in the local group, if there’s a mean one at the top of the pecking order. For female birds, if it’s early spring, a bald spot in the back can be due to an inexperienced male pulling feathers while trying to get the job done!

 

[addy1]

Mine are bald more towards the end of summer. I read it was head lice and the feathers do come back. Sort of a either or

There’s a bald bird at my feeder. What happened to it? Soon after nesting season ends, many birds replace their feathers. Songbirds generally lose and regrow a few feathers at a time, so molt is hardly noticeable. But some birds, especially northern cardinals and blue jays, can lose all their head feathers at one time—a catastrophic molt. Not all cardinals or blue jays do this, but a significant number do, and it’s considered healthy and normal. A week later, feathers will start to grow, and in a month, the bird’s crest will return and be perfectly normal and regal once again.

blame molt if the bird looks like it’s having a bad hair day. But if the head is completely naked, it could be parasites or maybe trauma from an injury.

 

[Burd]

This male cardinal had a bald head couple years. I haven’t seen it lately. Maybe it grew in, but it seems like there’s less cardinals around. I also see Jay’s like that a lot here. They recover quickly.
I think I posted this guy, found him in the street. My rehabber took him, turns out it was a girl. Annie, was a successful release.

 

[addy1]

We have a lot of cardinals, not a ton of jays.. They hang out here all winter, summer, spring, fall lol

 

[JamieB]

I’ve got plenty of cardinals, a few jays, and a surprisingly robust squirrel population, considering this area doesn’t have a ton of trees. The cardinals love the food I put out, and hit the dog bowl when the dogs aren’t there.