Been a long time! What we have been up to....

It is a cood, breezy, Fall day here on the Farm.  A good day to take the time and post to the blog!

Some of the happenings on the farm:

My nephew, Gideon, brought us 4 orphaned, baby flying squirrels.
One of our rescued ducks was seriously injured by a snapping turtle
Our chickens started laying!
Our turkeys, chickens and guineas are all growing up.
We added to the raised bed gardens.
Septic issues...ewwww.

The babies first!

On October 2cnd I received a phone call from my nephew.  He was at work and found a fallen tree on the property he cares for.  When he went to clean up the tree he found a dead squirrel lying along side of it. :-( He went about clearing the tree only to have several little squirrels come running out of a hole in the tree.  They were very small and seemed a little sluggish....so he called Aunt Mae!  A few texts back and forth with Mr. Farmer Man and Gideon aka G was on his way to bring them to us. Here's the picture G sent us....

Notice...this little one is in the gloved hand of my nephew...he is only the length of his little finger!

Mr. Farmer Man has rehabbed and release well over 100 grey squirrels so he knew what they needed and what to do :0)  They were dehydrated so were concerned about getting them hydrated first thing. We managed to get some electrolyte solution in them and they really perked up.  I found a website online that had specific instructions for caring for flying squirrels. www.arcforwildlife.com It was a great help!  It shows photos at different ages, amounts they need to eat, when to introduce solid foods, etc.

We figured these little ones were about 7 weeks old when they came to us.  I was momma squirrel and got up during the night to feed them.  

They were SO adorable!  I found them sleeping like this one day.

It was a wonderful time and these little ones grew quickly! We introduced nuts, seeds, butternut squash, carrots, apples, etc. and they soon were munching away.  They still would come running for the syringe full of formula though :0)

Time passed on and they were old enough to be off the heating pad and then outside on the screened porch to get accustomed to the changing weather.

They spent a few weeks on the porch and then it was time for them to be moved, safe in their cage, up into a large oak tree. My sweet Farmer Man helped me find the perfect, big, beautiful oak tree for them.  He climbed up a ladder and built them a nice, safe, secure platform for their cage to rest on.  He lashed the cage to the tree to be sure they were secure.

We gave them a week to get used to their new surroundings and for that cold snap to pass before we opened the door of the cage.  I went to check on them that evening, after dark, and they were venturing out to check out their new area.

I checked them for the next few days, in the morning, to be sure everyone had returned "home".  All four were home each evening until night before last...only 3 returned.  This momma squirrel was worried about the one missing so I checked them again the next morning...now no one was back in the nest box :-( I know they are supposed to become independent and move out of their temporary nest box, but I wasn't ready! LOL

A quick check the next morning and I found all four babies back in the nest box, curled up and sleeping :-)

I was one happy squirrel momma! I filled their food bowl with fresh walnuts, pecans, grains and seeds so they would have plenty to eat tonight when they wake up.

We will continue to feed them and make sure they have fresh water through this Winter to give them time to find a new home and learn how to forage for themselves.

Taking care of these little ones has been such a pleasure and blessing.  It is so rewarding to help some of God's littlest creatures <3

Well, I think this is long enough for this blog post, so I'll post again soon, I promise!, and fill everyone in on all the happenings on the farm  Thanks for checking in with us!