The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: Buffy the eggs layer on October 28, 2015, 05:12:59 pm
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One of our resident bats who roosts in the gaps between the yorkshire boarding on one of our buildings is acting out of character.
Recently he /she has been flying a small circuit through the day and then returning to his roost but now has taken to hanging on the wall of the building all day. It was pouring down most of the day and I almost gathered him up and put him in the barn. I didn't in the end as I didn't want to confuse him as it's not where he lives. He is hanging about a foot from the floor today which is very un-bat -like. I do hope he isnt ailing for something.
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If you want to help him or her try contacting the Bat Conservation Trust? http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/how_can_you_help_bats.html (http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/how_can_you_help_bats.html)
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Sorry I can't help with any advice. The National Bat Helpline from Doganjo's link looks like the place to phone.
Let us know what the outcome is.
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There will defiantly be a local bat group that could advise etc.
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Thanks for the link,
I will check when its light. If he / she is still there I will give them a call.
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We'e used the local bat group in the past (an hour crawling around in a 500 year old attic was most informative) and they were great. You need to be trained before you're allowed to handle bats and don't forget that they may carry zoonoses.
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Right,
my poorly pipistrelle is now safely ensconced in my tiny chick carrier awaiting collection by a bat conservation volunteer. Honestly he is so small, hes about the size of a jelly baby. Despite my insistence that my bats are still hunting at this time of year, the Bat woman was quite adamant that he should be hibernating so I think we will both get told off when she gets here. Ooops :P
Trust me to have wayward bats :eyelashes:
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Our bats were not hibernating a couple of days ago. Maybe the warm weather has confused them.
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Our bats fly on warmish nights when it's dry and not too windy, and don't otherwise. Saw several last weekend. I don't think they have access to a calendar
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Bat has just been collected but by a different rescuer who didn't seem as cross about my wayward bats. They took pics of where he had been roosting and I offered to have him back if he recovers. They said that he was a baby from this years broods who may have got left behind when his mum went out breeding.
I hopes that he makes it. It would be great to have him back.
What with constantly fishing toads out of the pigs waterbath and rescuing poorly bats its like the adventures of Captain Beaky here!
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I don't think our Pipistrelle bats hibernated at all -saw them all. year round out hunting beasties. We used to sit or stand outside and count them out and in - 50 or so of them. :excited:
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The bat rescuer phoned to say that the bat died. She had gone too far to be saved and next time could I bring any poorly bats in sooner?! :o
Ooops! guess I cant do everything after all! But who knew??? ??? Do you ever start something with the best of intentions and then wish you hadn't got involved...... :thinking:
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These things happen, next time you notice one you'll know what to do, we learn something everyday.
Sorry he didn't make it, not your fault, nature can be harsh.
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:(
Few people other than bat specialists know much about bats, so that was a bit of a cheeky comment from the rescuer. It sounds like the fact she was a baby meant that she would die anyway away from her mother, and we don't know how long it had been that she was abandoned. You gave her a chance :thumbsup: and if you have a sick bat again you'll contact the rescue straight off - and so will all of us who've been following the tale.
Very sad for the baby, but overall something positive has come of it, and of you sharing the problem :)
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I agree with FW. You did all you could for this bat and we are all much wiser and have more of a clue what to do in the same circumstances. Well done for stepping in.
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Can't see that doing something sensible motivated by compassion is a bad thing. If you hadn't done something the bat would've died anyway. You did do something and it died but there was a chance it wouldn't have.
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Few people other than bat specialists know much about bats, so that was a bit of a cheeky comment from the rescuer.
I think its worse than cheeky, more like unhelpful and seeming to be blaming Buffy, she could have been more positive and given advice on dealing with these situations and what to watch for, which I hope she did???
You don't always know when to step in, I once saw a hare in the grass up the track, didn't quite look right but called the dogs and left it (they hadn't gone near it, just knew it was there and looked from a distance), it was still there later, I expected it to run away when i approached but it didn't, so I put it in a box and took it to the vets, it died before I got there. How I wish I'd looked closer earlier. But it could have been doing the hare thing and just staying still? how was I to know it was dying?
Who know, there may have been something wrong with your little bat, she may not have made it anyway?
As said by others I too have learned from this post
Thanks for posting Buffy, you acted when pointed in the right direction, we can't all be experts :-)
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The bat would have definitely died without your intervention - so well done you on giving it a slim chance.
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As it is illegal to disturb bats jumping in too soon can be wrong too.
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Not just because of the legal issues. Let's be honest, most apparently sick or abandoned wildlife actually just wants to be left alone. The tricky bit is discerning the 15% that actually need our help.
You did what you could Buffy - don't beat yourself up! :bouquet:
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Actually,
with the benefit of hindsight I perhaps should have brought it in and given it a couple of drops of critical care and some ambient warmth. The bat lady said it didnt need warmth and that I must take the hay out of the box that I had it in or it would try and eat it and choke (yeah right) Its a wild bat...if it wanted to eat hay and choke it could do it in the barn any time. I said it was far too poorly to attempt to eat anything but she insisted that I put it on tissue paper with a couple of drops of water in a bilk bottle top.
I think it was suffering from hypothermia and probably hunger / dehydration but I really dont know a thing about bats. And I do have rather enough on with sheep, chickens, pigs, turkeys and cats without nursing anything else.
Another bit of info for those of you who suspect that you may be required to help an ailing bat in the future.......,
Wear gloves when you pick them up, pick them up very gently with a soft cloth, place them carefully into a ventilated box and take them to the nearest vet. The lady at the bat helpline said all vets treat wild animals that are injured. She also said that if the 3 bat volunteers that she gave me contact details for hadnt got back to me in 3 hours I should just take it to the vet anyway.
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The risk of being bitten by a rabied bat is low and mitigated by wearing gloves.
But if any of you are planning to take any injured animal to a vet like the one described I would definitely think twice.
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when i took the hare to the vet i rang the RSPCA first, they told me to take it, and assured me there would be no charge. and there wasn't. she did look even though it had died, and decided it had been hit by a car :-(.
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The bat lady said that the vet would treat it without charge too. I guess you have to pick your vet.