GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #6

Welcome to the Sixth Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are questions I received from a students from the University of Oregon, C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy in Grand Rapids, MI and others along with my answers! Please keep the questions coming as I am running out!

Question: Can you come to my school and show us some animals?
Name: Iain Age: 6
Grade: 1 School: C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy, Grand Rapids, MI

Answer: I would love to, unfortunately, in order for me to be able to come to your school I would have to have an educational permit that would allow me to do that. At this time, I do not hold that type of permit. But, when I do, I would love to come and show your school some animals!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: Could you explain what a person should do if they find a baby animal with no mother or father around?
Name: Chi Age: 32

Location: Grand Rapids, MI

Answer: It depends really on the situation. If the animal is injured then you would want to contact a rehabber or the local DNR. In the case of an uninjured animal that is not an orphan, you would want to leave it so that it's mommy and daddy can continue to care for it. Often with fawn's (as well as other baby animals) people think that they have been abandoned by their parents, when actually the mom and dad are just off getting food.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: If i can post a question, what is the most exotic animal you've ever taken care of?

Name: Sam Age: 20

Grade: College School: University of Oregon State

Answer: Being in Michigan, there aren't many animals that are considered to be "exotic" here in the wild. We have taken in foxes and bobcats before. Bobcats are actually more rare for us to see that the foxes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page.

If you have children, are a student/adult or wildlife lover and you would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse. Include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)
Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)
Grade: (Grade Level of Student) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Up to 3 questions will be answered during each issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A, so it may take time for your question to be answered. Subscribe to GreenSpot-On's feed by Email to get the Issues & other posts straight to your inbox!New to GreenSpot-On: Videos! You can get to them by scrolling down on our main page and click on the videos or you can go to the following page to see our videos: Click here

Sincerely,
JRouse @ GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979
Become a Fan! GreenSpot-On Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreenSpot-On/76428392367
Twitter: @GreenSpotOn

Subscribe to our feed by Email from our mainpage for GreenSpot-On straight to your Email!

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #5

Welcome to the Fifth Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here is a question I recieved from a student at C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy in Grand Rapids, MI along with my answers! Please keep the questions coming!

Question: How do you get the owls to eat their natural foods, like mice, instead of pellets and seeds?
Name: Jennah Age: 9 Grade: 4 School: C.A. Frost Environmental Science Academy, Grand Rapids, MI

Answer: Well, for owls we have mice that we get from a company. Those mice are not alive when we get them, and we are able to keep them in the freezer. When we need them, they are thawed out and then we have to do what we need to, to get the owls or other birds of prey to eat them. A lot of the time the owls that we get in have some sort of neurologic problem and they are unable to swallow properly. Therefore, we have to often cut the mice into smaller pieces and remove the skin. Then we have to force feed them the mice. To do this, we usually use hemostats to hold the mouse parts and of course usually we have on leather gloves to protect ourselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That is all the questions I can answer for now. Unfortunately my computer is still on the fritz and have been unable to access the questions that are unanswered. My sister is going to send me those questions and I will try and get them answered for the next issue of the Wildlife Q & A!

Some of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page. If you have children, are a student/adult or wildlife lover and you would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse. Include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)

Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)

Grade: (Grade Level of Student) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Up to 3 questions will be answered during each issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A, so it may take time for your question to be answered. Subscribe to GreenSpot-On's feed by Email to get the Issues & other posts straight to your inbox!

New to GreenSpot-On: Videos! You can get to them by scrolling down on our main page and click on the videos or you can go to the following page to see our videos: Click here

Sincerely,

JRouse @ GreenSpot-On

Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

Become a Fan! GreenSpot-On Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreenSpot-On/76428392367

Twitter: @GreenSpotOn

Subscribe to our feed by Email from our mainpage for GreenSpot-On straight to your Email!

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #4

Welcome to the Fourth Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are brand new questions recieved from a student at C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy in Grand Rapids, MI along with my answers to them!

Question: Does the DNR help you to get the wild animals back into their natural habitat? Are there other places that help you?

Name: Jennah Age: 9

Grade: 4 School-City/State: C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy – Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse’s Answer: The DNR helps to get the animals back into their natural habitat by bringing us the animals, and of course they monitor the animals that we have over the year period. We have to keep special logs for the animals that we take care of. As far as actually taking the animal after we have rehabbed them, the answer is no. We usually release them ourselves in the county that they were found in. But, for the birds of prey we usually relocate them to another facility where they are put into flight cages to help assist them in strengthening their skills before release. All of these animals though, need to be acclimated to the outdoors and the environment before release. You wouldn't want to have an animal housed indoors and just release it without acclimating it first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: How did you learn how to take care of animals?

Name: Iain Age: 6

Grade: 1 School-City/State: C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy – Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse’s Answer: I have always had an interest in animals, since I was small. I lived out in the country for some time and we had a variety of animals from cats to turkeys. As I got older, I dog sat for neighbors and eventually started taking dogs for walks that were at the local shelter. I started volunteering with the local shelter and I eventually landed a job in a veterinary practice. It started as just kennel help (cleaning cages and medicating the animals), during that time I was able to observe how to care for them. After a while I worked my way to assisting the vet in the exam rooms and then eventually started assisting with surgeries. Since we did wildlife on the side, I was able to assist with that and now I am able to do a lot on my own. Although there are still things that only a licensed veterinarian should perform (care-wise) for some animals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: Do the owls and cats live together when you are taking care of them?

Name: Braeden Age: 5

Grade: 1 School-City/State: C. A. Frost Environmental Science Academy – Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse’s Answer: No, the owls are actually kept at my work in a isolation room. The only cats that roam around the clinic are the 2 cats that we have living there, but they do not have access into that room. To keep an owl you actually have to have a federal permit and I do not have my own federal permit. I am able to care for them through my boss, who has a federal permit. The permit allows owls (or other birds of prey) to be housed at the address that is on that particular permit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page. If you have children, are a student/adult or wildlife lover and you would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse. Include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)
Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)
Grade: (Grade Level of Student) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

3 questions will be answered during each issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A, so it may take time for your question to be answered. Subscribe to GreenSpot-On's feed by Email to get the Issues & other posts straight to your inbox!

Sincerely,
JRouse @ GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979
Become a Fan! GreenSpot-On Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GreenSpot-On/76428392367
Twitter: @GreenSpotOn
Subscribe to our feed by Email from our mainpage for GreenSpot-On straight to your Email!

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #3

Welcome to the Third Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are new questions recieved from a student at Beachnau Elementary in Ravenna, MI and a couple more from some of GreenSpot-On's adult readers along with my responses to them...

Question: What kind of things do you do at your job?
Name: Jenna Age: 6
Grade: N/A School-City/State: Beechnau Elementary - Ravenna, MI

JRouse’s Answer: At my job I have a variety of tasks that I do during the workday and sometimes it can be a little overwhelming...

I start off the day cleaning out the cages (kennels) that the cats are kept in and make sure they have clean litter boxes and clean towels to lay on as well as fresh food and water. Throughout the day I answer the phone and wait on customers and take care of the animals that are in the clinic. In our exam room we have mice in a cage to help distract the cats a little (so they aren't focused so much on seeing the doctor - kind of like you with lollipops), and we also have canaries that are in our boarding facility.

The boarding area is where animals stay when their owners are out of town. We try and make the area as homelike as possible; we have a fountain with large goldfish in it, the canaries and an exercise area for them to play around in. I assist the doctor with appointments - this includes; taking the cats temperature, weighing them, trimming their nails, and writing down information for the doctor regarding the cats diet and history.

I also assist the doctor and hold the cats for blood draws and vaccinations. On days that we have surgeries, I help check the cat in for surgery and then set up the treatment area in our hospital for the procedures to take place. Myself as well as a couple other co-workers do this job, and we all help the doctor with various things during these procedures, like shaving the cats that are getting lion cuts (a type of haircut for a cat), giving it a bath, or prepping for the surgeries. But, the doctor is the only one who actually can perform these - we only assist!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: How do you get the supplies you need to rehab an animal? Are rehabbers funded by a group or is it donation based?
Name: Kim Keller-Rouse Age: Over 40
City/State: Mount Pleasant, MI

JRouse’s Answer: The supplies that are used for rehabbing usually are purchased by the rehabber (out of pocket) and that is the case for myself, as well as most rehabbers. Sometimes if you start an organization you are able to get donations, but most rehabbers are independent, therefore, all the expenses are out-of-pocket. This is one thing that people don't understand when you are taking in an animal. You can be picky about what you take in, because you may not be able to afford the animals care it needs (depending on what you have to spend and what you have time for). When an animal is in its nursing phase it can be costly, just in milk, syringes, etc. Then when they are weaned it may be less costly, but that all depends on the type of animal you have and what it eats!

Got a question for JRouse (me) on any animals listed or pictured on the site? E-mail jr.greenspot_on@khrysania.com to ask! Please include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)

Name: (First Name of Child) Age: (Age of Child)

Grade: (Grade Level of Child) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Sincerely,

JRouse

GreenSpot-On

Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

Have Questions? Presenting GreenSpot-On's Wildlife Q & A!

Parents/Guardians, Teachers, Wildlife Enthusiasts and GreenSpot-On Readers!

As someone who has done wildlife rehabbing, JRouse has worked with many different types of animals. She would like to give children and adults/wildlife lovers the opportunity to ask her questions about the animals she has helped or even questions about what she does and how!

They include:

Fawns

Osprey

Red Fox

Canadian geese

Domestic geese

Pigeons

Pheasants

Squirrels: Red, Black, Gray Tree, Fox and Flying

Great Blue Heron

Green Heron

Barred Owl

Great Horned Owl

Screech Owl

Red-Tailed Hawk

Domestic Cats

Some of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page. If you have children or students or if you adults would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to JRouse in the following format:

Question: (Your Question)

Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)

Grade: (Child’s Grade) School/Location: (Child’s School Name and City/State or your location)

JRouse will answer up to 3 of these questions once a week as she receives them. All answers will be posted to GreenSpot-On with the original question in the format above. We at GreenSpot-On hope you will take this opportunity to teach your child something new about the wildlife around us. Thank you for joining us today!

Sincerely,

GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

Facebook Fan Page: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17981

Follow us on Twitter, Networked Blogs, by RSS Feed and other site by going to the mainpage of our blog and linking from there!

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #2

Welcome to the Second Issue of the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are new questions recieved from a couple more students from Stocking Elementary in Grand Rapids, MI along with my responses to them...

Question: How big does that bird get? (he was talking about the Great Blue Heron)
Name: Phil Age: 5
Grade: Pre-K School-City/State: Stocking Elementary - Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse's Answer: Great Blue Herons full grown usually stand about 4 feet tall and their wingspan is about 6 feet. Because they are such large birds and they have scissor-like beaks, you have to be very cautious when handing them. They are very fast and they do not like to be bothered. When feeding them or medicating them, we had to take precautions to insure our safety, by wearing goggles to protect our eyes and gloves to protect our hands. But, all in all they are very beautiful large birds (other than the mess you have to clean up after they eat) If you ever see them in their natural habitat, they are truly magnificent looking creatures!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: What does the bird eat? (talking about the Screech Owl)
Name: Liam Age: 4
Grade: Pre-K School-City/State: Stocking Elementary - Grand Rapids, MI


JRouse's Answer: Screech Owls are pretty small as far as owls go, they eat a variety of things, varying from insects to small mammals (bats and mice) and sometimes can eat small birds. While in nature they tend to eat those things, while being rehabbed, they were fed mice. Due to their injuries - we often had to cut up the mice so that they were able to intake them. When they have neurologic damage, it makes it hard for them to swallow properly!

Hey Everyone!
These are all the questions I recieved before my post deadline this week. Currently, we are in need of questions so please consider writing me soon to be included in the next issue! I will answer these questions once a week (Usually the post will be made on Saturdays).


Got a question for me on any animals listed or pictured on the site?
E-mail JRouse to ask me! I will answer questions from any age group pertaining to animals.

Please include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)
Name: (First Name) Age: (Age)
Grade: (Grade Level of Child) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Sincerely,
JRouse
GreenSpot-On
Link: http://unhub.com/GreenSpotOn/17979

NOTE: Due to her work/school schedule this week JRouse e-mailed me this post so I could post it for her. - Khrysania

GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A #1

Welcome to the very first GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A! Here are my first questions recieved from some of the students from Stocking Elementary in Grand Rapids, MI along with my responses for them...



Question: How menny times a day did you feed Kirby?
Name: Courtney Age: 9
Grade: 3rd School: Stocking Elementary - Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse's Answer: When I first took him in, I was feeding him every 2 hours at first (yes, even during the night). Then as he got older I was able to space out his feedings more. Eventually it was every 4 hours and until the point where he was able to eat some solid foods (like apples - although he loved grapes), after that he was able to build up to milk and seed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: What tipe of cats do you have?
Name: Gabby Age: 8
Grade: 2nd School: Stocking Elementary - Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse's Answer: I have two cats, a domestic longhair and a domestic shorthair. I had three total, but my oldest passed away 3 weeks ago. My remaining two are both black cats. They are both rescues (not full bred cats), and my shorthair is actually a kitten that I took in when he was 24 hours old. His name is Talon, he had been abandoned by his mother and was brought in to me from people that had found him. My daughter became very attached to him, so instead of adopting him out, I actually ended up keeping him.

Then.

My little oinker (Talon)!

Now.

He is now 2 years old and 16 1/2 pounds (yes, he eats very well)!!!

Opie

Opie is my long hair and she just turned 11 years old and I have had her since she was 4 weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Question: How old is Kirby? What does Kirby eat?

Name: Aidan Age: 7

Grade: 1st School: Stocking Elementary - Grand Rapids, MI

JRouse's Answer: Kirby is about a year now. When I took him in to rehab he was actually only a couple of days old. He had an injury at first where we wanted to make sure he would be releasable. Due to one of his "toes" not being able to retract properly, we actually had to amputate it. If he had been released with his toe in the state that it was, it could catch on something, causing him to have a more serious injury. But, he recovered well from the surgery and was able to be released!!! Hi, Aidan


Kids! Got a question for JRouse on any animals listed or pictured on the site? E-mail jr.greenspot_on@khrysania.com to ask her! Please include the following information in your e-mail:

Question: (Question for JRouse)
Name: (First Name of Child) Age: (Age of Child)
Grade: (Grade Level of Child) School-City/State: (School Name - Location: City/State)

Introducing the GreenSpot-On Wildlife Q & A!

Parents/Guardians, Teachers and GreenSpot-On Readers!

As someone who has done wildlife rehabbing, JRouse has worked with many different types of animals. She would like to give children and adults the opportunity to ask her questions about the animals she has helped. They include:

Fawns
Osprey
Red Fox
Canadian geese
Domestic goose
Pigeons
Pheasants
Squirrels: Red, Black, Gray Tree, Fox and Flying
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Barred Owl
Great Horned Owl
Screech Owl
Red-Tailed Hawk
Domestic Cats

Some of these animals are pictured in the slideshow on the main page.

If you have children or students or if you would like to ask a question about any of these animals, please send an e-mail to jr.greenspot_on@khrysania.com in the following format:

Question: (Child’s Question)
Name: (Child’s First Name) Age: (Child’s Age)
Grade: (Child’s Grade) School/Location: (Child’s School Name and City/State)

JRouse will answer up to 3 of these questions once a week as she receives them. All answers will be posted to GreenSpot-On with the original question in the format above. We at GreenSpot-On hope you will take this opportunity to teach your child something new about the wildlife around us. Thank you for joining us today!

Sincerely,
GreenSpot-On

Link: http://www.greenspoton.blogspot.com/