Moe, Larry and Curly Sue
Fall 2004

Click on pictures for full size view

 

 

This is Larry, Curly Sue (under Larry), and Moe   the first day we found them in our back yard. They were 4 1/2 weeks old, and were about the size of chipmunks The first real cage was built out of hardware cloth and pine.  The temporary laundry basket that used to have a screen over the top of it,  was too small for the "kids" at 6 weeks of age.
Larry, Moe and Curly Sue (no fleas, bathed and well fed) at 6 weeks old playing and taking naps.
At 7 1/2 weeks a nest box built from paneling was installed in the cage. Bob feeding Larry a mixture of puppy formula and milk through a syringe. The kids were fed this mixture 5 times a day. Larry is 7 1/2 weeks old in this picture.
The kids were fed bread, carrots and cheerios along with the formula mixture at 8 weeks of age.  Curly Sue is eating a carrot, and Larry is showing off.
At 9 weeks the kids  practiced nest-building using tissues. The cage and nest box have  become too small.
At 10 weeks a plexiglass cage was attached to a window. A pvc tube leading from the cage to the outside of the roof allowed the kids to come and go as they pleased.   This cage would have provided a place for them to eat and sleep through the winter. It also, conveniently, did not allow them to actually live inside our house. 
The kids had other ideas about their winter home. They decided the engine compartment of Ingrid's truck would be a great place to build a nest.  NOOO.  BAD KIDS. At 11 weeks a 9 foot hardware cloth cage was built, and then a new house was attached to the end.  The kids  filled this house with leaves and made it their own.
After they were weaned, the kid's house was detached from the wire cage while they were in it,  and hung in the oak tree in the back yard. Release Day.  Two extension ladders were tied together, the house was hung from an oak branch, and the kids were finally at home in a natural setting.
   
<--BACK