Adopt a Wild Baby
The process of hand raising wild babies is not as simple as some may think. The mother of individual species produces highly specialized diet/milk for their babies. For example, human infant formula is not nutritionally adequate for most mammal species (To make it simple, it does not provide adequate protein or caloric density.) Therefore, many rehabbers and researchers across the country have worked hard to develop specific regimens as milk replacers for wild mammal babies and extensive recipes to prepare the food for baby birds.
|
Species |
Cost to rehab 1 single baby |
Estimated # of babies per year |
|
Fawn (White-tailed Deer) |
$500 |
4-6 |
|
Baby Bird (example: Robin) |
$80 |
200-300 |
|
Raccoon |
$100 |
25-40 |
|
Eastern Grey Squirrel |
$50 |
150-250 |
|
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit |
$25 |
100-150 |
|
Opossum |
$25 |
20-40 |
We would like to invite you to become partners with us in raising some of our babies. Support us financially, so that we can continue to provide for our little orphans.
Fawns are expensive to raise because of their size and duration that they required under our care. Fawns are ungulates that have similar requirements are goats. They are monogastric and drink milk as babies. As their ruminant stomach develops, they begin to switch over to a variety of plant products as they age.
[$500 to sponsor an orphan fawn]
Most baby song birds have high metabolism. They need to be fed every 20-30 minutes. To mimic their natural diet of a variety of bugs and worms, we feed our baby birds the "FoNS" Diet ("Formula for Nestling Songbirds"), which is an extensive recipe that needs to be made fresh daily. Considering their size, you will be surprised how expensive to raise a baby song bird!
[$80 to sponsor a baby song bird]
Baby raccoons are one of the rabies vector species. A special permit is required to rehab these babies. Their eyes open at 3 weeks of age, but they cannot be weaned until 10-12 weeks of age. Baby raccoons are playful and destructive. In addition to the expensive Kitten Milk Replacer, they require an extra sturdy cage to house them.