has anyone ever kept ?

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Beekeeper

Hi Squeek, i kept a Tawney Owl once but only for a few days, I was driving along a local road and the Tawney just fell out of a tree overhanging the road, it bounced off the roof of the car in front and landed on the grass verge, i stopped and picked it up, took it home as it was obviously unwell.

I checked with the RSPB on how to feed it and did have some success and the bird seemed to be perking up, he would sit quite happily on my arm with claws grasping my wrist which was a bit painful but he seemed quite ok about being handled, eventually, i found someone locally who cared for injured birds of prey and took it to him, he immediately diagnosed a dislocated wing and fixed that in minutes and then put him in a cage, Sadly, a few days later he died and the chap thought he had been suffering from poisoning.

BK

its always very sad when they die after so much effort is put into saving a creature.

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Merrow

I used keep caterpillars etc too but more recently we've taken in a rescued hedgehog (which sadly died) and an exhausted little auk one winter (which just needed a bit of peace and quiet and flew off happily the next day)

thats good the auk was ok, sad for the hedgehog tho.

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

I used to go fishing and caught a rud the poor fish had been caught that many times its lip was torn right up close to its eye.
I thought if I put it back it probably would not survive the ordeal of being caught again so it went into a plastic bag and put into my fish tank at home it eventually got used to eating flake fish food and then it ended up in my brothers pond where it lived happily ever after never to be caught by an anglers hook again..

what a nice story, thats one lucky fish

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Picidae

LOL! That's rather amusing Kayleigh. Not all fisherman have such a big heart!

I've often had injured/rescued birds/animals for a few days before passing onto to rescue centres and we all raised butterflies from captured caterpillars along with keeping newts as kids BUT

Given the wording of the original question, it's well worth stressing on this thread that it is an offence under the WCA to 'capture' and 'keep' many wild animals/insects now and the list is amended/grows each year as more and more species become protected, so if one has 'rescued', 'captured' a wild animal, it's always worth checking first what the Law says! With injured birds, one should seek professional advice first and then pass the rescued bird to a licensed rehabber/rescue centre. No wild animal should be kept as a pet once rescued but passed on to a suitable wildlife rescue organisation where it can be cared for in captivity in a manner to keep it as 'wild' as possible in company with members of it's own species. If one has rescued and 'kept' an injured animal, it should never be released straight back into the wild unless one is absolutely sure it will be able to immediately fend for itself, conversely, it is against the Law to keep it and tame it, once it is well again - again one should always seek professional advice first.

thanks for this interesting post sometimes my threads arent very clear and im affraid i left this info out .

[squeek]

Originally Posted by Hedera

I kept a baby wild rabbit which one of our cats brought: she hadn't injured it and carried it like a kitten. This was in 1940! We had lots of rabbits, kept for meat. Little Jim lived until he was 8 years old and was very tame. We fed him with a rag dipped in milk and water and honey until he was old enough to eat for himself. He never grew very large. He would come in the house and lie down with the cat, I think she thought he was her kitten.

lucky bunny , its cute how he bonded with the cat

[ChrisR]

I just kept a few bush-crickets and house spiders when I was a kid ... I am sure it fed my enthusiasm for entomology though - I think it's really important for children to experience wildlife, rather than just see it on TV or online.

[Dutchess]

As a child my favourite wild "pet" was snails. I just loved 'em. I never kept them securely enough that they couldn't escape if needs be....and of course they always snuk out of their super duper "des res" as fast as their little foot could carry them. Looking back, this to me is a perfect pocket example of the calling of the wild. Even something as basic as a snail needed to wander of it's own accord and be free (no matter how delightful my child-mind thought it's new home was, lol! )

[gleditsa]

i had a jackdaw, which was rescued after the old tree that the nest was in blew down, killing 3 of the 4 youngsters,
he became almost one of the family, and would sit on your shoulder and take a keen interest in whatever you were doing, sometimes much to my fathers annoyance when he was repairing something on his workbench, as he would suddenly jump down and fly off with one of the components to one of his secret stashes,

one alarming habit he had was to jump into the coal fire and sit on the bars Phoenix fashion, many a time he had to be pulled of the fire as his feathers smoked, but he never seemed to suffer any burns, even to his feet, just a few singed feathers
he had to be shut outside at mealtimes as he was quite adept at swooping onto the table and flying off with whatever he fancied

still have fond memories of "Jacky" all these years later,

j.

[Dutchess]

Hi j (gleditsa),

I am envious....I have fancied the idea of a tame corvid! As a child, I recall my grandad kept a rescued magpie ("Maggie"! ) but she was kept in a big aviary and didn't interract with us kids very much.

Have you seen this recently posted link about a jackdaw?

Jackdaw causing havoc!

D.

[gleditsa]

Originally Posted by Dutchess

Hi j (gleditsa),

I am envious....I have fancied the idea of a tame corvid! As a child, I recall my grandad kept a rescued magpie ("Maggie"! ) but she was kept in a big aviary and didn't interract with us kids very much.

Have you seen this recently posted link about a jackdaw?

Jackdaw causing havoc!

D.

Hi Dutchess, thanks for the link, i had missed that one,
that one has all the tricks that jacky had, although he was never confined, and was free to come and go as he pleased, he would tap on the kitchen window with his beak in the morning until he got his breakfast (he preferred our food to finding his own) and if you were not quick enough feeding him, he would fly onto your shoulder with a loud "jack" and give your earlobe a sharp tweak with his beak ! and the local cats gave him a wide berth

j.