I found a baby squirrel. What do I do?

1. TRY TO REUNITE BABY WITH MOTHER. Always first try to reunite the baby tree squirrel with it's mother. Please read this article for instruction. http://www.mary.cc/squirrels/reunite.htm If the baby is injured, cold, it's night time or mom does not come to get it within 2-3 hours, the baby is probably orphaned and needs your help. 

Check the chart below to see if you have a Fox or Grey tree squirrel, California Ground Squirrel, opossum or rat, what age and sex. Juvenile tree squirrels are old enough to be on their own if they have a big fluffy tail. Ground squirrels have white around the eyes, shorter less fluffy tails, are smaller and have white spots on their shoulders. If the baby has no claws or they are light colored, has a dark colored tail, it's a baby rat. If it's super small, it's a baby mouse. If it has a long  pointy snout with a partially pink tail, it's a baby opossum. Below are the common squirrels in California.

WHAT TYPE OF SQUIRREL IS IT?

Tree Squirrel 1.5 wk pinky fm.	Tree Squirrel 3 wk.- Fox	Tree Squirrel 4 wk.- Fox	Tree Squirrel 5 wk. male-Fox	Tree Squirrel 7 wk. male-Fox
Tree Squirrel Adult - Grey	Tree Squirrel Juvenile - Fox	Tree Squirrel Adult - Fox	GroundSquirrel 5 wk. baby	Ground Squirrel Adult

Opossum	Rat

Not sure if it's a baby Fox squirrel or California Ground Squirrel, click here for more photos and descriptions. http://www.mary.cc/squirrels/whatisit.htm 

2. PICK THE BABY UP. Get a small box about a foot square, a cat carrier, a large Tupperware container (without the lid on) or another suitable container. Place some soft fabric at the bottom but not towels as they can get their claws stuck in the loops. Put on some thick leather gloves (they probably don't have teeth but just to be safe). Gently pick up the baby. Take this opportunity to look at the baby to check for injuries, parasites, bleeding, bumps, puncture wounds. If they are bleeding quite a bit or you see obvious broken bones or serious injury, take them to a veterinarian ASAP.

3. GET THE BABY WARM. Hopefully you have a heating pad or electric blanket handy. Put the heating pad or blanket on low to medium depending upon type. Place the container on top of half of the pad. This way if it's too hot, they can crawl off. Baby squirrels should be about 99 degrees F. They can't regulate their own heat when they are babies so they need external heat. Be sure to check to make sure the container or squirrels don't get too hot. Also check to make sure they're warm. Some heating pads have automatic safety shut offs after so many hours. Place a towel over the top of the container to keep the heat in. If it's a hot day, they may not need the towel over the top. If you don't have a heating pad or blanket, you can use a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. Don't let their skin touch the bottle or they can be burned. You can also use a latex exam glove filled with water, knotted and microwaved for about 30 seconds depending upon your oven power.

4. LOOK FOR A SQUIRREL REHABILITATOR. Call your local vets, animal shelters, humane societies, Fish & Game, Fish & Wildlife, Wildlife groups to get a referral for a local wildlife rehabilitator that takes in tree squirrels. Try this link for local rehabbers. Find a rehabber. You can also search online http://www.google.com Put in "squirrel rehabilitation" and your state and city. If no one picks up the phone, returns your call or gives you further instruction, it's time to do a little more.

 

5. GET THE BABY HYDRATED. Most fallen babies will be dehydrated. You can see how dehydrated they are by gently pinching their skin. If the "tent" of skin stays there over a second or so, they are dehydrated. If they look wrinkly, have sunken in eyes, appear emaciated, they are dehydrated. Most super markets and drug stores carry Pedialyte in the baby section or their own brand of rehydrating baby fluid. Gerber has a brand also. Squirrels like fruit flavors but plain will do if it's all they've got. If you can't find Pedialyte, there is always Gatorade. If you're nowhere near a store here is a homemade formula. One teaspoon salt, three teaspoons sugar mixed into one quart of warm water. We use oral syringes, i.e. syringes without needles, but you can use a clean eye dropper or an oral baby syringe. They also sell syringe feeders at Petco and Petsmart right next to the Esbilac puppy milk. Make sure the baby is warm before you give it any fluids or it won't be able to process the fluids. 

Feeding instruments	Pedialyte

If they are tiny hairless pink babies about 2-3 inches long, you must be very careful giving them fluids. It's easy to aspirate the babies and get the fluid in their lungs. This will give them pneumonia and they will probably die. Just put one tiny drop on their lips at a time and let them suck that in. If they have their eyes open, you can let them take the syringe in their mouth and gently give them a few drops. If a lot falls out of their mouth or comes out the nose, you're going too fast. If you get some coming out their nose, hold them upside down instantly for 10 seconds then blot the fluids off their nose, out of their nostrils. Wait a minute before resuming. Make sure you give these fluids warm but not hot. Store unused amounts in the refrigerator.
If they won't take the fluids, put a drop on their lips or poke a drop in their mouth so they can taste it first. Some will just open their mouths wide and start suckling away. I would give tiny eyes closed pink babies 1 cc every two hours, fully furred eyes closed babies 1-2 cc every two hours, eyes open babies 2-4 cc every three hours until a rehabber calls you back with instructions. (1 cc is about 20-25 drops from an eye dropper,  5 cc is 1 tsp)
Baby squirrels need to be stimulated to poo and pee when their eyes are closed. After each feeding of fluids you will need to gently wipe the genital and anal area with a warm moist cotton ball or Q-tip until they pee or poo. If they are very dehydrated and haven't eaten in a while, they may not pee for a couple of feedings and may not poo for a day. Keep trying after every feeding time.
Baby squirrels may have parasites such as fleas, mites, ticks and maggots. Remove the fleas and maggots by hand with flea combs or tweezers. Petco also sells flea and mite sprays made specifically for small animals such as hamsters. If it's a baby pinky, do not apply anything to the squirrel. Put the spray on cloth around the baby. Do not spray into wounds.

6. STILL NO REHABBER. It's illegal to hold wildlife over 48 hours without a permit. It's illegal to try and rehabilitate wildlife yourself. It's illegal to keep wildlife as a pet. There are squirrel rehabilitation manuals and information on the internet. I legally can't tell you any more than this legally. I became a rehabber because I found a baby squirrel and no rehabilitator would take the squirrel because they were all full. Fish & Game told me to throw it back outside and let it become part of the food chain. I didn't do that. That  squirrel is alive and well today living in my neighborhood. She comes to visit me from time to time to say thanks. Thank you for caring for the baby squirrels.
7. IF THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY TO GET TO A REHABBER. EMERGENCY INSTRUCTIONS ONLY.
You've just gone through a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, wildfire, tsunami, mudslide or other natural disaster. Rehabbers are wiped out, roads and stores are closed. I'm sure local authorities would understand. Here are manuals for caring for tree and ground squirrels.
http://www.mary.cc/squirrels/rehabbers.htm I no longer recommend Esbilac puppy milk. Their formula was contaminated and it killed many babies. Even though they knew their product could kill babies, they kept on selling it. I now recommend in this order any puppy formula, any kitten formula, goats milk, human baby formula, human breast milk, evaporated milk, regular milk, soy milk, powdered milk, half and half, whipping cream and water, cremola and water, sweetened liquid cremola, non-dairy creamer, soy milk, pedialyte/gatorade only, plain water... As soon as you find a better formula, slowly change the formula to the preferred one. If their eyes are open, you can give baby food, shelled nuts, bits of avocado, apple, grape, apple sauce... The manual goes into problems with diarrhea, fleas, injuries, pneumonia, paralysis, genital suckling and treatment.

8. WHAT WE DO WITH THE BABY SQUIRRELS. We as in rehabbers will nurse the babies until they are old enough to eat on their own. Then we will teach them how to eat soft and hard foods. When they can eat on their own, we take them from the indoor cages and put them into large 8' tall outdoor cages. Here they learn how to find food, build a regular squirrel nest, climb, jump and interact with other juvenile squirrels. When they are 4.5 to 5 months of age we will release the squirrels within two miles of where they were found. This will probably be your back yard if you wish. We will put them in an outdoor nest box which we will wire to a tree or post. After a few days they will leave their box and build their own nest. They will be able to find food and fend for themselves by this time.
Thank YOU for saving the babies' lives!
 

How to make your own organic fertilizer

If your garden supplies much of your family's yearly food intake, you'll want to do all you can to maximize your vegetables' nutritional quality. The following potent, correctly balanced fertilizing mix is composed entirely of natural substances. It's less expensive than commercial organic fertilizers, and it's much better for your soil than harsh synthetic chemical mixes. This mix, along with regular additions of compost, will produce incredible results.

Organic components

Seed meals and various kinds of lime are the most important ingredients. These alone will grow a great garden. Seed meals are byproducts of making vegetable oil. They are made from soybeans, flaxseed, sunflowers, cotton seeds, canola and other plants. Different regions of the country have different kinds more readily available. Seed meals are stable and will store for years if kept dry and protected from pests in a metal container with a tight lid.

Lime is ground, natural rock containing large amounts of calcium, and there are three types. Agricultural lime is relatively pure calcium carbonate. Gypsum is calcium sulfate and is included because sulfur is a vital plant nutrient. Dolomite, or dolomitic lime, contains both calcium and magnesium carbonates, usually in more or less equal amounts. If you have to choose one kind, it probably should be dolomite, but you'll get a better result using all three types. These substances are not expensive if bought in large sacks from agricultural suppliers. (Do not use quicklime, burnt lime, hydrated lime or other chemically active "hot" limes.)

If you routinely garden with this homemade fertilizer mix, you won't need to apply additional lime to your garden. The mix is formulated so that it automatically distributes about 50 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet each year.

Bone meal, phosphate rock or guano (bat or bird manure) all boost the phosphorus level, and phosphate and guano usually are also rich in trace elements. Bone meal is usually available at garden centers. Kelp meal (dried seaweed) has become expensive, but it supplies some things nothing else does -- a complete range of trace minerals plus growth regulators and natural hormones that act like plant vitamins, increasing resistance to stresses.

Guano, rock phosphate and kelp meal may seem costly or difficult to obtain, but they add considerable fortitude to the plants and increase the nutritional content of your vegetables.

Some rock dusts contain a complete range of minor plant nutrients and may be substituted for kelp meal.

Making the organic fertilizer

To concoct the fertilizer mix, measure out all materials by volume: that is, by the scoop, bucketful, jarful, etc. Proportions that vary by 10 percent either way will be close enough, but do not attempt to make this formula by weight. An old 5-gallon plastic bucket will allow you to stir up about 14 quarts.

Mix uniformly, in parts by volume:

4 parts seed meal

1/4 part ordinary agricultural lime, best finely ground

1/4 part gypsum (or double the agricultural lime)

1/2 part dolomitic lime

Plus, for best results:

1 part bone meal, rock phosphate or high-phosphate guano

1/2 to 1 part kelp meal (or 1 part basalt dust)

This recipe is inexpensive when judged by its results. Farm feed and grain dealers are the best sources for large bags of seed meals, which are typically used to feed livestock. The other ingredients usually can be found at garden shops, although they probably will be sold in smaller quantities at higher prices per pound. You may find the best prices by mail order or on the Internet.

Applying the fertilizer mix


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/How-to-make-your-own-organic-fertilizer-2517945.php#ixzz2DNlWG3eV

Seedling Cultivation of Meat Cattle Based on Oil Palm Estate Integration Approach in Central Kalimantan

Site Charachterization
The experiment was done in one of national oil palm plantation NGO’s of PT. Sawit Sumber Mas Sarana, at Kotawaringin Barat District, Central Kalimantan, covered about 350 hectares. There also operated 1 unit oil palm factory about 3 km from the site which produce by products mainly liquid solid that can be use as complementary feed for the cattle. By average, oil palm age about 2 years, and the land has been covering with Callopogonium, a fast growing leguminous with high quality for cattle feed.

Innovasition Advantages
The activity was done integration with oil palm plantation, applied of zero cost and zero wastes. Thus, this approach in accordance to low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA), based on concept: using lower input and environmental sound toward highest efficiency and sustainable farming system (income and production aspects). The experiment also can alleviate environment degradation with utilization of by products as cattle feed, and the experiment result can contribute in fulfilling daily meat need. Innovasition Description
Cultivation Model
Cattle-oil palm integration was done with in-situ approach, continous biologycal cycle, where oil palm factory by products, namely liquid solid was used as complementary cattle feed as same as crops by products such as native grasses and leguminous cover cfrops. Mean while, live stock waste was used as organic fertilizer.

Production and Live Stock Reproduction

1. Cattle variety: Bali cattle
2. Concentrate feed introduction: oil palm liquid solid
3. The high yielding grasses introduction: 

•  Brachiaria decumbens (BD)
•  Brachiaria humidicola (BH)
•  Elephant grass
•  Mexico grass
•  Setaria sp.
•  King grass

         4.  Insemination technology: artificial insemination
         5.  Sincronisation technology: Etrus sincronisation

Technology Application
B.D and BH grasses were developed for grassing, while Elephant grass, King grass, Mexico grass and Setaria grasses for cut abd carry method.

Liquid oil palm solid was applied directly in fresh form , mixed with mineral with dosage of 0,5-1.0% of live weight, twice a day (morening and afternoon). High yielding varieties grasses were mixed with leguminous cover crop, applied abnout 10% of live weight. Etrus sincronisation was applied with single dosage, combined with artificial insemination.

Others Importan Information
Seedling cultivation of meat cattle was done by NGO’s to produce bakalan, also to corserve genetical source of bali cattle. This approach can produce bakalan with calving period 13 months (395 days) covered budget about Rp. 533 250/unit. On the other hand, the native seedling cultivation take some more time, unpredictbale of calving period, and high risk with inbreeding problem. The activity was done for empowering the farmers at surrounding of oil palm plantation, and moreover, result of the experiment will be disseminated to others farmers.
Experiment Performance Performance of the experiment at the site can be illustrated as the following figures.

Fattening of Meating Cattle on Surrounding of Oil Palm Plantation Area

Location Charachteristics
The experiment was done in surrounding of oil palm area of NGO’s plantation of Kota Waringin Barat District, namely P.T Sabut Mas Abadi. The selected experiment location based on the main regarded in utilization the by product of oil palm factory mainly oil palm solid and the native grass grown at the site.

Innovation Advantages
The selected experiment site closed correlated to the continuing complementary feed (concentrate) source supply in form of liquid waste in order to decrease production input or inline with the low external input sustainable agriculture (LEISA) concept. The complementary feed can be used directly as organic fertilizer for the native grass grown at the experiment site. Besides, cattle manure can be also as organic fertilizer for the native grass. An other advantage of liquid solid is higher nutritive value, content of crude protein about 12,63-17,41%; crude fat 7,12-15,15%; crude fiber 9,98-25,79%; energy 3217-3454 kcal; calcium 0,03-0,78% and phosphor 0,58%. For this reason, the liquid solid has high potency for concentrate feed for cattle. Economically, production input can be reduced due to the lower price of liquid solid. The other important issue that utilization of solid liquid can maintain environmental degradation due to the chemically contaminants.

Innovation Description
Fattening Model
A common cattle burn, with 20 cattle capacity, was established near oil palm factory. The activity was done by cooperation member of oil palm factory and oil palm estate. In this cooperation, cattle was provided by member of oil palm estate, while cattle management was handed by member of oil palm factory with sharing benefit was 60% for oil palm factory and 40% for oil palm estate.

Feed sources as native and high yielding variety grasses grown at the site, completed with concentrate feed as source of liquid solid produced by oil palm factory. Cattle manure was utilized as organic matter of high yielding variety grass.

Technology Component

1. Cattle variety: The local cattle
2. Concentrate feed: oil palm liquid solid
3. The high yielding grasses: Elephant grass and Setaria sp.

Innovation Application
Fattening period was 3-6 months; the native and high yielding grasses were cut and carried to the cattle regularly. There was soil treatment (basic fertilization) using oil palm liquid solid to support early growth of the local and high yielding varieties grown at the site.

The liquid oil palm solid was applied directly, mixed with minerals, twice a day (2% of live weight), while application of grasses, mixed of the local and high yielding varieties was based on 10% live weight. The common cattle burn was cleaned daily.

Others information
 Daily increasing of live weight of meat cattle treated with liquid oil palm solid was expected about 0,52 kg/day for the local cattle and 0,77 kg/day for PO cattle. There was an existing data that without the selected treatment, daily increasing of live weight of the local cattle is usually 0,22 kg/day. There also estimated that fattening activity feasible to develop at the site due to the significant increasing income for the farmers

The Making Process of Organic Fertilizer Using MOL

The making process of organic fertilizer is actually very easy, even without a place and a special machine. Naturally organic waste will decompose by itself. But with the leave it alone, the decay process takes a long time. One of the activator that is a fairly inexpensive is MOL solution (Micro Organisms Local)

MOL is a solution based fermented from a variety of local resources available. MOL solution containing micro and macro elements and also contain bacteria that have the potential as a decomposer of organic material, a stimulant plant, and as agents controlling pests and plant diseases, so that MOL can be used either as pendekomposer biological fertilizer and as an organic pesticide, especially as a fungicide.

MOL can be processed very simple using waste from households or plants in the surrounding environment such as the remains of plants such as banana weevil, pineapple, rice straw, remaining vegetables, stale rice, and others.

The main ingredient in the MOL solution consisting of 3 types of components, among others:
1. Carbohydrates: rice washing water, former rice, cassava, potato and wheat
2. Glucose: liquid sugar, liquid sugar, coconut milk / juice
3. Source of bacteria: golden snail, fruits such as tomatoes, papaya, and manure.

There are several ways of breeding MOL is easy to make, namely:
1. Using soybean cooking water (water boiled soybean ± 10 liters add red sugar ¼ kg)
2. Using coconut water (± 10 liters of coconut water, brown sugar ¼ kg, rotten fruit to taste)
3. Using banana stem (± 10 liters of coconut milk, brown sugar ¼ kg, and banana stem 0.5 cm)
4. Using animal waste (animal manure (cow, buffalo) ± 10 liters, brown sugar ½ kg, bran / 5 kg rice bran, coconut water taste (to stir until wet).

Organic fertilizer

Materials: Leaves, bran and other organic materials and MOL solution How to make; organic materials that are available arranged in layers. Each layer is sprinkled with MOL solution. The thickness of each layer 10 d 15 cm. pile of organic material is covered with plastic. Stirring is done every 10 days. The characteristics of manure that is so not hot that when clenched and crumbs. Benefits and advantages of organic fertilizer using MOL: • Simple and easy to put into practice • Cheap as utilizing locally available materials about the environment • Biota protected land • Improving the quality of soil and crops • Does not contain toxins that is safe for humans and livestock