Orphaned
Joeys
It is important to provide
orphaned joeys with the best care possible in the initial rescue
and subsequent 24 hour period, as this is the most critical time
in the animal’s rehabilitation. The initial emergency care
that it receives will have a huge impact not only on the animal’s
survival but also on its chances for release.
Macropod joeys come into
care for a variety of reasons including:-
- Road trauma
- Dog attack
- Shooting
- Environmental impact
- Abandoned by their
mother (either while being chased by a dog or during drought
etc).
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General
Care of Orphaned Macropods
Making the decision to
care for an orphaned macropod should be made after taking into
consideration a number of issues. It is a huge commitment, both
financially, emotionally and in time and resources. For the welfare
of the animal, you should ensure that you are well prepared for
the commitment.
You should not attempt
to raise a macropod joey if you have any of the following details
in your life:-
- If you work and are
unable to take the joey with you or have an unstable work environment
(eg noisy factory)
- If you have domestic
pets (unless you have a large enough house/property that the
macropod joey will not have access to the dog/cat)
- If you have young
children
- If you cannot keep
the joey in a quiet stable environment
- If you cannot stick
to a dedicated feeding pattern
- If you are unable
to cope with night feeds
- If you are unable
to be the primary carer of the joey
- If you cannot afford
to financially raise a joey. It can run into hundreds of dollars
per joey.
- If you will have
a problem parting with the joey when it is time for pre-release.
We raise to release….and
we need to raise them properly to ensure their survival not just
while in care, but after release. If you don’t think you
can meet this criteria you should not raise a macropod joey.
Raising a macropod joey
as a pet is not acceptable, they are entitled to their true life.
We are the keepers and carers for a short period of their lives,
usually due to human caused intervention with their mothers, by
car, dog or habitat loss. We should do everything in our power
to give them the best possible chance and duplicate the life they
would have had with their natural mother to the best of our abilities.
The decision to hand
raise a macropod joey should only be taken if there is a reasonable
chance of success and if there is a place for the animal to go
when it is time for release.
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Basic
Equipment
Some of the equipment
that you will need to raise an orphaned macropod joey include:-
- Appropriate milk
replacer
- Glucodin powder
- A selection of glass
bottles in different sizes (25ml, 50ml and 100ml bottle)
- Assorted macropod
teats
- Pouches in an assortment
of sizes. These should be made from cotton fabrics only.
- Electric heat pad
or hot water bottle.
- Digital thermometer
- Aniwarm2 (a luxury
item but fantastic if you can afford it).
- Cane basket and basket
liners of thick warm natural fibre, wool or down/feathers; or
- Hanging bag made
from natural fibre (not synthetic).
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Feeding
Macropod joeys that come
into care will need around the clock feeding. As a general rule
the following guidelines can be applied:-
- For joeys that are
unfurred with eyes closed and ears down - 8 bottles per day
evenly spaced (every 3 hours)
- For joeys that are
furless but eyes open and ears up - 6 bottles per day evenly
spaced (every 4 hours)
- For joeys that are
finely furred, eyes open and ears up - 6 bottles per day evenly
spaced (every 4 hours)
- For joeys with short
sleek fur, eyes open and ears up - 5 bottles per day evenly
spaced (every 5 hours)
- For joeys with long
sleek fur, eyes open and ears up - 4 bottles per day evenly
spaced (every 6 hours)
- For joeys with thick
dense fur, eyes open and ears up - 3 bottles per day evenly
spaced (every 8 hours)
Macropod joeys need a
strict routine so for example, a joey on six feeds per day would
need to be fed at 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm and 2am. It is important
to stick to the same times. Joeys become very stressed and fail
to thrive if their feed time is not set and their routine becomes
broken.
If you are not prepared
to feed a joey during the night, you will not be able to care
for a macropod joey.
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Housing
and Pouches
Housing:
There are various options
to house a young macropod joey. You are free to make your own
choice on what suits you providing that it must also be suitable
for the joey. Some of the options include:-
- Cane baskets - Soft
cushioning must be placed on the bottom of the basket. You can
then use basket liners to line the basket to provide additional
warmth and security for the joey.
- Canvas backpack type
bags - Again soft cushioning is placed in the bottom of the
bag for comfort. These then need to be secured so that they
do not tip over when the joey moves in the pouch or when it
gets in and out of the bag.
- Hanging bags - These
are sewn in a rectangular shape with a hole in the front and
are usually hung by a coat hanger on a drawer or door.
If you chose to use a
hanging type of bag, you should ensure that the bottom reaches
the floor and that there is sufficient padding on the bottom of
the bag to prevent the joey from injuring itself when rolling
into the bag.
When deciding on appropriate
housing for young macropod joeys, picture the mothers pouch. You
need to duplicate the position of the joey in the pouch –
their back must be in a curved position with their head and legs
and tail above in a U shape. Laying a macropod joey flat is not
acceptable.
Pouches:
When raising orphaned
macropod joeys we need to provide them with a warm and secure
artificial pouch to which the orphan will bond. It is imperative
for the wellbeing of your orphan that, when it leaves its pouch
and starts to explore its surrounds, the pouch is always within
easy reach for the orphan to retreat to if it feels insecure or
threatened.
There are a number of
outer pouches that you can use to provide warmth to your joey.
These include feather pouches, sheepskin pouches and hand-made
pouches from woollen blankets or quilts.
You will also need pouch
liners. These are the inner pouches that your joey will be placed
directly into. Pouch liners need to be made from natural fibres
such as cotton or wool. Do not use synthetic fabrics.
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Helpful
Hints
Below are some hints
to help you successfully raise your macropod joey to release.
- Make sure in the
first few weeks you are the only person to touch and feed the
joey. Unless you establish a bond and it sees you as its mother,
its chances of survival are poor.
- Read, read, read
everything and anything and perfect your macropod caring. These
workshop notes are a guide only.
- See and treat each
joey as an individual. What works for some joeys will not work
on others. You must be aware of your joeys individual needs.
- Be strong and take
as much advice as you can, especially from carers that have
been caring for macropods for a long time. Common sense usually
tells you anyway.
- Everyone makes mistakes
and we all regret them, but use them as a learning experience.
If you don’t learn and you continue to repeat those mistakes
then you should not be caring.
- Be honest with yourself
and others. If your joey does not survive and you can honestly
look back and not criticise yourself you did a good job.
- Remember in the wild
90% of joeys do not make their first year.
- And last of all,
a lot of clinical signs that joeys present with eg poor appetite,
fur loss, skin lesions and diarrhoea to name a couple are all
signs of stress. It is important to reduce exposure to stress
as much as possible.
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