Kits everywhere!

I just paid a quick visit out to the feeding station and there were mom's and kits everywhere! The first to greet me were Silly and Lexi! I havn't seen Lexi in a while and she appears to be a mom now too. There were at least 8 kits in the tree and top platform. Ringer came in next, followed by Belle with Bella and Macy. Popeye even showed up! He was in a playful, silly mood and wisely avoiding all the girls! Red popped in next with a great big hello.

There were so many kits and mom's shuffling around I couldn't keep track of how many and who belonged to who. Hopefully the coondo camera caught some good pics and I'll post them when I download them.

Screech is doing fine....he wants out but he's a little too gimpy for me to feel comfortable letting him go just yet. I sprayed some antibiotic spray on his wound to help speed the healling along.

The giant swarm of mosquitoes finally got the better of me and I had to come in!

The early birds.

It's 9pm. I just went out back to throw some treats out for the gang and ran into Belle with the girls Bella and Macy. They are doing great and sooooo cute!

Daisy showed up as well. She grabbed a cookie from me and brought it to the waters edge to dunk it. I brought her a few more and snuck out of there. I didn't want her to follow me near Belle and the girls and get herself in trouble! I think she will avoid them if I'm not around to draw her in towards them.

Mom's and kits

Here they are! Finally a sighting of Belle, Bella and Macy! They hung out for quite a while down here and at one point there were a few mom's and their kits all hanging out.

It's hard to see in this picture, but both kits are at the bucket on the platform.

Here we have Ringer and her kit. I think she only has the one. I was out at 1am yesterday and found her at the platform along with a pair of eyes up in the tree. A little one too shy to come down. Seeing these pictures now I'm pretty sure she's just got this one.

And the lovely Daisy is still hanging around. I have been finding her hanging in the den boxes in the release pen during the days. No sign of the rest of the gang when I do get a chance to get out there. Daisy must have been grabbing a small snack before heading in for the day.... while there were no other mom's or adults around to hassle her!!

Belle takes the girls out & Silly has kits!

It was time to let Belle decide what's best for the girls. I opened the release window today. She had done a lot of digging in the outside section of the pen last night trying to get out and I knew she was ready. So about 3:30 I opened the window and she didn't waste any time. Out she went and hung out in the tree for a few minutes to get her bearings.

Then back in for one last check to make sure the girls are safe.......

....and off she went. No hesitation, she moved like she was on a mission. That gave me the perfect chance to get the cutest pictures ever of Bella and Macy! Awwwwww!!!!!

Macy is the character with the dark mask on the right, Bella with the lighter on the left.

About 7pm I'm heading out to feed the babies and look what I come across. Belle is back to collect the girls! She was very patient and kept coaxing them on.



Bella made it to the ground but Macy slipped, caught herself and just clung to the branch eventually heading back toward the window. I headed inside to kind of push her to the ground to join mom and sis. Then I heard one of the adjoining residents bark and when I looked out the window they had just disappeared!

Macy ended up regaining her footing, but with no one to follow she just went back inside and took refuge back in her den box, poor girl! She must have been so frightened and confused!

But no need to fret. I knew Belle would come back. She's too good a mom! Sure enough I was out checking on Macy and in pops Belle through the window. Macy was sooooooo happy to see mom! Mom checked her over, then went back outside and guided Bella back into the pen. I left the happily reunited Macy sitting outside the den box with her sister while listening to the sound of Belle crunching her food down on the floor.

In the process of looking out in the woods before Belle returned, I ran across Silly at the feeding platform and she wasn't alone! She's got a couple of kits tagging along now too!!

Macy shows her face!

Macy is finally past the "all I want to do is eat and sleep" stage and is clambering around and playing with mom and Bella. A little pose for the camera too!

The rest of the gang is doing great. A new boy has been added to the mix. Laurie had him for a couple of days and we did some rotating with the animals as she got more calls for even more raccoons! He's doing well and I'll get some pics soon! That brings our little family up to 7 now!

Buster and Seeker are officially out of quarantine now and getting cuter by the day!

The babies are getting big!

Hey there mom! Belle wants to know what what goodies I'm bringing her today! She's a little more comfortable coming out of the den box and leaving the girls alone for a little.

And look who else wants to check out the outside world! You can imagine my surprise when I saw this little head pop up! It was so quick the camera didn't have time to focus, but it's cute anyway!

Then momma Belle came along and dragged Bella back in....you're not going anywhere yet young lady! ha ha (as Bella tries desperately to hold on and stay put!)

Belle had her hands full with that one! She's at the stage where she wants to play and explore!

Macy pretty much just slept through it all until a playful Bella started pouncing on her and woke her up!

As soon as Macy catches up to speed with Bella I think the release window will get opened and Belle can decide what is best for the family. I'm going to miss watching them grow! (and worry about them constantly!!)

Belle gives us a peek & Ringer visits.

Well Belle finally gave me a good peek at the kids! Wow....look at how big they are. Look at Bella. I can't believe that's my little girl! It's such a beautiful sight. Belle is taking very good care of them. Awwwwww.....so very cute!

Bella is a little more rambunctious than Macy right now. Macy will catch up quick though...she's about a week and a half younger than Bella. Bella was trying very hard to get Macy to play here to no avail. Macy just wanted to sleep!

Ringer was here for her usual visit. She hung around for some yummy avocado from mom! It's one of her favorites! That and chicken wings. Good stuff for a lactating mom.

A quick high five for mom..thanks for the treats, and up the tree she went to hang out in her favorite knothole.

We have eyes open!!

Here is the proud mama yesterday. You can see the wound on the left side of her face here. One of her injuries during the attack on her den. It may have been a small abscess that finally popped or she may just have rubbed the scabs off. Just one of the injuries I am keeping an eye on.

AND!!!!! Bella has her eyes opened! Not in this picture of course, but I got a peek at them! That is Bella's face we see and Macy's butt right in front of that. She is plugged onto mom at the moment while Bella just naps.

The gang....updates!

Popeye is feeling much better now! The infection that had him under the weather has cleared up and he's almost a happy coon again! As soon as the stitches come out and he can go back with his siblings for release he will be thrilled!

He's got a little mat hanging off his nose. Some hair got caked on and tangled in the sutures so it formed this little mat that I am not going to fiddle with...I don't want to pull anything open. It will come off soon enough, either when the scab falls off or we take the sutures out. It's not causing a problem but it sure is silly to look at!

Ringer is still making her usual daytime visits to eat. Every now and then when I am around during her window of arrival, I am able to visit her in person. What a great girl she is!

Belle and the babies, Bella and Macy are doing great! The happy mom is taking such great care of the little ones! The rest of the gang remains elusive. Now that I have gone from the overnight shift to the day shifts at work, I'm just not out and about around 2-3am when they all seem to flock in. If not for the coon cam, I would be going absolutely crazy not being able to keep my eyes on them! I'm hoping I'll get a chance for a late night/early morning visit coming up on one of my days off.

Things are getting crazy around here. Lots of baby squirrels coming in now. Laurie just ended up with 4 new baby coons so I imagine they are going to start flooding in soon!

The good that came out of this tragedy.

I am happy to announce that Belle is now the proud mom of 2 newly adopted babies. Raccoons are such good mothers, and Belle has proved to be the epitome of that!

I have her in due to her injuries. I brought Baby Bella out to the pen to see how she would react. All Belle had to do was hear a baby cry and she immediately tried getting to her. Having never attempted (or even had the opportunity) to try adopting out orphans to another raccoon mom, I was very hesitant to try for fear of her harming the strange baby. So after much contemplation and a lot of discussion and advice from some fellow rehabbers (thank you so much Dee & Matzo for your guidance!!!!!!!), and after seeing Belle's positive reaction to the sound of Bella crying, I decide to try it.

I anxiously brought Bella out in a pile of fleece blankets. I was going to leave her on the floor and wait and see how Belle reacted. Best case scenario she would either take the baby or just ignore her. Well I no sooner put that precious package on the floor of the pen and Belle was out of the den box, right to Bella. She gently picked her up, carried her to the den box and began showering her with motherly love! I cannot begin to describe what a beautiful sight it was, and it was topped only by her doing the exact same thing with a second single orphan my friend Laurie was fostering. She did so well with Bella that I went and picked up baby Macy who is about the same age as Bella (both are between 2-3.5 weeks old) and we went through the same routine. Our new family is happily encamped in their new home....safe from predators and worry.

So although I will miss spending time with my little Bella, I am so happy that Belle's grief could be replaced with new babies to love and care for. I won't be there to see Bella's eyes open, or record her growth each day with weights and get cute pictures as she grows....but she's with the BEST mother she could possibly have and I'll still be able to keep track of her. It just won't be as up close and personal as before.

So now I'll hope all goes well with our new family. They will be staying here until the time comes when the babies are old enough for mom to start looking for a new den. At that time the release door will be opened to allow Belle to come and go and move her family as she see's fit.