Facilities

Birds

The cubicles can also be adapted to house different species of birds – we provide shavings on the floor for swans, perches and foliage to hide in for tawny owls.

Seals

 Pools are important for the treatment of seals.  When the pups are first admitted they are put into one of the shallow cubicles, without pools, so that the pup can assessed and a care plan devised. 

We always include a small bowl of water as this seems to have a calming effect – quite often a pup can be found relaxing with its head in a bowl of water!  The pups are moved into a cubicle with a pool as soon as possible.

Calf matting is used as flooring and lots of towels and blankets are used to provide extra warmth.

Larger seals needing access to water go into a cubicle with a deep pool area as soon as possible.

  

Cubicles with pools are used for waterfowl needing physiotherapy – such as swans with leg injuries, or with muscle wastage following trauma, such as dog attacks or getting tangled in fishing line.

Other mammals

To adapt a cubicle for hedgehogs we use leaf litter on the floor to provide a more natural environment.

We can adjust the light in each cubicle – for foxes and badgers we use a red light, which is on all the time, as this has a calming effect.

Isolation Kitchen Area

The Isolation ward has its own separate kitchen for food preparation, where we make up gastronomic delicacies such as fish soup and other nutritional offerings!

Box Room

The Box Room is where small animals are kept – in a box or in one of the blue Geeling cages. 

 

Small animals are kept in the Box Room for one or more of the following reasons:

COURTYARD POOLS

 Seal pools

 There are 3 seal pools of varying sizes in the courtyard, through which the seals progress.  These pools form the final stage of the rehabilitation process, which is preparing the seals for life in the wild. 

The seals are kept in groups, which encourages competition and socialisation.  The seals progress through the different pools as they put on weight (which is a good indicator of general health).

To encourage vital foraging skills we use ice blocks – some of which contain fish.  Different species of fish are used to ensure familiarity with different prey. 

Feed times are varied to prevent habituation.  Seals need to be fit before going into the wild, and these pools offer the chance to swim and porpoise around. 

Seals only seem to be able to porpoise when they are very strong, fit and just about ready for release.

Covered waterfowl pool

Waterfowl progress from Isolation to a small, shallow and covered pool in the Courtyard.  This pool provides a secure and controlled mid-way environment, which means that staff can check on progress, with the minimum of disturbance, as it is important to keep human contact to a minimum.  Once well enough, the waterfowl are moved into a paddock with an uncovered pool.

ORPHANS’ CORRIDOR

Orphans’ Room

This room is always known as the Orphans’ Room, even though the work changes throughout the seasons – as well as caring for orphaned animals, the room is used to over-winter hedgehogs, and for oiled birds in the autumn and winter months.

The facilities for orphans include:

1. ·        Incubators mainly used for young birds and mammals

2. ·        Double breeder cages for fledglings

3. ·        Water bath to keep feeds (such as milk re-placer for young hedgehogs and leverets) at a constant temperature, so that the feeds as natural as possible

4. ·        Brooders – for ducklings

Holding Room

The Holding Room is next door to the Orphans Room, and its use varies according to the seasons. 

During spring and summer it becomes an indoor aviary, which provides a controlled mid-way environment for fledglings, before  being moved to an outside aviary.  Similar species are grouped together. 

Mealworm droppers are used to provide food at irregular intervals, and to encourage looking for food.

At other times of the year the Holding Room can be adapted to accommodate other animals, such as swans or hedgehogs.

Wash Room

This room is set up to carry out the washing process of animals contaminated by oil or diesel from spills, tar and slurry.  We teat mainly seabirds in the winter, and assorted waterfowl throughout the year, and occasionally mammals.  We have washed smaller birds which have become entangled in the sticky flypaper, and occasionally we wash birds covered in soot having fallen down chimneys.

The room has 3 stainless steel sinks of variable height (donated by Safety Kleen).  High pressure hot water hoses with shower attachments are used to wash and rinse the animals.

The washing process is highly skilled, and staff need extensive training before they are able to do this task.

Drying Room

After the washing process, the next stage is the drying room, where hot air is constantly circulated to dry feathers or fur. 

Pens with netted flooring are ideal for smaller birds, as they allow the hot air to circulate all over the bird, which dries them and then they start to preen.  Larger birds, such as swans, stand on the floor on blankets, with the hot air circulating around them.

VET CORRIDOR 

Pre-op

On admission each animal is examined and assessed by the vet, with follow-up checks through the animal’s stay.  The equipment in this room includes:

1. ·        Isoflorine anaesthetic machine and positive scavenging to safely remove waste gases

2. ·        Cautery unit used on bleeding lesions

3. ·        Autoclave to sterilise instruments and drapes

Theatre 

A heated operating table is used to keep the body temperature warm when animals are anaethetised. 

As with humans, body temperature drops when the animal is anaethetised, and it is essential to maintain a constant body temperature throughout surgery.

X-ray Room

We have an x-ray and automatic processor which means that we can take and view any x-rays without delay – this means that we can assess and develop a treatment plan as soon as possible.  Our diagnostic equipment includes:

Laboratory

We do some in-house microscope work, but mostly we use external laboratories, eg lead levels in swan blood are sent away for analysis.

OUTSIDE PADDOCKS

We have 3 large paddocks:

Paddock 1 is is divided into 4 separate units, each housing a loose box and grassy paddock, and is used for deer. One loose box serves as a creche for fawns.

Deer are moved into loose boxes as soon as initial treatment has been given, as they need peace and quiet, and to be away from human contact. 

Deer are “flight” animals and can easily injure themselves if they panic.  To help prevent injuries all deer loose boxes have a special padded lining.

A recent trial of planting natural hedging to provide has proved very successful, and we would like to extend this to other paddocks when finances allow.

In the winter months we get fewer deer, so we adapt the loose boxes to accommodate hedgehogs.  Throughout the autumn and winter months we care for large numbers of hedgehogs which are too small to survive hibernation.

Paddock 2 is used for foxes or badgers.  It has 3 loose boxes, which can also be adapted for hedgehogs over the winter months.

Paddock 3 is for general use.

AVIARIES

Birds of Prey

There are 9 aviaries, 3 of which are seclusion aviaries to provide privacy and safety. 

The flooring is gravel at the front with sand behind the privacy panel. 

Natural perches are provided and as much foliage cover as required by the species. 

In the future we would like to plant trees in these aviaries to provide a more natural environment. 

Miscellaneous

The 8 miscellaneous aviaries are separate from the bird of prey aviaries to avoid predators being in the aviary next to prey. 

These aviaries have gravel at the front.   Mealworm droppers are used to feed fledglings to encourage foraging skills.

Wood Pigeons and Collared Doves have their own separate aviary, which has an additional layer of netting to prevent injury.

For the last 2 years Middleton Aggregates have kindly donated the flooring for the Bird of Prey and the Miscellaneous Bird aviaries. 

Swan Pools

There are 2 large swan pools, surrounded by grass, where swans and other waterfowl are placed before release. 

These pools are fenced, but unfortunately they are not netted over, so we do have some spontaneous self-releases.  

There is also a separate paddock with a shallow waterfowl pool, used for ducklings, cygnets and goslings. 

There is a shed for overnight shelter for the younger ducklings.  The shed is adapted in the winter to house hedgehogs.

VISITOR CENTRE

We cannot allow the public to tour our Centre because the welfare of the animals is our priority. 

Too much human contact can prevent animals from making a full recovery. 

However, supervised visits to support vocational courses and groups may be booked in advance.