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Feeding the baby raccoon turned into a full time occupation, for the first 2 weeks I was feeding every 4 hours, day and night. Each time I went back to the tack room I expected to find him lifeless in his tiny shoe box bed, instead I found him sleeping soundly between the two hot water bottles, he was obviously a fighter.
At the start of the 3rd week I stopped the night feeds. I had decided to name him Oscar, he was crawling now, and making squealing sounds each time he heard me enter the room. At feeding time he would grab the feeding bottle with gusto, always demonstrating his healthy appetite. I was increasing his feed gradually, following the instructions from the Internet, but it never seemed to be enough, and when he had finished the bottle he would start squealing again. His coat was slowly starting to grow in and he already had the start of a lovely furry tail.
At the start of the 3rd week I stopped the night feeds. I had decided to name him Oscar, he was crawling now, and making squealing sounds each time he heard me enter the room. At feeding time he would grab the feeding bottle with gusto, always demonstrating his healthy appetite. I was increasing his feed gradually, following the instructions from the Internet, but it never seemed to be enough, and when he had finished the bottle he would start squealing again. His coat was slowly starting to grow in and he already had the start of a lovely furry tail.
I decided to make him a cage, somewhere he would be safe, he was crawling everywhere now, and his eyes were open so he was curious and wanted to explore, I was frightened that he might escape and other wild animals would harm him. I also needed to make sure Danni's Border Terrier didn't find him.
I used the transport cage that we used to bring our English Pointer from England to the USA, it was easily large enough, and sturdy so other animals couldn't break into it, or Oscar break out. It had a metal caged front, perfect as Oscar's new home. I made a little wooden box with a hole in the front, and attached it to the top of a short thick branch that I placed in the cage, this gave Oscar something to climb on and reach his nest box at the top, I filled the box with soft hay, and the base of the cage, just incase he fell out the box, his climbing skills were still far from perfect.
At 6 weeks old Oscar's round little face was starting to look more raccoon like by becoming a little more pointy. He was also becoming more and more playful, and would squeal loudly each time I entered the barn. I was becoming more and more attached to this little guy.
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