Ridgetop Farm Aviaries

22/08/2026

A very important read. Same prinicples apply with Australian wildlife!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19eH64WpxY/

A baby squirrel is not a learning opportunity.

Yesterday, a post was made by someone who had found a baby squirrel and did not know what to feed it. The comments quickly filled with well-intentioned advice from people who were also inexperienced. So many suggestions for formulas and foods that can seriously injure or kill a fragile baby animal.

We commented directly on the post. We explained that the safest thing for this baby was to remain unfed until it could be placed with someone qualified to care for it. We also privately messaged the finder and offered guidance. They were within 20 minutes of us, and we offered to pick up multiple times.

Our messages were ignored for the entire day, despite this person continuing to interact with other comments on her post.

At that point, we contacted DNR law enforcement because the animal’s life was at risk, and they were ultimately able to obtain the squirrel. But by then, the damage had already been done.

The finder had fed the baby. This squirrel bloated and died.

This is exactly why wildlife rehabilitation is not something you can learn by reading Facebook comments. Baby squirrels have extremely specific nutritional and husbandry requirements. Their digestive systems are incredibly delicate. The wrong formula, concentration, feeding technique, temperature, or volume can cause aspiration, gastrointestinal complications, severe bloat, metabolic problems, and death.

And NO, cow’s milk is not okay. Goat’s milk is not a substitute. Human baby formula is not appropriate. Kitten formula isn’t automatically safe simply because someone on the internet says they used it. Wildlife species are not interchangeable, and neonatal animals are not pets.

The heartbreaking part is that this baby could have survived if it had simply been left alone and transferred to someone qualified. Being willing to help is not the same thing as being qualified to help. ESPECIALLY when the help is throwing itself at you, desperately trying to tell you not to kill this baby.

Please stop giving people confidence to experiment with the lives of wild animals. Stop recommending formulas because “I raised one this way,” or “My aunt had a squirrel for 39 years and fed it goat’s milk.” Stop telling strangers on Facebook what to feed a species you have never properly rehabilitated.

And if a licensed rehabilitator tells you DO NOT FEED IT, listen.

A baby animal being hungry for a few hours while it is safely transported to a qualified rehabilitator is far safer than being given the wrong food and dying from it.

Wildlife rehabilitation requires training, permits, species-specific knowledge, veterinary relationships, appropriate facilities, and the willingness to recognize when you are not the person who should be doing it.

Good intentions do not undo preventable deaths. You are NOT a Disney Princess, so please set your ego aside. If you are passionate about helping these animals, teaching yourself isn’t the way to do it.

21/08/2026

18/07/2026

This quote perfectly sums up why we do what we do 💚 🐦

No, we can't save every bird that needs help. Some days that's heartbreaking. But for every bird we can save, we've changed their entire world—and that's a world worth fighting for 🌎



📷 Image credit to for the image below

17/07/2026

12/07/2026

Wildlife carers and groups currently collect, care for and fund all wildlife rescues they are involved with. A job that should be government funded is being done by VOLUNTEERS in their OWN TIME on their own or donated dollar. And now with H5N1 we will have to fund PPE and vets who are willing to see birds.

The WA government and DBCA have said they will only provide PPE if wildlife carers are acting on behalf of a request for DBCA. Everyday wildlife rescues will not be supported or supplied with PPE. Just another thing Wildlife groups and Carers have to pay for our of their own pockets. They have also said they will not provide vets for carers to take animals too.

How many of our native wildlife needs to die before the government steps up and helps. How many animals need to suffer before volunteer groups get support. How many species need to go extinct before people realise volunteers can not do it all by themselves and we need help.

If you wish to support myself or Chittering Wildlife Carers, please reach out. Donations of PPE, medical equipment, animal food or money are greatly appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1cSbghEVCh/

WA wildlife carers say the state government has forgotten them as PPE supplies and veterinary resources run dangerously low.

11/07/2026

For anyone who's visited our home in Bullsbrook before, you've probably noticed the multiple bird cages lining the front patio. One of the first things people usually say is, "Wow... you have a lot of birds!"

Today, they're gone.

Not forever, but every one of my birds has been moved into the greenhouse to reduce their exposure to wild birds as H5N1 avian influenza edges closer. The patio suddenly feels very quiet... and a little empty. 💔

Here in Western Australia, H5N1 has now been detected in wild birds, while there have been no detections in poultry or captive pet birds. The risk to the general public remains low, but the potential consequences for our native wildlife are enormous.

As a wildlife carer, this is the part that's hardest to accept. Across Australia, wildlife carers are almost entirely volunteers. We donate our time, our homes, our money and our hearts to caring for injured and orphaned wildlife, yet when it comes to preparing for a disease that could devastate wild bird populations, many of us are still waiting for meaningful support, practical resources and clear planning.

This isn't about pointing fingers—it's about recognising that once H5N1 becomes established, responding will be far harder than preparing. Every day we delay is a missed opportunity to strengthen our wildlife response and support the people who will inevitably be on the front line.

I truly hope these precautions prove unnecessary. I would love nothing more than to move everyone back onto the patio and laugh about how overcautious I was.

But if that day never comes, I'll know I did everything I could to protect the birds in my care.

For now, the greenhouse is full... and the front patio is far too quiet. 🕊️💚

29/06/2026

Laundry inspectors on duty 🦜

25/06/2026

Every bird owner in Australia is stressing a bit at the moment. Myself included.

Unfortunately it was only a matter of time before H5N1 hit our shores, and there are things we can do to protect our pets.

Thanks to UPV for this info graphic, no need for me to reinvent the wheel! Please reach out to your avian vet if you are concerned.

https://www.facebook.com/share/14mmcTfdzSU/

12/06/2026

The sad reality of wildlife caring isn't always the happy release photos. 🖤

Yesterday we had an Eastern Long-billed Corella come into care with AGY (Avian Gastric Yeast), a serious fungal disease that affects the digestive system and often leaves birds unable to properly absorb nutrients. Despite intensive treatment, supportive care, and around-the-clock feeds, sometimes the damage is simply too great.

Sadly, this little one didn't make it.

A huge thank you to the amazing team at SAI Vet Hospital in Willetton for caring for him overnight while I was on night shift, ensuring he was warm, comfortable, and receiving the care he needed until I could collect him yesterday morning. Having wildlife-friendly vets who go above and beyond makes an enormous difference to carers and the animals we look after. Shoutout to the community member who recognised this little one needed help and took him to the vet in the first place.

Cases like this are heartbreaking, but they remind us why early intervention and community support for wildlife rescue are so important. Not every story has the ending we hope for, but every animal deserves the chance to be cared for, loved, and treated with kindness right until the very end.

Fly high, little one. 💚🦜