I hope this NEVER happens to me again when splitting wood

Let me first tell you that the old "Woodsman" is the typical "he'd never hurt a fly" guy when it comes to animals or even bugs; I feel that the same guy that put me on this Earth put them here too, so as crazy as it sounds you'll see me "escorting" spiders, ants, thousand leggers, moths etc. outside in a paper cup to live outside, I just can't mash 'em, "live and let live" I guess.....well, was splitting a piece of Oak yesterday that already had a head-start with about a 9 inch cut in the wood so it was like a "cave"; as I was splitting into that cut, all of a sudden a field mouse scrambles out by my left hand which startled the heck out of me! The one half of the wood fell to the ground, I held onto the other half, and inside was shredded rags for a nest and there were 4 little hairless babies in there, about 2 inches long, and the splitter stopped about 1/2 inch from 2 of them ....well, the mother ran off, and I knew that I had to act fast, so despite being frantic not knowing what to do, I gently put them back into the "nest", drove them down to the local vet who was clueless as to what to do, then I remembered a woman from Pocono Animal hospital that actually is an "on-call" rescue person; we have met her over the years at various places with injured birds and whatnot, and she actually drives an "ambulance-type" rescue truck (no lights or sirens though lol!), and she agreed to meet me about 10 minutes away. She said they have to stay warm or they'll die, so I put the half-split log up front on the passenger floor and turned the heat on lol! She took them, put them in a box with a sock filled with uncooked rice that she actually heated, and said there was actually a FOSTER MOTHER MOUSE that would take care of them, and the "real" mother will be philisophical about it and once the milk dries up it'll be
"sex, drugs and rock and roll" again ha ha! I know some of you are probably sitting there shaking your head saying "they're just mice, so what?", but that shook me up, especially seeing the babies so helpless. So despite being frantic, I actually had the second best thing happen, they'll be taken care of and released in the woods. I had thought about putting the log back on the pile, or putting them in a box and hoping the mother would come back but I doubt that would've worked, or something else would've gotten after them so this worked out.

I know, they're only mice.....but those helpless babies really got to the old man....guess I'll think twice when I see a piece with a hollow opening in it again!

Backwoods Savage said:

For sure you never grew up on a farm or learned much about nature...

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You are right-what did I miss?

DanCorcoran said:

I've raised a baby mouse and a baby squirrel to adulthood by hand (they had fallen from nests). Both were released into the wild. Very rewarding and humbling experiences. (And as to learning about nature, I know that nature is often cruel, but that humans have been given the option not to be).

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I probably could've done something else like let them go and hope the mother would come back, but I didn't know if they would survive being out of the shelter of the "nest". The rescue woman said they had to be kept warm or they would die, and I DIDN'T want to just set the log with them back out in the open as we have many birds that we feed and stray cats around-a few days ago I had to bury a dead rabbit that was found in the front yard, so little baby mice would've stood no chance, and if they would've died because of this I would've been very upset. So I did the best that I could with what I knew, even though there might've been another way-if there is/was please explain it to me, but I also was going by what the rescue woman was saying. They had to be only born a short time ago as they were so small and hairless-and helpless! Plus I was planning on staying out there working so the mother wouldn't have come back soon, and I live in a small Cape Cod with a small backyard and double car garage, not on a farm where I could do something else....

coaly said:

You missed finding mouse nests in tractor air cleaners, chewed seat cushions, the smell of mouse pee on a warm intake manifold, and the very fine hair and insulation that becomes airborne in your face when you open a toolbox drawer.
You probably missed watching chickens chase them too. Mine are better mousers than cats.

Pocono Animal Hospital is on the same block as one of my rental homes, and one of their techs was my tenant. Small world.

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Well we've had them make nests inside the car engines, chew the air cleaner in my wife's Rav 4, fill bird seed in my Bronco's air intake so I guess I have had some of the "rural" experiences too....but we don't have chickens

Pocono Animal hospital has helped us out MANY times, Barb Miller to be exact. Most times it is little finches that get a disease where they lose their balance and can barely fly and if caught in time can be saved, and if not at least they ease their pain and suffering. I know most people wouldn't take the time or care to try to help them but me and the wife do, and we always will. I may not "live on a farm or know much about nature" but if they are in our backyard we feel responsible to do something to help them.....

Barb Miller, the rescue woman from Pocono Animal Hospital left me a voice message saying that the "foster" mouse accepted the little ones that I took over to her, they are nursing and "all is well"; the "real" mother will get over it if she hasn't already and probably have more babies to hide in my woodpiles, garage or yard

coaly said:

Please tell me she will return the brood to you, and not let them run at large over to my house !

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I'm not sure where they'll go, but I'd keep an eye on your woodpiles if I were you !