Britta, How awful that you had to get shots! Are they as painful as rumors say they are? No rabies shots for me, no need. I cleaned my gloves off with Clorox II wipes, ran my net thru bleach water, and gave my husband my spray can of tek trol.
Here's what happened: This past summer my husband came in from outside, went up stairs, and was back down in a flash asking for one of my new butterfly nets out of the milk shed. Immediately suspicious I asked him why; he said he had a bird flying around his bedroom. I checked out the situation myself. There was a poor little brown bat girl zapping around my husband's bedroom, lost as lost can be.
I grabbed my butterfly net and my leather work gloves, and tried to net her mid flight. Little brown bat in her panic to avoid my net went behind hubby's nightstand. After scrabbling thru his papers and junk mail on the floor, I cornered her in the net. Holding her down with one hand on her back, I reached under the net with my other hand and gently grabbed her by her scruff. My husband is in the background, muttering, "Jesus, Jesus", over and over. There I was holding a furious, scared witless, chittering bat that had her entire mouth full of needle like teeth bared at me! Looked at him and told him, "Yes, Jesus made an adorable little bat, isn't she something?"
My husband was totally, completely freaked! ROTFLOL! Totally freaked over a teeny bat that was as cute as cute could be as she was showing us her tiny, needle like toothers.
I supported her teeny weeny feet with my other hand, baby talked her while admiring her. I bossed my husband around to get the door open since both of my hands were busy. He just about fell over his feet because he couldn't move fast enough to suit himself to get away from the little furred cutie.
After I put her down on the desk she was gone in a flash. She was nothing at all like Susie Q the MI bat group tours classrooms that staff fed meal worms too and let us hear her munch them into a microphone. This was a true, wild, scared furious, little mountain of upset, but as funny looking as could be.
I used to have a little bat who slept on the door screen up north Michigan. In the morning I'd have my coffee and admire her as she slept. Eventually one little eye would open, then slam shut. Next both would little black eyes would flash open!!! She'd flit in a flash to my oak tree where there was a little hollow in a crook! The only thing I could figure out was she'd stuff herself so full of insects from the porch light that she'd fall asleep on the screen, after she filled her tummy. LOL! She was a character and made my summer that year very special.
My brother and I had a pet bat when I was 11. I had to pay the neighbor kid 2.00 to rescue her from him, (A lot of allowance and baby sitting money in 1965.) My older brother and I had the sense to not handle her with our hands, to make sure that we wore heavy work gloves around her, and to wash up after feeding her. We stole one of my mother's fur lined, leather, dress gloves, and hung it on a branch in an aquarium; fed her hamburger and steak swinging from a string and all the crickets we could catch. My parents knew something was up because we were quiet, did a lot of whispering and pretend studying, and were getting along. Both of us couldn't sit for a week after we were caught with her. Plus we were made to wash down everything in my brother's room and replace my mom's gloves. The worst is little bat was sent for testing and was killed instead of being let go. My parents put the fear of God in us about minding them when it came to wild animals and the house. :0
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM Michigan
From: Britta McColl <morningstarlearning@gmail.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 9:05 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] holding a bat by the scruff of its neck? :) Really?
Here's what happened: This past summer my husband came in from outside, went up stairs, and was back down in a flash asking for one of my new butterfly nets out of the milk shed. Immediately suspicious I asked him why; he said he had a bird flying around his bedroom. I checked out the situation myself. There was a poor little brown bat girl zapping around my husband's bedroom, lost as lost can be.
I grabbed my butterfly net and my leather work gloves, and tried to net her mid flight. Little brown bat in her panic to avoid my net went behind hubby's nightstand. After scrabbling thru his papers and junk mail on the floor, I cornered her in the net. Holding her down with one hand on her back, I reached under the net with my other hand and gently grabbed her by her scruff. My husband is in the background, muttering, "Jesus, Jesus", over and over. There I was holding a furious, scared witless, chittering bat that had her entire mouth full of needle like teeth bared at me! Looked at him and told him, "Yes, Jesus made an adorable little bat, isn't she something?"
My husband was totally, completely freaked! ROTFLOL! Totally freaked over a teeny bat that was as cute as cute could be as she was showing us her tiny, needle like toothers.
I supported her teeny weeny feet with my other hand, baby talked her while admiring her. I bossed my husband around to get the door open since both of my hands were busy. He just about fell over his feet because he couldn't move fast enough to suit himself to get away from the little furred cutie.
After I put her down on the desk she was gone in a flash. She was nothing at all like Susie Q the MI bat group tours classrooms that staff fed meal worms too and let us hear her munch them into a microphone. This was a true, wild, scared furious, little mountain of upset, but as funny looking as could be.
I used to have a little bat who slept on the door screen up north Michigan. In the morning I'd have my coffee and admire her as she slept. Eventually one little eye would open, then slam shut. Next both would little black eyes would flash open!!! She'd flit in a flash to my oak tree where there was a little hollow in a crook! The only thing I could figure out was she'd stuff herself so full of insects from the porch light that she'd fall asleep on the screen, after she filled her tummy. LOL! She was a character and made my summer that year very special.
My brother and I had a pet bat when I was 11. I had to pay the neighbor kid 2.00 to rescue her from him, (A lot of allowance and baby sitting money in 1965.) My older brother and I had the sense to not handle her with our hands, to make sure that we wore heavy work gloves around her, and to wash up after feeding her. We stole one of my mother's fur lined, leather, dress gloves, and hung it on a branch in an aquarium; fed her hamburger and steak swinging from a string and all the crickets we could catch. My parents knew something was up because we were quiet, did a lot of whispering and pretend studying, and were getting along. Both of us couldn't sit for a week after we were caught with her. Plus we were made to wash down everything in my brother's room and replace my mom's gloves. The worst is little bat was sent for testing and was killed instead of being let go. My parents put the fear of God in us about minding them when it came to wild animals and the house. :0
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM Michigan
From: Britta McColl <morningstarlearning@gmail.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 9:05 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] holding a bat by the scruff of its neck? :) Really?
Hi Cathryn,
Okay, that takes the cake! HOW in tarnation did you manage to hold a bat by the scruff of its neck? Was it asleep when you picked it up? This whole idea puts a big smile on my face! :) :)
Whew! Did you have gloves on?
I got bit by a bat this fall in the barn. It may have been in the hay or just flying around. It 'hit my hand" and I had a "regulation size" bat scratch (and two teeth mark indents), and got a series of rabies shots.
Good thing for me, it is an innoculation that will likely last at least ten years, so now I can be the resident bat handler. And if you could describe how to pick up a bat by the scruff of its neck.... maybe I'll try that next time we have a bat in the house....
Did you already get a rabies shot? That you are not afraid to pick up a bat?
Thanks for writing!
Truly,
Britta
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