Found an injured or orphaned animal? We are happy to help!
Text or call us at 615-559-WILD (9453).
You may send a picture of short video of the animal you have found by text. Please note that all calls will go directly to voicemail. You must leave a message for us to help. Calls are returned daily from 9am to 4pm. Calls received after 4pm will be returned the next day. Please visit our emergency care instructions for overnight care.
Walden’s Puddle provides care and treatment to sick, injured and orphaned native Tennessee wildlife. We are a professionally-staffed wildlife rehabilitation facility in Middle Tennessee. We do not charge for services and receive no federal or state funding at this time. We are here to help wildlife in trouble. If you suspect an animal is orphaned, please observe to make sure its mother is not nearby.
If You Find A Wild Animal That Might Be Orphaned Or Injured
If you find a wild animal that might be orphaned or injured, call our Wildlife Admissions Line immediately at 615-559-WILD (9453) and LEAVE A MESSAGE. Please Do Not Email, We May Not Get Your Message In Time.JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
IF OUR ADMISSION APPOINTMENTS ARE FULL
In the event our admission appointments are full or we are at capacity, please contact these other licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators. Also, please read the related emergency animal care information on this website. Thank you for your understanding.
Lilliebirds Wildlife Rehab: 615-579-8801
Ziggy’s Tree Wildlife Rehab: 615-631-2205 for small mammals or (931) 841-9781 for song birds
Nashville Wildlife Conservation: 615-270-9009 (Turtles)
Please GO HERE for an extensive list of all permitted Wildlife Rehabilitators in all counties of Tennessee.
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This fox kit in our care right now is a confused orphan. She doesn't know where her parents are or if they'll come back. Without them, she's been left to fend for herself and is now suffering from severe mange.
Every year, we admit orphan foxes whose parents were killed during an attempt to take chickens, likely by someone who felt they had no other choice while defending their flock.
Foxes don’t know what’s “yours.” They just know what’s easy to catch. We often hear angry complaints about foxes getting into someone’s chicken coop, and while we know the loss is heartbreaking, let’s be clear: 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙭 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣.
We don’t share this to place blame. We share it because this is preventable. Better coop security can stop these situations before they happen - saving both chickens and wildlife families.
The real solution is to make your flock less vulnerable. Keeping animals safe in a wild world takes preparation. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀.
Here’s how to protect your birds (and give foxes no reason to linger):
🌙 Lock up coops securely every night with latches
⚒ Cover your coop with 1/2" hardware cloth and a roof
⬇️ Bury fencing at least 12-18” deep or bend it outward around the base to prevent digging
🗑 Remove attractants: keep trash cans secure and don't leave out pet food overnight
💡 Use motion lights or sprinklers as deterrents
🐶 Consider getting a guardian dog to deter any predators
Killing a fox for being a fox won’t stop the next one. But securing your animals will.
Let’s protect both our flocks and our local wildlife. 💚🐔🦊
We had a beautiful red fox come through our yard a few nights ago. Neighbors have chickens but they finally got it secured. Will a fox go after a small cat ?
A fox took 3 of my favorites but we figured it was probably feeding babies 💔 we got a better coop door
I want to donate to Walden's Puddle for such wonderful work for our little friends!
It’s probably a blessing since she has severe mange, if her situation hadn’t changed she would have probably succumbed to that
What will happen to the baby?
ever since I got my pack of LGDs, I haven't lost a bird since the dogs work, and wildlife stays unharmed
Walden's Puddle It's your posts like this that get me donating again. Because it is so clear that you don't just care for wildlife, you're trying hard to teach others how to take the necessary steps to prevent little orphans like this. Off I go to contribute on your website. Thank you for being Walden's Puddle.
Coyote could have gotten after the mother...coyotes kill foxes whenever they can. Nature is real and shows no mercy. Not allways the humans fault. Foxes have adapted to humans,,, we have hand fed them at work after they knew we weren't going to hurt them.
Well said, as a Chicken mom and nature lover I never looked at that way. 💓💓💓💔💓
100%. We have a family of foxes we watch nightly. They hunt our fields and raised in a hole near the end of our road. We watched them grow up. They have been here for several years. We have a guardian with our dwarf goats and a very secure chicken coop and have never lost anything to them or coyotes. We love and respect them. Feral dogs and dogs not secured are usually a bigger threat than any wild animal.
Thank you for caring for the poor baby! We love having foxes decide to live on our acreage... our chickens are secure as you describe and the foxes thrive on the other wildlife food sources as nature intended.
I built my coop like fort knox. Nothing ever broke in, other than a rat snake and it was after the mice.
All these are good points. We also need to educate the public that wild animals are wild and should not be fed as pets. They become reliant on humans and live too close to homes and that creates a problem that never ends well.
Shared as this is really good information. Thank you for helping this sweet baby❤️🙏little one❤️
Great sentiments and information. Post it in community FB groups for max awareness.
Agreed! I had chickens for years before moving to a diff property and NEVER had predator issues (except for the neighbors dog who came onto my property while my girls free ranged in their run and obv I didn’t blame the dog- just the owners). I had a secured coop and proper hardware cloth that did exactly what you said- bent outward and was dug well below. And I have foxes in Kingston springs. Never had an issue! Thank you for this message. Happy to show my coop to those who need to do the same.
We keep a radio on outside playing non stop. It has helped a lot.
Support Urban wildlife... Provide some food and water and they won't try to eat your chickens. They have babies to feed.
Love this post. We have 5 ducks and one of our duckies is going on 18 yrs old. No predators have ever breached their enclosure because we made d@mn sure no animal ever could. It's not rocket science. People just need to do better and do their due diligence and research how to properly predator proof their enclosures. It's infuriating to see people kill wildlife for just being wildlife. It's not their fault. They can't help the bodies they were born into. People just need to use their brains and make sure their enclosures are safe and secure so NO animal could ever dig underneath their enclosures and completely secure their roof. Thank U Walden's Puddle for being such amazing folks.
Bless this cute baby. So sad.
Beautifully worded ❤️
Thank you for what you do! ❤️🦊🦊🦊❤️
Aw, poor baby. Thank you for helping him/her.
What a sweet baby. 🙏🏼 thank you for helping it. Rachel Harper look at this sweetie.
Poor baby. 💔
This ball of fluff is a baby black vulture! While this youngster still has a lot of growing to do before he transforms into the sleek black bird most people recognize, he’s already full of attitude, which is exactly what we love to see.
Black vultures hatch covered in fuzzy down and spend their first weeks tucked away in sheltered places like brush piles or rock crevices, and even abandoned sheds or barns. They don’t build the typical bird nest that you may think of, but instead lay their eggs directly on the ground in these protected locations. Both parents help raise their young, and these chicks can remain dependent on mom and dad for several months as they learn to be a big vulture.
While vultures don't always get the best reputation, they're nature's cleanup crew, helping dispose of dead animals which reduces the spread of disease. This little one will be out in the wild doing this important work one day, but for now, he’s busy looking like a grumpy muppet.
In Tsalagi(Cherokee)Creation Story, Sulu(Vulture)made the hollows & mountains in Tn,NC. With the flapping of their wings. I 🧡 them.
I love them. I have a family that raise 2 in our old barn every spring. This springs lucky 2 are named knuckles & Scrappy.
We have a pair of vultures that lay eggs in one of our shops every spring. This springs hatchlings recently flew away 🙂.
My Dad refers to vultures as Highway Cleanup Crews. 🤣
I love these creatures!! We have some who visit sometimes and nibble on the food for the community cats, and they eat side by side with the cats. It’s hilarious yet beautiful. We’ve been able to watch the two teenagers grow and learn from their parents💚 Louise Rovetto
So, a Fluffture.
Vultures are so smart too! We had a nesting pair in an old barn ours! It was so neat watching them!
That’s the cutest clump of dryer lint I’ve ever seen.
I love vultures! 🫶
Such a cutie!!!
He is beautiful!! Vultures are one of my favorite birds!!
I love all of God’s creatures. They are highly intelligent, clever and so beautiful. Thank you for helping them, you’re AMAZING at what you do!
So Cute! I have never seen a baby vulture before. Thank you for helping save him.
Awwwwwww
WALDEN'S PUDDLE ON YOUTUBE
IF OUR ADMISSION APPOINTMENTS ARE FULL
In the event our admission appointments are full or we are at capacity, please contact these other licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators. Also, please read the related emergency animal care information on this website. Thank you for your understanding.
Lilliebirds Wildlife Rehab: 615-579-8801
Ziggy’s Tree Wildlife Rehab: 615-631-2205 (small mammals) or (931) 841-9781 (song birds)
Nashville Wildlife Conservation/ 615-270-9009 (Turtles)
Please GO HERE for an extensive list of all permitted Wildlife Rehabilitators in all counties of Tennessee.
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