Coot found.

So this coot waddled up to all of us today at work, then curled up in a corner. Idk what to do. The coot is an aquatic bird and we're far from any lakes or parks. It's kind of dumb, and by that I mean it doesn't fear humans so it must be domesticated. I fear it might die due to weather, animals, or lack of aquatic food. At the same time Idk what to do with it.

Lol!

Wouldn't be the first coot I had for dinner.. Sorry I couldn't help it.

I honestly couldn't kill it and eat it though. It's a living breathing creatures, cold and confused.

Posted by feby

Posted by Soul
Lol!

Wouldn't be the first coot I had for dinner.. Sorry I couldn't help it.

I honestly couldn't kill it and eat it though. It's a living breathing creatures, cold and confused.

Lol!! Funny enough we were reading the same book 😄

I believe there are people you can call who will come and help. Like a bird rescue.

click to expand

If I was out hunting them I might, but this appears to be someone's pet. I don't really like hunting much. Idk how people could hunt with a belly full of food, but each to their own. For all I know though it could be farmed for food and basically escaped the Holocaust. I use to buy 1 $ mice from the snake food box then raise them for years. Giving them lots of cotton balls then watching them build big warm fuzzy homes.

Posted by RumiLove
how cute.

Doesnt fear you? Adopt it?

It doesn't fear me to a point it tries to escape, but if my hand gets too close it slowly tries to peck me.

Posted by RumiLove
Does the bird seem injured?

Not at all. It waddled down a dirt hill, chilled under my vehicle for a moment, then went straight into a corner. It stood there looking around for a bit, then laid down. Probably from the cold. It's snowing slightly today.

I guess it could be injured, but it didn't walk with a limp or anything, no visible injuries.

Posted by RumiLove

Posted by Soul

Posted by RumiLove
Does the bird seem injured?

Not at all. It waddled down a dirt hill, chilled under my vehicle for a moment, then went straight into a corner. It stood there looking around for a bit, then laid down. Probably from the cold. It's snowing slightly today.

Id say ADOPT IT!

Can you provide for it, like keep it warm..?

Or will you call up animal rescue people?

click to expand

I might attempt to take it home. Idk what I could do for it though. Is it domestic? That's the real question. It seemed drawn to use humans. If that's the case it would be safer in the the hands of humans, and surly die on its own. The only problem is providing it food. Idk what the person it came from was feeding it, assuming it did come from someone's farm. I did find this

Eats mainly aquatic plants including algae, duckweed, eelgrass, wild rice, sedges, hydrilla, wild celery, waterlilies, cattails, water milfoil; when on land they also pick at terrestrial plants and sometimes eat grains or leaves of oak, elm, and cypress trees. They’re not exclusively vegetarian. You may also see them eating insects (beetles, dragonflies, and others), crustaceans, snails, and small vertebrates such as tadpoles and salamanders.

Maybe I should look into a professional rescue.

Posted by RumiLove
How will keep it warm...? You said its too cold?

Does it let you touch?

Nope. It doesn't run, but tried to lightly peck me when my hand gets too close.

Call Captain Planet.

Posted by Hemispheres
Call Captain Planet.

Yea, I'll tell him to bring Inspector Gadget along also so we can get to the bottom of this.

Some of my coworkers are now telling me they watched it fly in and and land on the hill. If that's the case it mogjt actually be wild. Idk if they are telling me this so I don't actuslly attempt to take it home, or if that's the truth. I don't understand why a wild animal would trust humans, unless it's lost and confused, or sick and injured.

So I noticed a dog sniffing around and I thought to myself "Wtf is this, lost animal day?" And before I could chase the dog the dog ran after the coot. Luckily the bird flew to a brush pile where it can safely hide.

This is where it hid

Posted by Imarollin
Maybe feed it and let it free? leave a cardboard box out in case the cold is too much and it is injured.

I've just never been able to see why anyone would cage an animal that's meant to fly.

Let it be free

Life I previously mentioned, a dog chased it, but I yelled at the dog then the bird flew into a brush pile to hide. I feel it's pretty safe, and it was smart enough to take shelter in the brush.

Posted by Imarollin

Posted by Soul

Posted by Imarollin
Maybe feed it and let it free? leave a cardboard box out in case the cold is too much and it is injured.

I've just never been able to see why anyone would cage an animal that's meant to fly.

Let it be free

Life I previously mentioned, a dog chased it, but I yelled at the dog then the bird flew into a brush pile to hide. I feel it's pretty safe, and it was smart enough to take shelter in the brush.

Oh good. Maybe leave an old towel in a cardboard box near if it needs to seek shelter?

Super sweet of you. I've never seen a coot.

click to expand

I will, but I'm not too worried about it freezing. Essentially all northern (maybe even southern) water fowl secret an oil in their feathers to keep them from freezing in the winter and cold waters. Normally in the winter they are known to gather in large numbers. Sometimes in the thousands. I think this little one got separated from the rest.

Secrete*