Author Archive: hallswood

Glass Act Uk – what an act of kindness!

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Over the years we have had our fair share of disasters in the shops.
We have been broken into, vandalized, robbed, and now latest we had our window broken at our shop on Vauxhall Street.
As you can imagine not only is this unnecessary and disruptive but potentially very costly too!

However, after a social media post, donations poured in and we were contacted by not one but two glass businesses, telling us they would give us a quote and get it fixed for us. Within 24 hours both our friends from P Nunn Installations and Glass Act UK had been, measured, and assessed - What a position to be in for us! It turned out that since Glass Act UK manufactures their own glass they could do it at such a low cost the donations our supporters had sent us would cover it no problem! Plus they could get it done very fast, something we were eager to accept if nothing else from a safety point of view.

Less than 4 weeks after the attempted break-in the new window is installed! Thank you so much Glass Act!

A massive thank you to P Nunn Installations for offering to help and of course all the lovely supporters sending us money to cover the cost.

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Missy the 3 legged vixen

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On March 12th I received a message from a lady by the name of Angie who is part of an amazing group known as the Fox Angels with regards to a young vixen who they had managed to capture after running around for over 7 weeks with bones sticking through her left rear hind leg and foot down in Surrey.
Needless to say by this stage her leg had become badly infected to the point where it was a miracle that she was still alive. However, this little vixen was certainly made of stern stuff for which she kept going back to a lady by the name of Valerie who had been feeding her from when she was a cub with all her siblings and parents. Whilst Val was desperate to call for help, she was also so very attached to Missy and so much so that she was scared that a call for help could lead to euthanasia which in truth it probably would have.
Therefore thank god that she stumbled across the Fox Angels who help to rescue foxes who have been injured or harmed. Trying to keep a long story (and this is a long story) as brief as possible, she (Missy) was captured and thankfully the local veterinary practice operated on her which unfortunately meant amputation of her infected leg.
Lee, from the group did all the running around for which he said the smell was horrendous, but he and others within Fox Angels i.e. Angie, Jude and Lynne were adamant they would go to whatever lengths it took to keep her alive. Thankfully our little vixen did come through the operation and then 3 days later after great care by Lee and his family, she made her way up to Norfolk to stay with me whilst a super new home was being built for her at a local sanctuary which I have been involved with for several years now and run by a lady called Lyz. The first few days really were touch and go for which by day 3, I thought she had gone. Thankfully she was just in a very deep sleep whilst recovering from what had been a huge major ordeal. The stay with me lasted for 23 days with at least 8 visits out to her each day from 6am to midnight. These daily visits included at least 5 feeds combined with clean outs of the cage which she had to be confined in with Lyz administering all the needed meds. During this time, the Fox Angels were constantly asking for updates whilst also offering support so as to make sure our girl got through this.
Get through it she has and what an inspiration. Where there is a will or should we say a spark of life, there is most certainly a way. This clever little fox not only twisted me around her little claw, but hundreds of others who have followed her journey from all over the world on a specific facebook fox group for which she is now in her new home living the life. It has been one hell of an experience whilst also being one hell of a privilege. It is far too easy to say it will be more kind to put an animal down when in truth all it takes is just going those extra few miles to say no, let’s give it a second chance. Our girl Missy has most certainly proved that.
A huge thank you to local businessman John H for all his support and of course to Karen G whilst not forgetting all those other many people who have supported this amazing journey of Missy the fox from the busy streets of Surrey to the calm of Norfolk….

Neil Featherby
Sportlink

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Sanctuary update February 2021

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Sanctuary update time!

It is craaaaaazy busy as always and we can’t let the snow slow us down. Spring is around the corner and we know what that means: babies and garden injuries!
We are prepping the hospitals by putting in hot water. This will help saving time as some basic washing up can be done inside the hospitals rather than outside in the washing up area. We are also stocking up and moving storage around. As always, you can find the most urgent needs on our amazon wishlist. https://amzn.eu/9uE8XXQ
Thanks to a generous donation we now have a separate metal shed with the things for our horse field. This means that heavy sacks don’t have to be wheelbarrowed through the entire site, back and forward. Thank you!

Building work is never-ending at the site with old buildings being adapted or repurposed
We have built 4 temporary aviaries suitable for birds of prey with wing injuries that are moving into their second stage of rehab. There is also a new aviary for the crows. The dishwasher is now installed, saving us from handwashing the 100s of old GU jars we use for water and food dishes.
Hog ward 1 has been created to prevent a bottleneck in the 2 current hospitals, allowing hogs to move on in their transition from the necessary heat in the ICU down to release temperatures without overburdening the main Hogspital. This means that we can better cope with a high number of intakes – at one point we had up to 25 hedgehogs per day coming in…. Thanks to your amazing support we also changed over lots of our carriers, meaning that we now have the same size carriers and cages that can be stacked safely, rather than a mishmash.

It’s not just Covid making things extra difficult but bird flu out brakes in the UK meant that DEFRA ordered bird owners to cage all birds. 4 large temporary aviaries have been built to house the usually free-running fowl population of Hallswood.
This means a lot of extra straw! Therefore, we are extra grateful to the customers of Ken’s Corn Stores in Taverham prepaying for bales of straw for us!

A new indoor area has been created for Kevin the pig along with his entourage of cockerels who keep him company. I can see a children’s book here, can’t you? Kevin and his friends at Hallswood 😀

It has now been 7 years since we built our first hospital. 7 years! Repairs have been carried out on the floor and the under-counter storage has been improved. I can see that we will have to rebuild or extend in the next year or two.

Do you remember the emergency pond dig last autumn? When our volunteers dug a brand-new pond in less than 1 week? Well, I am soooo happy to say that the pond is looking great and the fish are thriving.

Future projects for this year are:
1. A new outdoor hutch area for hedgehogs. This is for pre-release.
The new area will be covered to make it easier for volunteers and staff to keep clean and dry.
2. A new fox habitat will be built backing onto the hog area providing an improved environment for the resident foxes.
3. A second fox habitat to be built later in the year along with a Deer habitat in the woodland area.
4. New shelving and storage covers to be fitted in the Hogspital.
5. A new office area will be built by the gate enabling the main hospital to expand into the current office with the treatment area situated at the front, mammals in the middle room, and birds in the back room.

As you can see we are busy busy and it is just thanks to you guys we can do this!
I don’t know if you understand just how amazing this is: that thanks to your support, not only can we survive through a pandemic, but grow!
Wow!

We love you <3
xxMaria

https://hallswood.co.uk/how-to-help/

Doodlebug

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There is only one thing we like better than telling about the amazing wildlife rescues we can do thanks to you and that is getting updates from people adopting from us!

Doodlbug was a cat regularly being bred to make money for her owner. A volunteer befriended and persuaded the owner to allow us to neuter her for free! Lyz went to collect her for neutering, it was an abusive environment (out of control young family) and we felt she could not return to this. After long chats with the owner, they agreed to allow rehoming to happen. Doodlebug was aggressive and scared and wasn’t the nicest of house guests here at the sanctuary, but with time she improved and was rehomed. Sadly, returning as she was struggling to be a friendly pet. After returning to the sanctuary a couple of times she was returning for what we thought was the last time and allowed to be here for the rest of her life. A resident who can be who they are!

Little did we know…..

When we rehome a pet we ask what personality the new owner wants. Then to our surprise, the perfect couple came along!! She has her chance and they get the perfect pet for them :)) She is a madam and they wouldn’t have it any other way! We are all different and we all have a special place in this world!! 🙂

Here’s what her new owners had to say:

“Hi! I adopted a lovely kitty from you in October, doodlebug (the parrot/ shoulder cat!) now called Pickle! I was told by Lyz how missed she is at Hallswood so thought I’d send over some photos of her and let you know she’s very happy being the queen of the house. She’s still feisty when she wants to be but Pickle’s a real softy and loves snuggling up in bed and being cradled like a baby in fact she’s almost completely stopped being a shoulder cat and prefers being cradled, I think maybe she was a parrot for attention!”

What a happy ending!
To help us help more cats such as Doodlebug, please consider sending us a donation to our PayPal. You can either send direct to [email protected] or use the link PayPal.me/Hallswood

Thank you <3

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Snowy feeder for the birds

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Snowy Day Bird Feeders
In the really cold weather birds use up more of their energy from food to keep warm, but the food is harder to find (bad combination!) Here is a little idea to help them out during this snowy time!

You will need:- 

Some wire (We used sticks of florists wire that we had unused from a Xmas project)

An apple

Dried fruit

  

Chop up your apple into fair-sized chunks. 

Fold a little bit of the end of the wire over to make a stopper

Thread on your dried fruit and apples

Hook the top of the wire over to make a hanging loop

Choose a bush in the garden to hang it on and wait for the birds to find it!

 

Which birds will come to your feeders?

Sara Royall

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Sara Royal is one of those people you think must somehow have more hours in the day than the rest of us. Or maybe she just does not sleep at all? Crafting, making jams, helping at the sanctuary… And that is just some parts of what she does for us!

First things first: How did you find Hallswood?
- I first found out about Hallswood when I was looking for somewhere to volunteer and saw a post on facebook appealing for shop volunteers. I have always loved animals and crafting so this seemed ideal.

How long have you been volunteering now and what do you help with?
- I have been volunteering since Sep 2019. I first helped out in the shop on Magdalen St then quickly moved to helping out with the recycling scheme, sorting through the huge amount that was being collected all over Norwich, then boxing it up to send off to Terracycle. I also helped out at the jumble sales. Unfortunately when covid hit I was unable to continue with sorting and concentrated on making stuff her at home to raise funds for the sanctuary – crocheted & knitted items, rainbows, aprons, bunting, masks, bags, purple poppies – anything really that we can sell. I help the jammers make jam, marmalade, chutney and pickles. I also have a stall at home in my driveway where I sell handmade items, plants and preserves. However I was missing helping out on a regular basis and since October 2020 I have been assisting Sarah with looking after the hedgehogs at the sanctuary. I help feed, water and clean out three times a week and also help Rachael in the main sanctuary one day a week with feeding and watering the animals and birds and any other jobs that need doing. I also have 7 foster hedgehogs here at home that I am looking after for the winter before they can be released in the spring. During the lockdowns, every day I have fed the many swans in Wroxham that rely on the holiday makers that usually visit the village with food that has kindly been donated to the sanctuary.

What is your favourite part about helping Hallswood?
- My favourite part of helping Hallswood is actually spending hands on time with the many animals and birds of the sanctuary particularly the cats, pigs, swans , ducks, chickens, hedgehogs, rabbits, foxes, squirrels all of them and working with such a kind, welcoming, dedicated and strong team.

And dare I ask what the worst part is?
- The worst part is running out of time!

What would you say to encourage someone to help us by joining our crazy family of volunteers?
- I would say Go for it! Take that plunge and find out if there is something you can help with, however small, you won’t regret it.

Famous last words: what is your favorite saying?
Never go away empty handed!