Things seem to happen in four day intervals. During the days I would move Freida's box down to the picnic table. During the sunny days she would come out of her box running around on the table and back. I leaned a tree branch onto the table so she could easily climb down to the ground.
I trained her by putting her on top of the limb near the edge, and quickly she would dash back in her box. Then I would place her a little further down the limb, she always found her way back. By about the fourth time I put her on the ground, and up the limb she ran back to her box. It wasn't long and she was coming down on her own and running five or six feet out across the grass and back. It was fun sport for her, Izzy was quite taken with her new friend as well. I was still feeding her milk at night, and started to introduce her to bread crumbs, blackberries, and various seeds during the day.
I started giving her sunflower seeds which I would crack open with my teeth to show her where the good stuff was hiding. She loved those sunflower seeds. These days on the picnic table lasted for a little over a week. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to sleep on the ground in a pile of wood chips to give her the idea there was more to life then a cardboard box!
Then one day I had to run to the hardware store, when I came back I checked up on her and the box was empty! Of course I worried that something got her or maybe the dog ate her or some such. Luckily as the sun was setting up the limb she came to nest down for the evening and get her warm milk. This was the start of her being gone all day, but always at night she would come back to her little box. I always would put her up at night so nothing could get to her. I think it was four days this routine of being gone all day and coming back at night—until one night she decide to stay in the woods. My lose was her gain. The next day I was sitting at the picnic table talking on the phone and sharing this latest update. Just as I said I had not seen her for a whole day I looked over at the woods edge and there was Freida, sitting on her back legs on a stump looking at me from a distance. She looked quite confident and content. She never did come back to her box after that. She was ready for more exciting adventures and my job was done. I would periodically put a handful of sunflower seeds down by her little spot, because I know they are her favorite. I see her running among the branches on the woods edge. She seems happy with her new chipmonk friends, and she is free. That is Freida story.
I trained her by putting her on top of the limb near the edge, and quickly she would dash back in her box. Then I would place her a little further down the limb, she always found her way back. By about the fourth time I put her on the ground, and up the limb she ran back to her box. It wasn't long and she was coming down on her own and running five or six feet out across the grass and back. It was fun sport for her, Izzy was quite taken with her new friend as well. I was still feeding her milk at night, and started to introduce her to bread crumbs, blackberries, and various seeds during the day. 
I started giving her sunflower seeds which I would crack open with my teeth to show her where the good stuff was hiding. She loved those sunflower seeds. These days on the picnic table lasted for a little over a week. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to sleep on the ground in a pile of wood chips to give her the idea there was more to life then a cardboard box!
Then one day I had to run to the hardware store, when I came back I checked up on her and the box was empty! Of course I worried that something got her or maybe the dog ate her or some such. Luckily as the sun was setting up the limb she came to nest down for the evening and get her warm milk. This was the start of her being gone all day, but always at night she would come back to her little box. I always would put her up at night so nothing could get to her. I think it was four days this routine of being gone all day and coming back at night—until one night she decide to stay in the woods. My lose was her gain. The next day I was sitting at the picnic table talking on the phone and sharing this latest update. Just as I said I had not seen her for a whole day I looked over at the woods edge and there was Freida, sitting on her back legs on a stump looking at me from a distance. She looked quite confident and content. She never did come back to her box after that. She was ready for more exciting adventures and my job was done. I would periodically put a handful of sunflower seeds down by her little spot, because I know they are her favorite. I see her running among the branches on the woods edge. She seems happy with her new chipmonk friends, and she is free. That is Freida story.
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