Deer Farmer

ohio whitetails

* the first deer died 9-4-2015 then a week later another,they then started to show signs of being sick and some would seem ok then hours later or the next morning would be dead.took two deer to dept of ag to have them checked out.the EHD tests came back positive...I started with 20 mature deer and lost 11,losing 6 bucks and 5 does.it has been 1 week since I had any more die and I am hoping its over.some deer got sick and slow but lived,whether they live through the winter is still unforeseen.


** I also had it last year but did not realize I could have those deer test as to what killed them.i had 3 does die and 1 buck*get sick but live and he still alive today.the deer last year died the same way as last year.there are 2 other farms close to me and they did not get it.


** I lost my best bucks,they were my pets above all.i did lose fawns also but I not counting them in final number of deer that had died.i also lost my bottle fed does that were really friendly.


***I know I not first one to lose deer to EHD but it tough to take.i can only move forward and hope for a better year next year.with prevention I hope I can keep my herd safe.

Bell

Sorry. I fight it too almost every year in southeast Indiana. Buying $2000 semen or expensive breeding stock isn't in the cards for us because of our consistent EHD losses.

ohio whitetails

* it really tough watching our work die.i am in morrow county.i did ai some years back,i have one buck left from both fimes I ai'd.

Bell

EHD can ruin all our hard work. It doesn't matter what genetics we have bred.

H&M Whitetails

I feel your pain. I have always thought boy that would be bad if it hit my farm and that poor other farmer ( not really grasping it, until this year). That EHD has hit us sooooooo !!!!!!!!*bad we are up to 50 dead and still losing. You can not explain how it is losing that many deer in such a short period. I wish you the best of luck.

pdaddy

Here in Louisiana we live with Blue tongue 24/7 365 days a year. During the EHD 6 and Blue Tongue epidemic of 2012 we decided that we had to change our breeding strategy or discontinue our deer farming business. Our 100% Northern deer took a beating, we lost about 30 head. We decided to re-establish our deer using Louisiana does to try and establish some survivability to the Blue tongue virus. We breed our Louisiana does to northern bucks to produce a 50/50 northern/ louisiana cross.*This summer/fall bluetongue again visited our farm. What we realized is that the few 100% northerns we had left died. We also observed our Louisiana anchor doe based offspring still got sick but we able to*fight off the blue tongue and survive.We are happy with our decision to breed with this strategy and are openly discussing our experiences with other deer farmers in Louisiana.

Bell

We have lost 20 something adults this fall. Only one fawn seems to have been affected. The rest of our fawns whose mothers have died are big and strong. We have had a ton live through EHD this year. That hasn't happened before. Our losses have not followed the normal bell curve. We have lost one deer about every other day for the last 2 months. We have had EHD in our herd last 3 years. I think the exposure has helped us have some immunity. We have closed our herd. The deer that are here will get regular exposure. This yearling was fine in 48 hours. He drooled and sweated for one day. There may be a way to make the hull of the EHD virus cell very thin. Again we had a ton of deer live that showed clinical symptoms. Not saying it's the golden goose yet but our mortalities did not follow the normal pattern during an EHD outbreak. I will beat this virus even worse next time!

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pdaddy

Jonathan, sorry to hear about your EHD problems. The brighter side of your story is that the deer that have been exposed are no longer naive and should fare better in the future. The reason we are using Louisiana does is that over generations these deer have survived in our enviroment and thrived. We quit bottlee*feeding our doe fawns because we feel they need to be with the rest of the herd and get bitten so they can start to develop are strong immune system.Just for the record-- all deer get infected and die,* we lose northern deer more than southern deer.*We have seen some success using 6 cc Exceed SQ, 20 mg dexamethasone IM, 2 cc Bo-Se Im and 2 cc B complex. We followup in 48 hours with an antihistamine injection (dart).

Clearview Whitetails

Feel everybody's pain..... We lost over 150 thank god its seems to be over

Bell

We have around 200 deer so I count just losing around 20 as a blessing. We haven't lost any of our brood bucks and only one fawn. We have lost $20,000- 30,000 in stocker bucks and several of our top does. Coby and Jerrilee have been smashed this year along with several other farms in Indiana.

X-Factor Whitetails

It's time to start thinking about the dreaded E word...EHD....Every year I get calls from deer farmers late in the summer looking for help, they are losing deer to EHD... Give them a fighting chance, start a fogging program well in advance to build up a no fly zone from the midge fly. I have the fogger and chemicals that can help you battle them. Feel free to call with any questions. Wayne Green..X-Factor Whitetails...334-685-2297

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