Wanted: Advice from the wise old bucks

1. Have a flexible plan.

2. Probably made lots of mistakes early on, should have found someone early on that could mentor, and learn more hands on from. Things are a lot easier if you can get help from others that have been thru it. You also need to be willing to help others. I basically started with fawns, I wouldn't do that again, I would start with good proven bred doe, or find some one that can breed them to the cross of your choice.

Can a general cervid farming discussion thread be seen if a non member isn't logged in?

This should be in a members only forum.

Wild Rivers Whitetails1031251434941016



This should be in a members only forum.




yeap

When I log off I cannot see the general cervid farming discussion thread. Can a non member see it?

Members only forum means nothing. Anyone can become a member.

You should have to have a "Deer Farming Permit" Number to show you OWN deer to even be on this site!


 


But................In this winey world we live in know..................That "Wouldn't be FAIR" :angry:

yea your right T&S

I started with all wooded pens. I would never do that again. Large grassy pens with a few healthy shade trees would be ideal. Deer will browse wooded pens and quickly kill off everything green that they can reach. Grass is tough, and keeps the soil healthier than the bare dirt of an overbrowsed wooded pen.

Figure out what to do with your excess doe fawns now, before they are born. They will be an issue you will face soon, every farm has " awesome" and "amazing" doe fawns for sale each spring and fall, and only so many can be bought. So don't figure on your doe fawns easily selling even with awesome paper work to back them up.that sounds really ugly and negative for me to say.....but I have to be honest, it will be an issue, especially since every single guy I know personally has this problem each year. They can always be harvested and eaten for you and your family, that's what I do and I am not ashamed to admit it.

Talk to the preserve owners in your area now. See what they pay for bucks. It will sting alot less to find out now, versus raising a buck for two years with the assumption he's worth X Amount of dollars, only to find out he's realistically worth thousands less.

Treat fellow farmers with respect. What goes around comes around. In my general area of PA I have met some gentlemen in this business that would do anything to help me, and I would do the same for them. Not just deer things, I am talking life in general. I also got burned by some guys in this area. But guess what happened to some of those guys who were only out to rip off other farmers? They sold out. Because they literally ripped off too many guys and couldn't make it any longer without people to help them. I always tend to give guys a chance, if they wanna rip me off that's fine, they can get me once, but ill make sure they'll never get me twice. I can do that because of advice i got from freinds on this site over the years, which is....I never put more money into this business than I can afford to lose, which is a good way to approach any financial decision.

Despite my comments about the negatives, I can't say enough about the positives. Owning deer is so rewarding, they are beautiful critters. Good luck and have fun.

Hope you read my original post before I edited it. Good luck

Matt has some good advice above.

I and about every farmer could write a book about the mistakes we have learned from. We could fill a book with what works for us also, however those things may or may not work for your farm.

My best advice is find someone you can TRULY TRUST and who is willing to guide you. Not everyone will guide folks. After all you will be the "competition" at some point. Also helping others get started takes a lot of work, time and patience. The value of having someone to guide you is priceless. But again beware those looking to cash in on a newbie.

Fawns- If you bottle feed don't "protect " them by keeping them inside solid wall areas. Once released into normal pens they don't know what a fence is. While running around playing it gets ugly.

Fence - If your not experienced and don't have the proper equipment hire someone who does. Rebuilding later costs more money in the long run. Also design is important. Look for all possible danger spots that can hurt or kill your deer.

Your not raising cows. They don't react like cows so what seems to make sense to you wont to a deer.

A quality handling area is priceless.

Learn to dart yourself. You don't always have time to call a buddy.

One mans shooter buck is another mans breeder buck. Don't be that guy breeding with shooters.

Treat the venture as a business and not a hobby. You and your family deserve that. Do not let the expenses come out of the pocket to support a hobby.

There is much more could be said but I will end here.

Good luck!

If I had to do over I'd rip up every stitch of grass, put in some degree of irrigation, plant a good stand of clover then install watering system that wouldn't freeze up and then find a good fence builder.   The last thing and easiest thing you should do is buy a deer and it needs to be a 3yo that has had fawns a few times and will be low maintenance.  If it is a for sure good doe I would breed female semen and get some does out of her before I worried about a buck but that's just me. 

I'd be sure to get a few big trees transplanted in there now, so they can get established and you'll have some more shade.

Not that I have any experience, but I personally would NOT like the thought of having the road right there unless it's not busy at all. My pen is visible from the road and though view mostly blocked by trees' foliage during growing season, all kinds of people notice the tall fence and try to see what's back there. Increased risk of any kind of "mischief". For sure would attach shade cloth to prevent folks from pulling in and checking out your deer. I'm sometimes a little worried about somebody messing around here when I'm not home.

We have been raising deer since 1979 and the fear of somebody screwing with your deer never goes away.