I talked to the vet today who did fecal test on my buck,he said he found no problems no worms no eggs no bugs nothing,he said maybe my deer is getting to much protien and to isolate him and only feed him hay for a couple of days.Im feeding 20%antler max mix with 12% sweet feed and alphapha hay.I went ahead and mixed pellet wormer in his food this evening i guess we'll see in a couple of days.
Joined Oct 2009
3,165 Posts | 1+
upstate ny
Yes that wont hurt him a bit.Did he also check for coccida??? It would not hurt to run some corid through him either.I wouldnt want to say the vet is wrong but i dont think what you are feeding would make him run..We feed pretty much the same numbers here and sometimes one will get a little soft but not runnin out.Every deer is different i guess so that could be his problem.I would treat him either way and back down on the protein if need be. Good luck!!
If they did a fecal float and saw nothing, its likely not coccidia, or theyd see oocysts. How much corn is in the ration? Some deer just dont handle hot feed as well. Try adding soda and yeast if you think that might be it. Mike, Id lean more towards suspecting Johnes or even a cobalt difficiency...
Mike I feed a similar rations as you do. I have a doe that was 2 that was doing the same thing, and tried everything I heard of, nothing worked. She is 4 and the same thing is going on. Loose stool and the stool samples are always clean. I think she doesn't cop well with something growing in the pen.
I hope you find something to help him.
I hope you find something to help him.
NYBILL thank you for your help im not sure what you mean by soda and yeast and what is Johnes and cobalt diff. and how do i treat it?
Mike,
Hope your problem is solved by now, but if not I would stop feeding the sweet feed reguardless of its quality and stick to your pelleted feed. By adding the sweet feed to the deers diet you are increasing the energy level (via molasses and high grain content), which should be provided from your pelleted protein feed. Good pellted rations should meet the daily requirements of your deer, I would be skeptical of adding ingredients to a scientificly formulated ration that is specific to white-tailed deer. Be consistent with your feed and small amounts of quality alfalfa is ok for green forage, but the only "sweets" i would add would be very small treats when you are entering their pens or checking on them. Hope this helps and your deer gets better!
Hope your problem is solved by now, but if not I would stop feeding the sweet feed reguardless of its quality and stick to your pelleted feed. By adding the sweet feed to the deers diet you are increasing the energy level (via molasses and high grain content), which should be provided from your pelleted protein feed. Good pellted rations should meet the daily requirements of your deer, I would be skeptical of adding ingredients to a scientificly formulated ration that is specific to white-tailed deer. Be consistent with your feed and small amounts of quality alfalfa is ok for green forage, but the only "sweets" i would add would be very small treats when you are entering their pens or checking on them. Hope this helps and your deer gets better!
Thanks Varnell for your help but ive been feeding this mixture for 7 yrs and every other deer farm around me is. This 1 buck is the only one ive had problems with (if it even is a problem dont seem to be bothering him) im leaning more towards a plant that may be growing in the pen.I planted soybeans in the pen this year and have some other weird looking plants growing too the soybeans have all been ate and they were eating on these other plants (something that was in the beans) but i cut them down a couple days ago.SO ill give it a couple more days and see what happens.
Post a picture of the plant. Maybe we can identify it and see if there are any toxic qualities that might be affecting your deer.
Mike I think I have an idea of what it is but cant see it super well, so if you dont think this is it post some more pictures or if someone has a better idea let us know. I knew I had seen this type of seed head around before. I beleive it is Armanthus palmeri,aka "Pigweed".Now I doughted it when I first looked it up but there are over 27 different types that it could be, but from a phenotypic standpoint, i belive this is your culprit. But you can get the plant in hand and check it out better than I can from your photo, also i have attached several photos of this specific pig weed that clued me in. The important part that concerns the health of your deer is that yesit can be toxic to livestock, especially if you are in fertile soils. In higher fertility soils this plant builds up toxic levels of nitrates in its leaves, which could cause rumen-health and or pH problems if consumed by your deer, and has even led to death in sheep and cattle - but is rare I think. Still yet hope your deer gets better!
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Varnell im not sure if all of the pictures you posted are of the same plant but the plant in the 3rd pictuer is what my weeds look like and they grow in my pens every year when i plant peas or soybeans sorry i didnt have any better pics but i had already cut them down when you asked for a picture i had to look through my progress pic to find one with the plant in it.my question is was this plant the problem with my bucks scours and how long should it take him to clear up?Thanks again for all of your help..
I did more research on PIG WEED and thats deffinetly what is in my pens.I cant tell for sure if thats whats causing my buck to have scours but from what ive been reading ive had several deer die over the past few years that i had no idea what from and i now no it was from that plant.If interested in what i read google pigweed poisoning stock diseases.
Mike just by removing the plant from his diet I think he will clear up on his own. Yet if you feel that the diarea is getting worse, call your vet and ask about nitrate poisining.
