Bottle Feeding Schedule

I am getting ready to bottle feed 35-45 fawns. I have bottle feed 4 times a day and 5 times a day. I am just wondering which ya'll prefer, Pro's and Con’s of both. Any opinions would help.



Sincerely,

Cameron Crow

(832) 660-4338

[email protected]

With my work schedule I only feed 5 times a day for the first few days, then switch to 4 times. It has worked with no problems. My bottle feeds have always been healthy and just as big as momma raised.

I've always done for times a day and everyone I know only does four times a day.......the good thing is you can schedule it so all your feedings are during the day.......this way you do not have to get up at night.......if you are doing that many fawns I would definitly consider following the 4 tmes a day schedule........I use regular red cap milk and don't be afraid to give them all they want to eat.......you will have big healthy fawns......as long as you keep everything clean!!

we satrted 3 times a day last year and had no problems, fawns were just as big and hungry (the way i like them) every time we go in the pen.... We will do 3 times a day again this yr.

Rick what times do you run with while doing 3 times aday? Whats the time in between?

usually around 6:00AM 1:00PM and 8:00PM

What is the schedule for the four times a day?

Here's my schedule



Note: (force feeding may be necessary to get the fawn accustomed to the bottle)



Age 1-3 days,……………..2 oz every 3 hours

Age 4-7 days,………….….4 oz 6 times a day

Age 8-14 days,.…………...6 oz 6 times a day

Age 15-21 days,…………..8 oz 5 times a day

Age 22-28 days,…………..9 oz 5 times a day

Age 29-35 days,………….10 oz 4 times a day

Age 36-42 days,………….10 oz 3 times a day

Age 43-49 days,………….10 oz 3 times a day

Age 50-56 days,………….12 oz 2 times a day

Age 57-63 days,………….12 oz 2 times a day

Age 64-84 days,………….16 oz once a day

I start out 5-6 times a day until I get them taking to the bottle....each one is totally different. After they're good and going (usually doesn't take long at all) I start and like to stay at 4 times a day. It works well on keeping you sane...especially with that number of fawns!! I will only do 25 by myself - tops. Like the posts above....everyone does it different and it seems to work. Just find what works for your sanity, pocketbook, time effeciency and...of course - find the schedule that creates a healthy fawnfor you!

Scott,

How many fawns do you bottle feed a year......I will be bottle feeding 30 fawns this year and there is no way in this world I could follow that schedule of yours without being admitted into a hospital for going nuts!! I;m going to bottle feed four times a day for the first week and then my fawns will be going to three times a day....did this last year and had nice big healthy fawns.......not saying your schedule is bad Scott.....just saying i can't do it with that many fawns........

I would not promote one schedule over another, we do 3 times a day because of our work schedules, if it were not for those busy schedules we would probably do 4 times a day.



One thing I do like about 3 times a day though is my fawns are hungry when I go to feed them and they come running, I really believe they learn to trust me more or they are tamer. They also seem to start on grain a little earlier and eat more of it, we still feed for at least 12 weeks. Another thing some do is feed all the fawn will take, I personally do not do that and hope I am not wrong for doing so, but I do not mind my fawns still being a little hungry when they are done with their bottle, this makes them eat other things like dirt, grass, hay, and grain. I amy be wrong but I dont believe a full belly is always the best thing when it comes to fawns, come to think of it it is not the best thing for me either.

I won't talk about how many feedings we do here since as Lisa said everyone has their own way of doing things and each person has to find what works for them. Instead I have a question and an observation of my own.

Our deer pens start to the west of our house about 50 feet away. The west end of our house is all glass and we have a great view of everything that goes on in and around our deer pens. And we watch our deer a lot, and when we aren't watching lets just say the eye is still watching

Here is the question. Have any of you ever watched to see how often a fawn on the mother actually gets fed?

My observation is that some fawns will go as long as 8 hours without a drop of milk. And I would say that 6 hours is not at all unusual. When a fawn gets under there and starts drinking they go to town. I don't have any flow meters on the mother, but I bet they are getting several ounces per feeding at that point.

If there has been movement in the pen a fawn may get up more often to drink, but then it isn't allowed to drink as long either.

This is just what we have noticed over the years here and our fawns seem to do very well most times.

We've noticed that the does don't seem to have a set schedule. While we have one doe that may come back and feed her fawns every four or five hours we also have noticed our older doe feeding every six to eight hours apart. She will sometimes feed one of them everytime and sometimes skips one for an extra hour or two. The thing is she always seems to have the biggest fawns at weaning. Maybe she produces more milk and the fawns get what they need who knows. I think sometimes we(trying to be the most responsible parents of these litltle guys ) over think things a little to much. Rick

How many ounces are you guys feeding/feeding? Those guys that are doing it 4 times a day? Let me know. Thanks a lot!