Deer after................EHD ?

I have been asked by several deerfarmers in my area and across the country that have been hit extremely hard by EHD this year. With some questions they would like answered since many have never been hit like they have here in 2012



After having some does survive EHD.....Will they breed and if so will they fawn ?



Will my Bucks that have survived.........Breed or grow a good rack next year after being so sick ?



Will my animals be more prone to sickness this winter ?



Should I skip A/I all together this year after my does have had EHD ?





Hopefully some farms who have experience with life after EHD will be able to help answer some of these questions for folks

Whitetail Sanctuary said:

I have been asked by several deerfarmers in my area and across the country that have been hit extremely hard by EHD this year. With some questions they would like answered since many have never been hit like they have here in 2012



After having some does survive EHD.....Will they breed and if so will they fawn ?



Will my Bucks that have survived.........Breed or grow a good rack next year after being so sick ?



Will my animals be more prone to sickness this winter ?



Should I skip A/I all together this year after my does have had EHD ?





Hopefully some farms who have experience with life after EHD will be able to help answer some of these questions for folks

Click to expand...

I will venture and say yes to the first three questions. It has a ton to do with the condition of the animal prior to breeding time. I did notice that a few that had EHD we lap AId gave me a single fawn . They did take to the AI though. As far as growing a good rack the following year, yes. Not a problem , body condition is key. What you will begin to see is about two months after the animal presented with EHD, you will start to see cracked hooves and possible limping,lameness due to sloughing of the hoof. Note ,not

,all deer that had the disease will have this problem,depends on severity of the case. Also keeing areas that tend to hold water drained as urine and fecal droppings tend to cause infection in these broken hooves making matters worse. One last point is keeping an eye on these deer as pneumonia is just waiting to kill your deer. The hemorraging of the lungs takes time to heal and usually the ones that seem to have been hit the hardest seem to succumb more easily to pneumonia setting in once the rainy cold days arrive. Just a few of the things ive seen in the last twelve years.-Jason

After having some does survive EHD.....Will they breed and if so will they fawn ?

Yes they will breed. The question should be will they have recovered enough to carry the fawns without health issues or birth complications. In past episodes with EHD I have had some does that survived the infection, concieve and carry healthy fawns. I have also had some concieve and develop complications during the pregnancy and delivery. If your doe is back to normal body weight and is healthy at the time of breeding, there should be minimal concerns.





Will my Bucks that have survived.........Breed or grow a good rack next year after being so sick ? If they fully recover (gain all their weight back during winter and are not overstressed by the rut) antler growth following an EHD season should be normal.



Will my animals be more prone to sickness this winter ? Only if there are continuing health issues from the secondary infections from EHD.



Should I skip A/I all together this year after my does have had EHD ?

I,ll let you know in the spring.

I am glad to hear that some are having deer survive EHD. I have never had one live through it. When they get it - game over 100% of the time.

I've lost over 30 the last 2 years and since I've been giving the Dex along with Draxxin at the first signs, the last 8 out of 9 that have gotten it have lived and most are looking pretty good now with a couple still thinner but they are also yearling does sucking twins. The few I had that lived thru it last year had fawned out just fine andone yearling buck I had that almost died looks great now but only grew fork horns on both sides and several of his yearling half brothers had 10 points on each side, here's a couple of them, both yearlings. Another note, since I've been fogging my pens and the the pond behind them with the guardian ULV fogger, I have NOT HAD A SINGLE DEER GET IT,KNOCK ON WOOD. It stopped it completely.

Wayne,

I think good idea to keep medicating periodically for secondary illness, particulary pneumonia. I have bred does that had EHD survivors and had ok luck. Only if they get healthy before breeding. I always up my fat and try to get them filled out again.



One big plus to the survivors, their offpsring will survive it also. We get exposed every year and the longer they are here the less it bothers them. I have some that have been thru it ten yrs in a row. Their daughters and granddaughters make it fine also.



Bucks will perform well if you get them back in good shape. Watch for coughing or other signs of lung issues this winter and don't hesitate to treat.



Good Luck from Cajun Country!!



Bill Holdman

Elam Woods Whitetails

Ph 318-381-1534

Thanks Wayne for starting the thread and all who contributed. We were very fortunate this year.At the first signs we treated ASAP but letting us know about the lungs healing and pneumonia in the upcoming winter months we will keep close watch. All our deer are pouring on the weight now so hopefully our winter will be cold enough to kill insects etc yet not to bad to make our deer have trouble. Thank you all for sharing. Praying and thinking of all you that have lost so much.

Cathy Brumitt

Owner and operator of MRBUG along with my husband Tom and Mike.

Bill, with all due respect, your statement "One big plus to the survivors, their offpsring will survive it also". is not 100% true. I agree that if the doe survives it, that their offspring will be somewhat resistant to the disease. I had a doe that survived EHD 1 last year. This year, both of her fawns died from EHD 2. I do not know if EHD 1 would not have effected them. I believe the disease takes what it wants and the survivors carry something either in their titer or dna that allows them to survive the disease. Just another observation, EHD2 is a killer and no combination of drugs that I used can be said to be successful. Also 90% of the deer I lost this year had been vaccinated too. We still need to learn alot about this disease.

to add something to this. When one survives this disease wouldn't it become a reservoir for this disease and harbor through the winter becoming the start of the problem next year?

I had 8 pregnant does that had EHD in early spring this year. ALL 8 had twins, does and fawns are healthy and doing fine. I will be doing lap AI this year on them all plus a few more. Will let everyone know how it turns out. As for the offspring i am joping that some resistance is carried to all futrue generations. I know we have to deall with it but EHD SUCKS. Ken Begnaud Swamp Monster Whitetails

Scott, I share your observations. There are no broad claims or statements concerning surviveabity to these virus that are totally true and accurate. I feel that what we currently know about these viruses is minuscule . To claim that a deer is somehow immune or more capable to produce an auto immune response is more about marketing than science. Shamrock, I sometimes think that it may be a possibility and would force us all to rethink our herd health strategies

After loosing most of my herd to EHD this year I must admit that the one bright spot has been the discovery of a doe that survived and all but one of her offspring made it and are recovering. My vet said that it doesn't mean she has a natural imunity to EHD but possibly a superior immune system that she seems to pass on. Maybe we will start looking for bucks that have good immunuty genes to breed with as a primary concern instead of the widest and highest scoreing racks. Rick

Buckskin we have bucks for sale that have good immunity that survived the 100 +heat for over 2 weeks and EHD and they are putting on the weight and looking good.

Cathy Brumitt

573-275-9710

Just received some information on EHD from my cousin who is a vet of medicine at purdue It said that the virus lives for 28-50 days after it it survives and is immune for that period of time. kinda interesting.