Deer losing hair severe!

Pictures!!!!!!!

The only ways I have seen deer lose hair is from scraping into something, or when they pull it out of each other. I'm not saying there isn't other things that can cause hair loss, I'm just stating what I have seen. Deer pulling hair out of each other is not terribly uncommon, especially this time of year. I've never witnessed it in the summer ever.

You had mentioned the ''belly''. Did you mean the side of the belly or the underside of the belly?

Like Scott said, pictures would help if you could get them taken and posted.

I'm with Mark on this one. I have one that pulled his hair and others last year. Just started doing it again last week. Boy does he look like crap already. I've tried a few different remedies to no avail. I personally don't think he's missing something in his diet. This deer has always been somewhat of a problem. I just think it's how he is.

Noah pictures will definatly help. Have you had your feed tested, if so what is your fiber level at?

There are a couple things that I have seen can cause this reaction in deer.



One, is the fact that the deer is mentally unhappy. It could be bored or frustrated. Just because it doesn't act unhappy, doesn't mean it is happy. It could be acting out to releive some frustration.



The second possiblity could be the feed. The availablity of minerals and/or roughage can be cause this reaction in the deer. Too little or too many minerals in your feed can cause this. If you are currently feeding minerals, cut them back. If you aren't feeding minerals then start with an all purpose mineral block. If you are feeding hay, you may want to cut some branches and limbs from a variety of trees to let the deer nibble on them. If you aren't feeding any hay, get some good secong cutting hay and give to your deer. The briars and rough stems will be great for them.



I hope this helps. Good luck !!

I take care of a herd that doesn't have much natural browse in their environment. They were all "barbering" eachother when I got here. If it's down to the pink skin, that's probably what they're doing. Jack is right.....they are either bored or are lacking something in their diet. Sometimes a copper deficiency can cause coat problems but not down to the skin. When I used to work with monkeys, we had to give them intellectual stimuli as part of USDA standards. Even though hooved animals are far from monkeys intellectually, they still need to stay busy!!!! Cut down branches, throw in peanuts.....I go in and hide the treats. That way when I leave, they're fulfilling that innate desire to forage and browse even though they are captive. Most deer farmers have their deer on property that allows them access to natural browse. But for us farmers that don't, we need to create it

All our deer were biting and pulling there hair out at the beginning of spring this year. Turned out that we had sand fleas. We sprayed the entire pen with a mixture of water, vinegar, and lemon dish soap. Within 48 hours the fleas were dead and they stopped the hair pulling. They all now have beautiful summer coats.