Doe fawn going down hill!! Need input asap!

Jared,

Keeping her hydrated is important but please remember there is very little nutritional value in elytes. She will need some milk every couple feedings to keep her going. Also SQ fluids are very helpful to administer in this situation.

Have you tried tube feeding her formula and some crushed pumpkin? Or any other "meds" that can help stop the diarrhea? Plain pumpkin from a Libbey's can always did the trick for me. Others have tried Maalox and the similar.

Josh, is right on with the elytes good energy but little nutrition. Is she still willing to take a bottle? Three days with nothing but electrolites is a long time, you need to get some milk into her a.s.a.p. Hope she comes around.

we had the same problem this year you can also try plain yogurt in the milk it doesn't clog the nipple like pumpkin does and on the last day we ended up giving her an iv ($12 at tractor supply) of injectable sugar water and tube feed pedialite but we lost her also peptobismal and a heat lamp

One of the biggest problems with bottle rearing is not being able to ID the source of the problem. A few key points to remember;



-Mother nature makes these little guys and gals perfect, I mean when they are born they come into this world for the most part flawless. Then we as farmer decide we are going to give shots and paste and introduce our own environmental problems to them. Most of the time we don't even know we are doing this.



-Second do a fecal test!!! This will tell you if you are dealing with a bacterial issue or are feeding to much. But it gives you a starting point to work from.



-When administering Pumpkin or yogurt or some king of gelling formula etc. you are trying to put, for lack of a better term a cork in there butt, you want them to stop pooping everywhere and retain the nutrients from what the are being feed. This is a good thing.



HOWEVER if you are dealing with a bacterial issue putting a cork in, is the last thing you want to do. You want these fawns to purge the bad from them. Once the toxins are removed then it is time to re-prime the system.



Jared, get a fecal done right away. Just alternate milk and elytes and work from there. Probiotics are always helpful as well. Good luck



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Well said Josh!

Jared, I think you have received some good info from everyone. Getting a fecal exam done is always a good idea to get done right away. And if you have never done a tube feeding before I would strongly suggest you learn, because there will definitely come a day when it will make the difference between living one and watching one die. Its intimidating to do your first time cause you have to make sure you go down the right tube. Go down the wrong tube and you will have signed their death warrant. It was especially intimidating to learn over the phone like I did, but I did it and have saved deer. Don't forget to give probiotics, especially if you are giving antibiotics. Another med you can give for diarrhea that we have always used is Kaopectate. All fawns do not come into this world flawless. They can be born sick if Momma happens to be sick with something and just plain be born with various health issues just as we can. Wanted to point that out so that your guard is always up. Sorry to hear about your loss. It always stings. Don't know how many deer you have, but if you have any amount of deer at all and have only lost one in 4 years, you have done well. There are times when you have done all you can and are still going to have them die. Most of my adult deaths are problems connected with pneunonia, and heck us humans are still dying today from pneumonia. So good luck Jared and keep your head up!

Sorry for your loss Jared, I hope your others are doing well...

blessings, Marv