Joined Apr 2009
1,562 Posts | 0+
cental Pennsylvania
I just discovered a dead doe this evening in the pen. I seen this doe on Friday night, she was completely normal and healthy and was the first to rush into the feeder and eat just like she normally is everynight. Yesterday I went to a church leadership seminar all day long and got home just in time to feed before dark. It was pouring down rain and none of the deer came up like they normally do when i dump the feed in, because of the rain, so I didnt see her last night. Anyway after church this afternoon, I went into the pen with my dad to put up some shade cloth and looked down and seen a white belly. My first thought was the buck got aggressive with his antlers and killed her, but there were no marks anywhere on her. No blue tounge either, She was bloated, but that could be that she was dead all day saturday while I wasnt home. The only this odd i noticed was thick yellowish mucus in the nostriles. Could she have really gotten sick from the day and a half of cool rain and die that quickly. It looks like a respitory issue with the mucus but how could it kill so fast. on Friday, she did not look sick at all, but it was 70 degrees and beautiful, Friday night it got into the upper 40's and started raining and didnt stop until this morning. the only change in my routine was some terremycin crumbles added to the feed the past couple days to help keep peak body condition before the rut. I lost a yearling buck back on Aug. 7th, he didnt look sick on the 6th, but it was a cool rain that night before and i found him dead with the same yellow mucus in his nose. If you saw my deers body condition, you would not question their health, the are all thick and healthy, i take great pride in their great body condition, that is why I am so upset that these seemingly healthy deer die without giving me symptoms of illness, to help them. For those who have dealt with pnemoninia, how quick will it kill, did the deer give you a good sign they were ill? I am worried now, I will have to watch the herd very carefully this week, hopefully this dosent spread. I cant handle another loss, I have been in this buisness 3 years, and havent even sold a deer yet, that just makes it more agonizing when you lose one. Also this doe just had a fawn on July 30 Im sure she was still feeding him, I hope he is ok, He is still kind of little with his full spotted coat.