Hey guys,
The rehabber now has less than 20 WT's. Recently, my Rosa got her own babies to care for. So now I am personally responsible for 3. I will say that of the deer the rehabbers have had for over 7-9 years now, two bucks have finally gained back their weight, but 4 of the does are still having problems with bloody stools. I developed my own feed mix with additional minerals for my girl and vaccinate with recommendations made by top DVMs in the field. I don't overdo anything, but I need to get on board with more probiotics I suppose. The rehabbers have beautiful pens, filled with trees and shadecloth everywhere, and the animals are fed beautifully. Pens are however in need of some more attn recently, more lime and woodchips- which we are working on now. I've gotten the county to donate their tree woodchip reserves to the rehabber's farm. The pens look great, but need more lime. I learned about lime from my neighbors who are horse and sheep farmers, wonderful people who descend from a long line of animals caretakers. Animal husbandry is a field that really interests me now that I am in the thin and thick of it (on weekends in particular).
So far my Rosa is well, although her coat is a little rough looking around her neck. I have de-wormed her with Cydectin pour-on recently and think perhaps this might have something to do with it- but can't be sure. I also regularly apply "fly killer" or Cylence to her to protect her from midges.
Dennis, I have only been taking care of my deer Rosa for two full years now. I have no prior deer or large animal experience- I am a city person at heart. I will say that NOW, I have a good amount of experience with my big girl and have talked to a lot of good people who have taught me about animals. I know enough to keep Rosa healthy and well-nourished, and have made good relationships with some really highly-respected deer DVMs in my state (all students of the UofI). The main DVM being Dr. Shipley at the UofI who has been extremely generous to me with his time and effort. Also Dr. Ables of Texas who has not even once, declined to respond even though he's working tirelessly with his paying clients and trying to develop a vaccine for EHD, etc. I have never met a man who regularly performs transfusions on deer... Some of the vets around here don't even know how to properly anesthetize an animal prior to surgery.
The other day, I even learned how to do an IV drip and I hope to continue to get better and smarter. I don't think I'll ever be as knowledgeable about deer as are most farmers, or certainly not as knowledgeable as our gentleman Aussie farmer Sharkey who is lightyears ahead of most of us, but I will give it my best, when time allows. My goal is to export some WTD to my parents' homeland and to help rebuild that industry in Central and Southern Europe which has a loooong hunting tradition- thousands of years. I will never personally hunt the animal, but I respect the tradition of the sport. Wish me luck!
The rehabber now has less than 20 WT's. Recently, my Rosa got her own babies to care for. So now I am personally responsible for 3. I will say that of the deer the rehabbers have had for over 7-9 years now, two bucks have finally gained back their weight, but 4 of the does are still having problems with bloody stools. I developed my own feed mix with additional minerals for my girl and vaccinate with recommendations made by top DVMs in the field. I don't overdo anything, but I need to get on board with more probiotics I suppose. The rehabbers have beautiful pens, filled with trees and shadecloth everywhere, and the animals are fed beautifully. Pens are however in need of some more attn recently, more lime and woodchips- which we are working on now. I've gotten the county to donate their tree woodchip reserves to the rehabber's farm. The pens look great, but need more lime. I learned about lime from my neighbors who are horse and sheep farmers, wonderful people who descend from a long line of animals caretakers. Animal husbandry is a field that really interests me now that I am in the thin and thick of it (on weekends in particular).
So far my Rosa is well, although her coat is a little rough looking around her neck. I have de-wormed her with Cydectin pour-on recently and think perhaps this might have something to do with it- but can't be sure. I also regularly apply "fly killer" or Cylence to her to protect her from midges.
Dennis, I have only been taking care of my deer Rosa for two full years now. I have no prior deer or large animal experience- I am a city person at heart. I will say that NOW, I have a good amount of experience with my big girl and have talked to a lot of good people who have taught me about animals. I know enough to keep Rosa healthy and well-nourished, and have made good relationships with some really highly-respected deer DVMs in my state (all students of the UofI). The main DVM being Dr. Shipley at the UofI who has been extremely generous to me with his time and effort. Also Dr. Ables of Texas who has not even once, declined to respond even though he's working tirelessly with his paying clients and trying to develop a vaccine for EHD, etc. I have never met a man who regularly performs transfusions on deer... Some of the vets around here don't even know how to properly anesthetize an animal prior to surgery.
The other day, I even learned how to do an IV drip and I hope to continue to get better and smarter. I don't think I'll ever be as knowledgeable about deer as are most farmers, or certainly not as knowledgeable as our gentleman Aussie farmer Sharkey who is lightyears ahead of most of us, but I will give it my best, when time allows. My goal is to export some WTD to my parents' homeland and to help rebuild that industry in Central and Southern Europe which has a loooong hunting tradition- thousands of years. I will never personally hunt the animal, but I respect the tradition of the sport. Wish me luck!
