Have been bottle feeding fawns now for about ten seasons and for the most part done pretty well. I usually start with a 50/50 mix of milk replacer and red cap milk and by their 5th or 6th week it's 100% red cap and free choice pelleted deer food (no molasses) with some alfalfa leaves. Occasionally I will give them some diced up fresh carrots, sweet potatoes and apples by hand or mixed in with their pellet food. They have been raised in the same grassy pen. This year we seemed to have more of a problem with weaning them and the runs. The first thing I did was to stop the milk and give the sick ones electrolytes with some pumpkin, probiotics and/or Pepto- Bismol for a few days until it cleared up. I noticed that they were "rooting" in the grass just like hogs. I know fawns need to eat some dirt once in a while for their rumen. I don't mean an occasional nibbling of the grass blades but really digging down in the soil for long periods of time.
No more than one fawn at a time had the runs and it was not the really foul smelling stuff. There was a lot of clear mucous in it. Each fawn seemed to take their turn getting it then recover only to get again a couple of weeks later. Thus the "roller coaster!" Finally they all got well and weaned about the same time and it was time to put them in a larger pen with the does. Within a week they all had the runs again! They are all eating the same food and water. All of the does and the one momma fed fawn are just fine. They all have a good appetite though somewhat lethargic. The strangest thing now is that they have become a little thin but have swollen stomachs. I have never seen this scenario before. I think there might be a problem with worms and I'm concerned that the worming meds might be too much for them at this time. I know that the worms can kill then too. What would you do?
No more than one fawn at a time had the runs and it was not the really foul smelling stuff. There was a lot of clear mucous in it. Each fawn seemed to take their turn getting it then recover only to get again a couple of weeks later. Thus the "roller coaster!" Finally they all got well and weaned about the same time and it was time to put them in a larger pen with the does. Within a week they all had the runs again! They are all eating the same food and water. All of the does and the one momma fed fawn are just fine. They all have a good appetite though somewhat lethargic. The strangest thing now is that they have become a little thin but have swollen stomachs. I have never seen this scenario before. I think there might be a problem with worms and I'm concerned that the worming meds might be too much for them at this time. I know that the worms can kill then too. What would you do?
