fawns dying

John, I'm no expert but, I leave my babys on for two or three days then pull them. I know others pull them at 12 hours also with good success. We are using Fox milk replacer. All my fawns are given shots and Target fawn paste when tagged. My fawn boxes are 2x4x4 with one fawn per box for now. I have found that if you rub on the fawn and get them excited they tend to take to the bottle better. I don't just put a bottle in their face and hope they take it. It will take alot of patience to get them started but once they hook up then it gets easier. You may need to tube feed them to get them off and running. Do you have anyone in your area that can help you get started and give you some help? If you'd like give me a call 918-381-3255 Good luck and keep us posted. I'm sure that the rest of the group will have some good advice also. There is a wealth of knowledge outthere.

we usually pull ours 12-24 hours with success.....



are they able to stand? they don't seem to be intaking enough milk to have any energy...may need dextrose or karo if they're weak...



HOW are they not taking to the bottle? are they weak and no movement of the mouth? are they trying but can't seem to grasp the nipple and suck? .....



one thing you might try, as Michael suggested is rubbing them, even if they are not able to stand (and this DOES require an extra set of hands!) supporting the body, hold the head up while placing bottle in the mouth while at the same time someone uses baby wipes to stimulate them...... when i have a problem like witht hem taking the bottle, stimulating them seems to help



and if they are not intaking much, you may need to feed more than 4 times a day...have patience and remember to be gentle. just my two cents...whatever it's worth! ; )



also, what medications, etc do you give when tagging?

Sounds like your doing things right. Maybe try taking in house or garage first couple of days until started and when pulling doesn't hurt to wait til next morning when really hungry to try feeding. I found this works for me unless i have to pull before 24 hours then i try to give colostrum right away.Hope this helps sure many here will give you more helpful tips every one does things different so there lots of things to try.

John,



Try stimulating them with a wet wipe while the nipple is in their mouth. The sucking while stimulating is a natural action for them and may help them suck more.....just a thought.

John, we have found that although it is not easy to do when first starting the fawn on the bottle, stimulating them to poop and pee is what their mother does while feeding them and it just seems to make them more likely to take the bottle. They do make a lambs nipple that is red with a yellow screw cap that might fit a newborn's mouth better. Right now, your problem is not what shots to give them, everyone has their own opinion on that, but rather, getting the fawn to take a bottle from you. Some times it helps to have one person hold the fawn while the other feeds and stimilates it but you do not want the fawn to be otherwise distracted while you are trying to feed it. We have had the occasional fawn go over 36 hours without really sucking down a bottle before they finally give in so you should have plenty of time to perfect your technique. Be single minded when you try to feed and concentrate on getting the fawn to take that first good suck and you should be OK. Although the goats milk replacer should be fine, they also make doe milk replacer specifically for fawns. Since you are having so much trouble, maybe you should consider trying another milk replacer. We even go so far as boiling our water and this year we have a reverse osmosis system for the water we drink and use for the fawns. I realize this is extreme but if you can't keep your fawns alive, you may need to take extreme measures. Bottle fawns dying should be a rare occurance.

I give sulmet or bar guard when they are first start walking also Bo-Se sounds very important.Where did you get the black dirt? Is there blood when going to the bath room how often?

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here is my 2 cents and i have learned from some of the above, first thing you mentioned that concerns me is should i be the only one to feed them? My answer is yes, yes, yes, to at least get them started and sucking good, they do not need anything else competing for their attention. the second thing you mention is they are only taking 1 oz, on the first, second and or maybe third feeding this is ok but by day 2 sometime I want to see them sucking down about 4oz each time i feed them, stall is plenty big maybe 2 big if that is possible, I like pritchard nipples, some use baby bottles and nipples with good success, you may want to consider 1-2 cc of vit b SQ to give them som energy, and we also use a product orally called survive d avaliable thru reproduction resources. We use Albon in milk for first 4 days, we also give 3/4cc SQ CD Antitoxin first 12 hours



Dont know about being left out I do not know where you are from, we put ours in a 4x4x4 cube in our barn and 1 fawn to a cube so they do not pass on any sickness to each other, 12-24 hrs should be no problem, if you cannot fix this problem quick i would consider leaving on the mother.



Did you take a rectal tep normal should be 101-102



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Sorry for your problems I hope someone has the right answer for you

also yo do not mention anything about bowel or urination movements????

John,

On your next fawn i would leave on the mom a little longer at least two days......can't beat mamas milk! Then what you want to do is take the fawn in the evening just before dark....you can try a bottle right away and if your having trouble let the fawn go till the next morning.....it will be good and hungry by then and should be much more willing to take the bottle.......i use pritchard nipples and have really never had a problem getting fawns to start ........there are some fawns that are just plain stubborn and those you just have to return to the mom........good luck John.......owe you might want to have the fawns brought into a barn or shed and put them into a small pen by themselves this makes them start to bond with you quicker......leave them in that situation for about two weeks....then you can start letting them outside in a pen because they will be attached to you by then. I hope this helps!

John,

The dirt is good to do but i would mix some powdered poibiotics in with the milk......try just using store bought red cap milk....also mix in a little pumpkin with it all.....this helps them from getting the scours.....although, using the red cap i have not had the scour problems.....good luck!!

John, under normal conditions, upper 30's should be no problem. We bring our newborns into the house and keep them in playpens during the night, then outside in individual pens during the day. We do this because we feed them every 4 hours for the first few days, not because of outside temps. Not suggesting every 4 hours, I know that is extreme for most. But if you think the fawn is weak, bring it in the house over night. They don't generally go without stimulation so you shouldn't have to worry about where you keep them. Once you are confident they are getting enough milk, get them on a regular schedule of feeding.

John, I'm thinking your not getting enough milk down them. It sounds like they want to eat but are unable to get milk out of the nipples that you are using. I would get different nipples as it sounds like they are starving to death. I use Prichard nipples and the fawns drinking milk is not a problem. I'm also wondering if you don't squeeze the bottle to try to get milk down them and in the process you get milk in the lungs in which case they will die. Try the Prichard nipples I think they are great. Hope we all can solve your problem.

You might want to try tube feeding for little while to get their strenght back up so they don't get to weak.I have just put mine in the house in past let run wild kids love it. they usually won't go to bathroom until stimulated. When they do start on own then time to go outside. This makes them alot freindlier to usually.Its a lot easier to get started when they are right there first few days.

You can get the nipples at tractor supply.I was just wondering,was you wipeing the fawn's rear end in the past.If not that was your promblem