Hello everyone! I hope this is the right place to post this if not tell me where to move it too! I just found your site two days ago and signed up today so I could ask some ?'s!! So the story goes on Sunday morning the 5th my daughter (12) was riding her bike down the road in front of our 83 acres and saw a deer in the middle of the road, as she got closer she saw a fawn with her. The doe ran down the road and into the forest, the fawn tried to follow but was stumbling all over it's long legs (Fiddlesticks is his name now) like it didn't know how to use them, was what she said! It finally made it to the forest and when she got off her bike and went in there, it was lying on the ground. She picked it up and ran back to the house with it to show me! After the shock was over I told her to take me back to the spot where she found it. As we were going down the road I saw a coyote came out of our property and go into the trail where she had found the fawn! I don't know if this has anything to do with why the Mother was in the road in the first place with such a young fawn? It still had the dry tip of the cord hanging underneath which I took to mean it may be only a day old. Oddly enough it is still there now! We weighed it on Monday and it was 10lbs. After reading around on the net I see some are born at 5lbs, so my only indication of how old it is, is that it is just today starting to nibble at plant leaves but not swallow them! And it has been licking and chewing dirt every day too! Anyhow back to my story, I thought that since we had touched the fawn the Mother would not only reject it but stamp it to death because of our smell on it! It wasn't until two days later that I found out that isn't the case and if we had rubbed a towel in grass and rubbed it down and taken it back within 8 hrs she would of taken it back! I'm finding alot of different opinions out there on the net, but your site seems to be down to earth, practical, real, hands on knowledge!! So we brought it inside and it hide under the desk from 11:30 to 5pm. After that he came out and was not scared of us anymore. He took to the human baby bottle with no problem. I bought canned goats milk for it but I'm wondering if I should get the fresh goat milk? Is it missing something by having milk that is pasturized? Also I have 1% cows milk and some non-fat powdered cows milk should I mix that with the goats milk at all? At first I read a site that said to feed every two hours and stimulate to poop and pee every time! Here I read to stimulate poop only twice a day! And to feed every four hours! I also found out his runny poop was not normal and added the pumpkin to his milk yesterday, today his poop came out in perfect texture! Oh yeah, I'm assuming he is a he! As I'm guessing a doe has simular female opening near the rectum like a goat, horse or any four legged female animal right? So I don't know how fast they are suppose to gain weight, he weighed 11 lbs today. Lastly for now I'm wondering if the fawn will instinctively know what plants are ok to eat? OK, I guess that is enough for now! Thanks for any nice helpful comments!! LOL! And yes we are planning to rehabilitate it to the wild. I don't want a "pet" buck with weapons on his head during the rutt!!
First time fawn "Mommy" take all the advice I can get!!
- Thread starter Fiddlesticks
- Start date
If you were able to pick the fawn up it was not very old I would guess a day or two. If you can get fresh goat's milk I would use that, if not use red cap from the store. From now on if you find a fawn it's best to leave it, it's mother know's where it is and it's not been left to die. If it is eating grass and plant's let it do that all it want's. Since you plan to return it to the wild I would just feed it untill it can make it on it's own and not play with it or do anything to tame it any more than you have to. You dont want a tame buck in the wild, he might hurt someone when he get's older,he need's to have a fear of human's to protect his self as well as other's. Sound's like he is doing good so far. Good luck with him.
I agree with RLA that the deer is only a day or two old. I further agree that it is always best to leave it with Mom in the wild for a variety of reasons. Since it weighs 10 lbs it is likely born as a single. As far as its gender, if it has 2 holes in the back end it is a doe - if it has one hole its a buck. You do not need to feed every 2 hours or every 4 hours for that matter. Momma doesn't. Doubt very much that momma ever feeds them much more 4 times a day. They don't feed on a full stomach and it takes them some time to digest their last meal. See them all the time laying in the pen during the day for 8 hours or more w/o momma feeding them. I have never fed more than 4 times a day and my deer have extra large bodys, and I very soon go to 3 times a day. Like RLA says, don't get any closer to the buck than you have to...better for him...better for people. When it's time, mid September or so, his adaption time back into the wild as far as food goes is 0. Deer are browsers and never forget how they were created to eat. And as far as stimulation goes, stimulate them every time you feed them. There is no such thing as over stimulation - they poop when they gotta poop when you stimulate them - and don't poop when they don't have to when you stimulate them. Momma stimulates them EVERY time they feed to pee and to poop.
Thanks for the advice! It did help! He is doing great still thank God! I think he is a week old today! After I fed him this morning he followed me all around the property for an hour before he got tired and bedded down. Usually after eating he goes and finds a place to sleep right away! He nibbled more leaves this morning and ate dirt, but still haven't seen him drink water yet. So glad I found out on here to use Pumpkin in his milk to make his stool solid! He had perfect pepples this morning! I have also been training him to be scared of cars driving by our place by stamping my foot and snorting! It works, he will either slink off and hide/lay down or just drop down immediately!
Question: We have deer that come through our propery everday. If they come across the fawn now or when he's older what is likely to happen if anything? I understand from the local Wildlife rehabilitator that he needs other deer to be around to go back to the wild. Are the deer coming through my property good enough or does he have to go somewhere else with other hand raised deer to join a pack? Am I making sense? LOL!
Question: We have deer that come through our propery everday. If they come across the fawn now or when he's older what is likely to happen if anything? I understand from the local Wildlife rehabilitator that he needs other deer to be around to go back to the wild. Are the deer coming through my property good enough or does he have to go somewhere else with other hand raised deer to join a pack? Am I making sense? LOL!
What you are doing with this fawn (although for the right reasons) is wrong. You should not be taking him for walks, you should not be stomping your foot when a car approaches, etc. Since this is a buck fawn and you have plans to release it to the wild, you should be limiting human contact, not "teaching" the animal. For centuries, deer have avoided humens and threats to their safety without anybody "teaching" them the ropes. What you are doing by interacting with this animal is creating a problem for the future that could have catastrophic consequences for both you and the deer. The less human contact the fawn has, the better! Only appear with the bottle at feeding time and when finished, leave immediately. Do not talk while feeding it, nor allow it to nudge your skin to avoid scent imprinting. Hindsight is a powerful tool and this fawn should have never been removed from where it was found. Sorry if you get offended by my comments, but I have seen too many good samaritans get sued for raising a nusiance animal and people have been injured by them. Additionally, the end result with a tame deer running the neighborhood has always been the untimely death of the deer.
I do not understand what the ''local Wildlife rehabilitator'' is talking about when they say ''he needs to be around other deer to go back to the wild.'' I say ''poppycock''! Why in the world would it need other deer. The first and biggest concern for survival to turning any wild animal back to the wild that has been raised in captivity is their ability to forage for themselves. Well God has that covered in whitetail deer within the instincts He has given them to be browsers, and they don't need other deer to show them how to browse, or what to browse. Yes they are a herd animal, so they/he will naturally gravitate towards other deer once turned out, and will soon be accepted into a ''pack'' just as new deer are accepted in our pens when we bring new in. As long as the deer is turned back into the wild in early fall and not in the dead of winter it will be fine. This will give the deer plenty of time to learn ''where'' the winter food will be found. So yes your deer will 'want' to be around other deer because they are a herd animal, but not because it will be detrimental to him surviving in the wild. Yet often in the wild older bucks will get by themselves after rut and winter by themselves, which is probably the only exception to their 'want' to be together. I tell you all this Fiddlesticks to put you at ease and to not have you stress out over the day he will be turned out. There are other issues/concerns on turning a captive buck loose into the wild, which I'm not going to touch on now because I've already typed more now than I planned on. 
All I'm saying is a deer's adaptation back into the wild is not a ''survival concern''. And Fiddlesticks, yes, you are making sense with your questions. But the rehabilitator...not so much!
All I'm saying is a deer's adaptation back into the wild is not a ''survival concern''. And Fiddlesticks, yes, you are making sense with your questions. But the rehabilitator...not so much! Question first, than respond to above posts!
It has started raining lightly this morning. I always keep the fawn inside overnight, but let it sleep where it chooses on the property. I have tryed many times to get it to sleep under trees, but it always picks tall grass and weeds! So this morning no different, he is in the grass/weeds again and he will get very wet. Is this a problem? Will he get phenomea from it? Would the Mother have it sleeping under dry trees? Or is it no problem? Thanks in advance!
Scott-Yes, I agree the best would be to never take a fawn! I am not offended at all, in fact I expected more comments like yours!! Thanks!
Sandridge-Thank you, I agree!
It has started raining lightly this morning. I always keep the fawn inside overnight, but let it sleep where it chooses on the property. I have tryed many times to get it to sleep under trees, but it always picks tall grass and weeds! So this morning no different, he is in the grass/weeds again and he will get very wet. Is this a problem? Will he get phenomea from it? Would the Mother have it sleeping under dry trees? Or is it no problem? Thanks in advance!
Scott-Yes, I agree the best would be to never take a fawn! I am not offended at all, in fact I expected more comments like yours!! Thanks!
Sandridge-Thank you, I agree!