Losing fawns. Need advice ASAP please

Hi there. I haven't posted in a while, as everything has been going great o the deer farm. But in the past 4 days we have lost 2 fawns that we are bottle feeding. A quick history: we pulled 3 fawns to bottle feed this year at approx 48 hrs after birth...to ensure colostrum. All 3 took to the bottle like champs, eve better than last year. (We bottle fed 8 last year with 100% success rate). All of the fawns drank their bottles right up for 2 weeks or so (the first one born took them for over 3 weeks), then stopped wanting the bottle altogether. We were feeding 175ml 4 times per day. They regressed to taking less than half of their bottles at a time or even skipping 2 in a row. The first one we lost had scours, so we have him electrolytes and pumpkin like we did last year and it seemed to help. His temp was 2 degrees low, so we put him on a heating pad and brought him inside. We ended up losing him and chalked it up to "I guess scours got him, we tried". Of course we were sad and devastated...he was 14 days old. I forgot to mention that we took stool samples in and everything came back normal.

Our next one had perfect stool...even pelleted and seemed perfect other than a really low appetite. We were using a whitetail replacer made by Grober, so we switched to a lamb replacer in case it was something with the milk. We also switched to bottled water to eliminate a water problem. She ended up still not wanting the bottle. Even though she would refuse it, then drink electrolytes from a bottle. Keep in mind that she had been eating Great for almost 3 weeks. She ended up dying and we were beside ourselves. She was 27 days old. Now we've lost 2 of 3. I immediately put her in the car and drove 3.5 hrs to Guelph university to have an autopsy done. I also took both formula samples, soil samples, water sample and pellet sample to them. So far al that I have heard back is that she essentially starved to death...which makes me feel like a piece of sh**. We tried everything to get them to keep eating and were supplementing with calf lyte to keep hydration up.

So here's the even more frustrating part. Our last one seemed to get his appetite back after switching to the lamb replacer (he didn't skip near as many as the others even before the switch). For the last 2 days he's been happy and alert and drinking every drop and wanting more (which we don't give, for fear of over feeding). Then lastnight he only drank half of his bottle....then wont touch it this morning. He's starting in the exact path of the others. He does drink water, but why the heck are they not wanting their milk?? It isn't a sucking problem....they had 2-3 weeks of taking the bottle under their belts.

I should also say that we had given yogurt to them for 2 days in their bottles and they have full access to dirt...both in and out of their building. We pulled them into the house after they started going down hill.

I really need help, we can't take losing another one. These are our babies and as you all know, you can get pretty attached.

Thanks guys. We don't start out feeding that much per day. We start out at 75-100ml, 5 times per day, then gradually increase. We have tried several nipples and syrup on them etc. I don't think it's a nipple issue, but I'll go get some of the small Pritchard nipples and try that. You can't get red cap milk in ontario I don't think. Our milk replacer is made up for us directly from the largest producer in our area. It is specifically for whitetails and we raised 8 fawns on it last year with great success. We wash bottles aftery every feeding with very hot water and sterilize them every 2-3 days. (The same as last year).

It's so hard to think you're going to lose one and not know what to do about it.

Thanks everyone

Forgot to mention, yes we have given yogurt...is that a sufficient source of probiotics? I'll add more to his next bottle, as he hasn't had any in 3 days or so. I will also try cutting back on the amount per feeding to see if it helps with his appetite. Although I keep very detailed records and at his age last year my fawns were getting 200ml per feeding. It's worth a shot though

Our milk is called kawartha dairy. You mean feed a deer regular milk like you would drink yourself or use on cereal?? I thought that deer required a much higher fat content etc?? That's interesting. I am very specific and consistent on the temp that I heat the milk to also. I appreciate everyones suggestions more than you know. I study this forum constantly....so much knowledge on here. I just can't quite find a post that fits my problem. Other than thinking its coccidia. My vet says stool samples were negative, but I read on these forums that it can go undetected in its early stages. Is this true ?

Thanks. What other symptoms would be present? I might have left something out. The fawns haven't seemed near as active or playful as our ones last year. Also, do you guys think I should de worm him? Most of what I read says to wait for 3 months unless it is absolutely necessary. Again, the vet says that all 3 deers stool samples were negative. Keeping in mind that I live in a small town of about 300 people and our vets aren't like the ones you guys probably have available to you.

I gave one shot of long acting penicillin 2 nights ago and that's when he started to eat really good. I gave it to him under the skin. It says on the bottle to wait 72 hrs before giving a 2nd dose if necessary. So I planned on giving him another shot tonight. I gave 1/2 cc. He weighs approx 15 lbs I'd say. His stool is peanut butter consistency and smells pretty strong, but I think that's how they all were last year until they started to pellet. It a greenish brown color. He doesn't appear bloated at all, but our doe fawn that we lost 2 days ago looked to have a slightly larger tummy than normal. I gave her children's gas drops and massaged her and she seemed to burp up a bunch of gas and looked normal.

What probiotic product should I give?

Thanks. A quick update. Again, he ate everything for the past 2 days, then only 75ml or so lastnight. Skipped this mornings feeding and just skipped his noon feeding. He had gone from perfect yesterday to lethargic and lazy eyed right now. What the heck is going on? I think I'm going to lose him. My vet won't return my calls...and I don't trust that he could do anything to help anyway. I am about to syringe electrolytes down him now. How can he be normal yesterday and begging for the bottle and refuse to even look at it today? And if he's eaten like a horse for 2 days, how can he have zero strength right now??? It's like he's not getting any nutrients or something from the feed?

His temp is normal...101, his stool is firm, he has drank over 1400 ml of milk replacer in the last 2 days. He was happy and alert yesterday.....progressively getting more lethargic today. I just finished syringing 60 ml of electrolytes down him and he perked up a bit. I'm so confused. His mouth was warm at noon when I tried to give him his bottle, yet his lips started to feel cool by the time I stopped trying to get him to take it.

Thanks guys. My vet won't return my calls, so can't go the iv route until tomorrow if needed. We have some b complex that we are going to give...as it was suggested by a friend. We are going to have our original milk replacer tested and have already switched to a different one. Surely it couldn't be that both if them are bad?? Although they are from the same company.

We went out 30 min ago and he was going crazy...in a good way...he was really hungry. Again strange....he would totally dodge the bottle and bunt away at our chests, legs etc. He wanted nothing to do with the milk, but after some coaxing he finally drank 125 ml. He would not take a drop more, but still went nuts whining and bunting at us for something more to eat. We then put him outside and he instantly ate a bunch of dirt. He is munching on grass etc right now and still begging for the bottle....which he hates and refuses to take without tons of persuasion.

I guess I forgot to mention that this last guy that we are dealing with now is 18 days old....so I am definitely not over feeding him. He is...or was getting 6oz per feeding, 4 times per day until he started to lose his appetite. I didn't start him at that amount, but that is the amount that he had progressed to. Or maybe that is too much....it worked for me with the 8 we bottle fed last year anyway. We are definitely not veterans in this game.