Hi, I haven't found a carreer yet as a high school student and I definitely don't want to go to a four year college. I want to have a small heifer raising farm and work a job that allows me to hunt with a good salary. Well ever since I heard the idea and do research I have been hooked on deer farming. I was wondering if someone could be kind enough to answer a few questions for me. I'll list them below with numbers.
Well, a lot of folks are going to tell you to go to college.
Raising deer is a particularly challenging business to make any real money at and the start up costs are significant. If you know how to make a small heifer operation profitable and have the appropriate contacts in that business, then I wouldn't forsake that opportunity for deer. That said, if you are really disinterested in continuing with schooling there are things that you can do to make a living that would afford you enough income to get by and save a little to start up a farm slowly. A few suggestions...
Look into some skilled trades apprenticeship programs. A career in the trades can pay very well (better than many 4 year degree jobs if you work hard at it and stay busy). I don't know anything about you or your personal background, but there are a handful of construction trades that would both afford you a comfortable lifestyle and teach you some things that would come in handy when building/operating a working farm. Look in to your local equipment operators, carpenters, millwrights, ironworkers, boilermakers, etc. and see if the work they do interests you. Be aware that you will work like a dog for any of the trades, but that is the cost of skipping a degree. The flipside of that is that you will qualify for a pension relatively young if you can get an apprenticeship right out of highschool.
Look for a Farm Implement dealer near you. If you know farming and can demonstrate some ability to sell you can actually do decently well in this field.
Alternatively, consider enlisting in an armed service. You will learn some skills in the service that will be useful in life.
Army in particular does quite a bit of construction related stuff if you can find your way to the correct assignments. This also gives you the flexibility to attend college later without too much difficulty if you should change your mind on the issue.
You could also look into being a Fireman. The career typically consists of long shifts, but fewer working days per week than most others. Smaller departments usually have limited earning potential but if you live near a larger municipality they will usually pay quite well once you have been there a few years.
As a general guidance, I would say that you really can't short cut a career choice. Take time, do research and make sure before you start that you are choosing a path that you will like doing the work for a long time.
1. Can you enter the field with the bucks during winter any time close to rut or just hard horn in general?
For obvious reasons you need to be careful around rutting bucks, especially if they are in small pens. That said, if you are farming deer this is one of the occupational hazards that you need to be prepared to deal with. Deer that are in hard horn still need to eat and need water, occasionally they may need medicine, and that is the kind of stuff you'll have to take care of. A good design to your layout will mitigate the risks associated with handling, but deer are still animals and even does can kick awfully hard (not to mention hooves can make some nasty cuts). Treat the animals with respect and learn good techniques from experienced farmers and you will be able to handle all of this safely.
2. What are the reasons and benefits of separating fields and putting tarps up?There are a variety of reasons for this. I recommend doing some reading and visiting farms to learn from folks that have done it for years. The short answers that come to mind quickly are...
Separating the herd into smaller groups simplifies breeding, handling, feeding and medicating decisions. Shade cloth and/or tarps help to mitigate the windchill on the animals in cooler climates (I'm in Michigan, for instance) but also keep the deer from seeing each other and prevent undesirable interactions with some wild animals should they wander by. Rutting bucks in adjacent pens (or even a wandering wild buck) are more prone to attempting to spar right through the fence if they can see each other and if they attempt to do this they are likely to harm themselves by becoming tangled in the fence.
3. Where do I buy 12-14 foot wooden posts
You are probably a very long way off from buying fence posts at this time given the nature of your questions. When you are ready to start farming you will likely already know this. Sources vary depending on your locale.
4.Whats the best automatic waterer?
There are plenty of choices on the market. Again it depends where you are.
5. Can I have 2 fields being used as one if I leave the gate open? Will the deer be smart enough/brave enough to go from field to field?
You can, but can doesn't imply should. There is value in keeping parts of your herd separate for their safety and for easier handling.
6.Where do i get vaccines and medication? Some stuff you can just buy over the counter, others you will need to get from a vet.
7. Please drop examples of operation designs.
If you search this forum I believe some links have been posted previously. Ops designs are very dependent on scale of the farm and the layout of the land, so examples are probably less helpful to you than learning why things are designed as they are.
8. Can the bucks stay together during winter if they aren't being used for breeding? Or will they try to kill each other?
You can remove antlers from some bucks if you want to pen them together. This prevents them from sparring most of the time and reduces the number of injuries. During breeding season you will probably want to have one buck penned with several does that you intend for him to service.
9.How long do i bottlefeed fawns and where do i get the formula?
