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Sick Buck

Joined May 2011
32 Posts | 0+
Sparta, MI
I have a buck that is not doing well! He's pretty tame and when I was in his pen last Sunday I noticed his ears were back a little and his tail kept on wagging. I got him up in the facility and he was having some issues with his breathing. I gave him draxxin, banamine, nuflor and vitamin B (along with Probiotics) and have kept him in the barn during this cold, rainy weather. I have not noticed problems with the breathing, nor has he coughed at all, but he is not eating or drinking hardly anything at all. I repeated the meds in 3 days and have given him the vitamin B almost every day. He will nibble on some alfalfa and clover (which I have cut from out in the field) but will not touch anything else (pellets, roasted soy beans, apples, carrots, etc). Seems to be getting pretty weak----any suggestions? I do not have a clue what could be wrong with him---don't think it is any respiratory issues now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
I am extremely new, but just to keep some food in him maybe some yogurt with active

Sil???. (The active bacteria.) And make a bottle of new fawn or ultra 24 and see if he

Will take the bottle. This is By No means a cure, but I know it helped me.

Good Luck
 
Sheri, I have force fed deer before that have been in similar condition to that. I made these little things I called buck bullets. I would mix peanut butter, whole oats, honey, and a very small amount of feed into a paste that was thick enough they could be formed into little oval shapes. I would put on some latex or nitrile gloves and run the deer into the drop chute and force them down the throat. I was always sure to follow each ball with a good amount of water. I would usually try to feed 4-8 golf ball size bites. It did not work every time, but I will say I saw it turn several deer around. I think the high fat content of the peanut butter along with the sugar really helped them out. You do need to be very careful when doing this though as they still have big molars that they can bite you with. Sometimes this cold nasty rainy weather just gets a deer down. Good luck! Keep us posted.



-Johnny B
 
Sheri - I believe I would take a stool sample in and have it checked...right away!!

Maybe he has coccidia. I know their stool can look good, be pelleted, and still have coccidia.