I'm new to deer farming. When tagging fawns, what reaction can i expect from the mama doe or any of the other doe's in the pen.Will the fawn crying cause a lot of stress on the doe's?. Any advice on tagging the fawns would be helpful. Thanks
rotery, if you have 5 does, you'll get 5 different reactions. I have a couple that I'm waiting to get thumped by. A few are nice and calm, and act like they want to help.lol They all come running and a few will act like they are gonna get you. Its never happened, but I figure in the next couple of years, one will eventually put a hurtin on me. The earlier you tag, the less noise they make. I like to wait a few extra days, I just hate putting that huge tag in such a small ear.
I sold a doe last year that had a habit of rushing me when I was doing her fawns. She actually showed what teeth she had and made a sort of growling noise. I finally got smart and put her fawn in the cradle and took it over to the next pen. She was pretty intimidating.
I take all my fawns out of the pen and tag them in the barn. with the doors closed momma can't hear what is going on.
I take all the fawns into the lane so momma can't get to me. A towel over their head will also help to keep them calm and quite. But always have eyes in the back of your head. Some does will thump the crap outta ya. Been there... Done that....
I made a circle of 4' fence about 5' across, 2" by 4" mesh . I get inside it and carry it up to a fawn laying in the grass. I just set in over top of it and then I can go about tagging , meds. ect without mommas attacking me or the fawn getting away before I am done and then causing a real rodeo trying to recapture it again. The does respect the wire as they are rushing and stomping and snorting and I can focus on my business with peace of mind. After wards , I just lift the wire and push them out or if it doesn't want to run , I just lift and walk away with my "circle of protection" going with me . Not lifting the fawns is less scary and I don't get as bad of a "first impression" imprinted on the fawns as newborns and they become quite tame for me. Jim
9 times out of 10 the doe will pretty much leave you alone....she will pace and be nervous while you do what you have to with the fawn......but there always is that chance ( I have not had it happen yet) where you get an aggressive doe........the most important thing is to have everything in order before you go in and know what your going to do........get in and out as quickly as possible........I would not wait to tag the fawn unless it is the only doe in the pen that is pregnant as you don't want to be trying to guess which fawn belongs to what doe......that is why its important to tag the fawns right away.......good luck.......it will all work out ok....Enjoy your fawns!!
Joined May 2009
204 Posts | 0+
St. Ignace, Northern Michigan
Rotary: We all have our own ways of tagging. i have tagged over 400 and I find that taking them out of the pen has less stress on the mom.We remove the fawn one day after birth and bring them in our back room of our gift shop and put them in a fawn cradle so we record their weight. we find it easier to give shots an tag while they are hanging there.We use small lamb tags(nothing looks worst then large cattle tags in a little fawn)and tag girls in the left ear and boys in the right. Be sure to feel the ear so you don't hit a nerve or they will have a droopy ear for a while.