Author Topic: Deer fawn (Read 1385 times)

giturgun · « **on:** June 21, 2010, 05:48:49 PM »

This little bugger's mom abandoned him and left with the bigger of the 2 fawns .
She has been gone around 36 hours this evening , so I picked the little kid up and brought him home .
He took to me and the wife. We are bottle feeding him with the multi breed formula that is good for deer fawns. It is gonna be tough feeding him at the required intervals the first few weeks, but I can't just let the little guy die with no chance for surviving .
Anyone else do this before , I have bottle fed calves before but not deer.
Looking for any good advise that will give him a chance to make it.
Soon as he is strong enough to survive on his own I am going to put him in the yard and if he wants to stay or go give him the choice.

Will do the pics later , did not get good ones due to trying to take care of this baby.
My next door neighbor saw the mother leave it and said it was still wet from birthing. so it is only about 2 1/2 days old

myronman3 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2010, 05:56:03 PM »

that is nature's way. sometimes, if interuped before they have a chance to bond with the baby, the mother will abandon it. or, there could be something wrong with it.
that being said, a friend of mine did what you are doing. it was kind of cool to see, and they raised it until the spots were gone. it would go for walks and the walks got longer and longer before it would come back. one day it went for a walk and didnt come back.

giturgun · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2010, 06:04:01 PM »

That is what I expect will happen to mine . It just needs a chance to live

dukkillr · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2010, 06:06:28 PM »

Be careful, it may not be legal where you live.

kanilure · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2010, 06:20:08 PM »

Yes, be careful giturgun. The only person that I know who raised a fawn was a real nice guy, but the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources didn't take kindly to him. They thought he was selling protected wildlife, charged him with a felony. He was eventually acquitted, but not without a lot of legal hassle.

wreckhog · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2010, 07:00:15 PM »

http://www.examiner.com/x-1911-Dallas-Pet-Scene-Examiner~y2009m12d12-Family-has-deer-as-housepet-eats-ice-cream-and-swims-in-the-pool

FourBee · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2010, 07:20:56 PM »

I was at a ranch in Stigler some years back, and they had raised one like that. It looked grown to me as it wandered around us not disturbed by the crowd that was attending the farm equipment auction they were having.

Graybeard · « **Reply #7 on:** June 21, 2010, 07:36:31 PM »

Most likely it was NOT abandoned until you took it from its mother. They do not spend much time around newborn fawns on purpose. That is nature's way of protecting them as at that age they have no scent and so long as they remain still and quiet are not likely to be found by predators. When the mother returns to feed the fawn is the most dangerous time in the newborn fawn's life.

In my opinion you did a bad thing and for sure an illegal one. It's too late now to return it to its mother.

fatercat · « **Reply #8 on:** June 22, 2010, 03:01:04 AM »

Graybeard, i don't think he did a "bad" thing. if the mother did leave it, it was a good thing. if she she did not the fawn is no worse for the ware. having a pet deer would be a cool thing.

myronman3 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 22, 2010, 03:46:21 AM »

i can not disagree with bill. i wasnt there though, so i cant say for sure. when my friends did that, i disagreed with what they did, and i highly doubt that fawn survived. it was interesting to see the little tike grow, but again, i would say it is a one in ten thousand chance that it lived.

Graybeard · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2010, 05:28:26 AM »

Unless you sit and watch a fawn for 24-36 hours straight you cannot be sure the doe has abandoned it. She can slip in and feed it at any hour of the day or night. If you weren't watching full time day and night then you are merely making an assumption. Taking such a fawn is likely illegal in all states unless you are licensed to do so as an animal care facility.

A fawn raised without contact with other deer so as to learn how to survive is unlikely to live once turned loose.

Folks who think they are helping almost always are not they are hurting. If you actually saw the doe killed or did it yourself they you would be sure it was left on its own. Otherwise you are wild ass guessing at best.

bobg · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2010, 05:47:00 AM »

I agree with GB. I won't won't go in to details but i am very sure he is right. I have seen this before.

Jane308 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 22, 2010, 06:18:33 AM »

I have seen people who have 'tried' to help. And came home and found their little deer with a broken neck laying on the floor, cause it jumped off the table when he was gone.

I understand your thinking, I had to learn. When I put eggs in an incubator, if they don't come out of the eggs by themselves, and I try to help, they usually die anyway. Which is mother nature's way of weeding out the weak.

My hubby scared up mom and baby 2 nights ago as well. Mama took off, baby stayed. I take my evening walks and see the baby laying down with no mama, and other times she's there.

Have seen pregnant deer hit in Northern Michigan and baby is sitting by dead mama, I can understand in this instance. But still would not interfere.

Sometimes the best thing to do, conflicts with the mind and the heart.

Mxpe78a · « **Reply #13 on:** June 22, 2010, 06:36:23 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on June 21, 2010, 07:36:31 PM

Most likely it was NOT abandoned until you took it from its mother. They do not spend much time around newborn fawns on purpose. That is nature's way of protecting them as at that age they have no scent and so long as they remain still and quiet are not likely to be found by predators. When the mother returns to feed the fawn is the most dangerous time in the newborn fawn's life.

In my opinion you did a bad thing and for sure an illegal one. It's too late now to return it to its mother.

As a retired Game Dept Law enforcement employee Greybeard is correct. You need to contact your Game Department. This is one of the ways disease is spread among the wild deer population.

charles p · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2010, 08:12:36 AM »

My son knew a man who raised a deer to adulthood indoors. The deer used a litter box.

AtlLaw · « **Reply #15 on:** June 22, 2010, 08:30:54 AM »

Quote from: Graybeard on June 22, 2010, 05:28:26 AM

... She can slip in and feed it at any hour of the day or night. ... Taking such a fawn is likely illegal in all states ...

+1

This has been "common knowledge" since before I was a kid. And that's been a while!

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #16 on:** June 22, 2010, 08:38:15 AM »

Quote from: fatercat on June 22, 2010, 03:01:04 AM

Graybeard, i don't think he did a "bad" thing. if the mother did leave it, it was a good thing. if she she did not the fawn is no worse for the ware. having a pet deer would be a cool thing.

I agree with GB here we have to many deer and they raise next to my house often . Sometimes it appears like a doe leaves for days . If at home and watching you see they come in and feed then ease away like GB said.
Guess to many have watched to much Walt Disney over the years . Shame really no telling how many do gooders have caused critters to get killed - feeding bears , picking up birds , deer , etc.

yooper77 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 22, 2010, 09:12:02 AM »

Quote from: giturgun on June 21, 2010, 05:48:49 PM

This little bugger's mom abandoned him and left with the bigger of the 2 fawns .
She has been gone around 36 hours this evening , so I picked the little kid up and brought him home .
He took to me and the wife. We are bottle feeding him with the multi breed formula that is good for deer fawns. It is gonna be tough feeding him at the required intervals the first few weeks, but I can't just let the little guy die with no chance for surviving .
Anyone else do this before , I have bottle fed calves before but not deer.
Looking for any good advise that will give him a chance to make it.
Soon as he is strong enough to survive on his own I am going to put him in the yard and if he wants to stay or go give him the choice.

Will do the pics later , did not get good ones due to trying to take care of this baby.
My next door neighbor saw the mother leave it and said it was still wet from birthing. so it is only about 2 1/2 days old

Bad idea! Humans feel they are helping, but most always never do when it comes to wildlife. Wild animals are meant to stay in the wild and let nature take its course. Taking a live wild animal from nature is illegal in Tennessee. Plus the fawn wasn't abandoned at all, but now to make matter worse it’s an orphan. Fawns are left alone for their protection from predators, because they have no scent.

Turn yourself in, pay any fines (restitution for big game animal) and hopefully the deer will find a home in a petting zoo. Read the Tennessee law below.

http://tn.gov/sos/pub/proclamations/06-03-09.pdf

SECTION VI. POSSESSION OF LIVE ANIMALS
Every game animal, wounded or unwounded by hunting and/or trapping and taken into possession by the hunter or trapper, shall be immediately slain and become part of the daily bag limit. No person shall, at any time, or by any means, possess or transport live animals taken under the authority of hunting season proclamations.

Tame deer are a pest, nuisance and are very dangerous as (bucks or does) adults. In Upper Michigan there were some doctors that tamed some deer and put orange collars on them only to find a few caught in fences by the collar. They die a long agonizing death, but they thought it was ok and were helping, nope! The others died humanly as they were shot by hunters, finally curing the human error.

yooper77

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #18 on:** June 22, 2010, 09:33:59 AM »

Or eat the evidence

Justin10mm · « **Reply #19 on:** July 01, 2010, 11:33:46 AM »

My aunt hit a doe a few years ago. My uncle got there before the cops to make sure she was alright. The doe had a fawn that was standing around so my uncle tried to catch it unsuccessfully. When the cops finally got there he told them about the fawn, they said he was lucky he didn't catch it because that would have been illegal.

yooper77 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 01, 2010, 07:07:24 PM »

giturgun,

You have been very quiet. What’s the update? Did you get caught or did you do the right thing and turn yourself in and pay up?

Poaching is the illegal hunting, killing or capturing of animals.

We can all hope the good mother doe had twins or triplets and her milk just didn't dry up and go wasted.

yooper77

hunt-m-up · « **Reply #21 on:** July 02, 2010, 12:37:12 PM »

That's probably the best way to make sure it ends up dead. If it doesn't stay with you forever there's a good chance the coyotes will get it when it strays a little at night. Does will teach them to lay low while they are off feeding. Call it instinct or whatever you want, but if you've ever come up on a fawn laying in tall grass they will be pressed to the ground doing their best to hide. Plus there's the whole illegality of it, but then you've got that message by now.

mrussel · « **Reply #22 on:** July 05, 2010, 08:40:15 PM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on June 22, 2010, 09:33:59 AM

Or eat the evidence

Wife: "Whats that,it smells really good,looks like we are having roast for dinner"
Husband "I took care of that fawn you took in. The problem is solved now,no one will ever know and we dont have to pay and big fines"
Wife "Omg,you didnt!"
Husband " I had to do something,so I dropped it in a crate anonymously in front of the zoo,picked up a roast on the way and and cooked you dinner,becuase I knew you would be upset about her being gone."