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URGENT NEWBORN FAWN! Anyone raised one?

7K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  DressageDreamer 
#1 ·

Ok, found these guys yesterday brushhogging, newborn yesterday!
Mamma abandoned one! It was wobbling around all day today crying and no Mamma in sight so after 6 hours Husband brought him home. Campers and workers said he'd been alone all last evening and all day today so I know she isn't coming back.
So far all I knew to do was wipe his parts and get him "going". Fed him colostrum/milk replacer which I just happened to have on hand for when I used to have goats.
Poor thing was "loaded" so I know for sure mamma had left him, sucking like CRAZY. At first I fed him easily by putting the nipple in his mouth and got him to drink about a fourth of a cup of milk. Then when I got him up and was wiping him he kept trying to nurse but won't take the goat nipple...
Jumped out of the tub to follow me when I walked off so I know we've already bonded. Only had him for 30 so THAT WAS QUICK!
No worries, I've got a huge barn with a foaling room to keep him in when he gets a little stronger, wrapped up nice and snug in a towel in a rubber tub in the house for now. As for when he gets bigger he'll be fine out in the yard and put up at night, we'll see. Hopefully he'll go back into the wild or else we'll have him gelded and he'll pasture with the horses LOL! Gotta get him a bell.
Remember we live Waaayyyyyy out in the boonies.

ANY TIPS? Better nipple to try? Says on the internet a rubber baby nipple works best not silicone. So going to the store soon to get goats milk and try a new nipple. Bummed cause I think/know it's a buck! Hoping I'm wrong!
FYI: I made sure it's ok to raise him, FS said they are loaded and to either let him die or do it myself. UGH! Hay season.

HELP!!!
 
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#2 ·
once you get the proper nipple the baby likes then your already half way to success. the only difference is i would change him into the barn asap or a small outdoor enclosure so he doesn't get to human attached if you really want to release him into the wild.

other than that contact the local wildlife people who usually take the orphans not sure who that is in your area and see what they usually do for them and maybe kinda stick with there routine..

goodluck cant wait to see more pics of the little fella :)
 
#3 ·
It may be hard to hear, but you should really call wildlife management. They will know what to do. In most states you have to get a wildlife permit to have a wild animal as a pet. In almost all states it is illegal to take an animal out of the wild even if you do have the permit. Deer are supposed to have, I think, a minimum 8ft. fenced area to live in as pets. After you raise the baby, he will not be able to be released because he will be socialized with humans. If wildlife management catches you with the baby, they can have him taken away and possibly euthanized. If they take him now, they can place him in a rehabilitation facility that releases wild animals back into their natural habitat ready to fend for themselves. It's best for the deer.
 
#5 ·
No worries on the legalities. I've got it all approved, it was either I take it in or leave it to die.
As far as releasing him, he will be minimally handled, not introduced to the dogs, never fed grain, then run off like any other deer. I am surrounded by 1.6 million acres of national forest so I sure hope he'll be ok.

Fed him again and oh he's such a sweetie! Got milk replacer at the feed store and talked it over with Mary the owner. She gave me some encouragement but not a lot of advice.
I'll post Picts soon!!! He's sooooo tiny and frail, I'll try and get a vid up too!
Man, first year around here with no goats and my gardens are lovely! I can kiss them goodbye!
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#9 ·
If I remember correctly, it is good to put a small amount of natural or organic yogurt in with the goat milk. Maybe a teaspoon per cup. It really keeps the tummy happy since mama's milk is not available.
Glad to hear you are using goat milk...it is the best replacer for deer's milk.
Can't wait to see pics or video!
 
#10 ·

Ok, found these guys yesterday brushhogging, newborn yesterday!
Mamma abandoned one! It was wobbling around all day today crying and no Mamma in sight so after 6 hours Husband brought him home. Campers and workers said he'd been alone all last evening and all day today so I know she isn't coming back.
So far all I knew to do was wipe his parts and get him "going". Fed him colostrum/milk replacer which I just happened to have on hand for when I used to have goats.
Poor thing was "loaded" so I know for sure mamma had left him, sucking like CRAZY. At first I fed him easily by putting the nipple in his mouth and got him to drink about a fourth of a cup of milk. Then when I got him up and was wiping him he kept trying to nurse but won't take the goat nipple...
Jumped out of the tub to follow me when I walked off so I know we've already bonded. Only had him for 30 so THAT WAS QUICK!
No worries, I've got a huge barn with a foaling room to keep him in when he gets a little stronger, wrapped up nice and snug in a towel in a rubber tub in the house for now. As for when he gets bigger he'll be fine out in the yard and put up at night, we'll see. Hopefully he'll go back into the wild or else we'll have him gelded and he'll pasture with the horses LOL! Gotta get him a bell.
Remember we live Waaayyyyyy out in the boonies.

ANY TIPS? Better nipple to try? Says on the internet a rubber baby nipple works best not silicone. So going to the store soon to get goats milk and try a new nipple. Bummed cause I think/know it's a buck! Hoping I'm wrong!
FYI: I made sure it's ok to raise him, FS said they are loaded and to either let him die or do it myself. UGH! Hay season.

HELP!!!

what do you mean by "loaded" ? the two uses seem to be differnent. Forgive my ignorance, but I thought the first meaning was loaded with "manure" which you helped him evacuate, but the second usage?
 
#11 ·
Ha ha! The forset service and the rangers are overloaded with calls on found/abandoned fawns due to the early hay season. They told me to either leave it to die from nature or take it in myself. In Arkansas the only requirement is that you can keep up to 6 animals of each native species excluding birds and reptiles. No permit required.
He was loaded with manure so I knew he had not been tended to by mama in quite awhile.
Getting ready to eat, then I'll post vid/Picts!
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#15 ·
Holy crap! One of the cutest things ever! I wish you luck with him, they are quite fragile mentally (injured adults can rarely be rehabilitated) perhaps because he it's so young, he will be ok. I really hope the little guy does well.
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#16 ·
Thanks guys!
Ugh, this is the last thing I have time for. I didn't bottle feed my own child!
Going to be an adventure, prayers and wishes for his good health! He is stinkin cute and tiny tiny. Trying to get a vid uploaded but internet is wonky.

Toni the mother deer abandoned this one. There were two, she took one and left this one. Don't know why. Wish she hadn't left it, gonna be some long nights ahead of me! LOL!
 
#19 ·
I reared a fawn some years ago. We called her Heidi and she was so cute. She spent her first night under the piano in my lounge and forever after that was what she considered 'home'. She would try and jump through windows to get back there. No trouble rearing her. I think we probably fed her powdered lambs milk which is quite common in NewZealand or orphaned lambs. She just ran free. She would sleep in my garden and just appear when she wanted fed. Late afternoon seemed to be a run around time and she would do speed laps round the garden, leaping over me working in the garden! She loved paper and would love to munch away on it! She eventually joined our mob of farmed deer and had a normal long life rearing many fawns of her own. Deer were introduced into New Zealand and have no natural predators, therefore their numbers in the bush became a problem. Deer are farmed here in New Zealand but I would much rather see them running wild!
 
#21 ·
I do believe it's a male, bummer. I am already tuckered out, it's like caring for a newborn human!
Nope, they can't go to the bathroom on their own. You have to prompt them like a dog or cat would, pretty gross but at least I can keep it in the living room a bit longer without having to trek out to the barn 4 times a night!
When I got him here that was the first thing I did, they will die of toxic shock if you don't get them cleaned out.
He's going to have to be bottlefed until at least 12 weeks old, probably longer.
Right now he has to be fed about 1/2 a cup of milk every 3 to 4 hours, about 7 times a day, thats for the NEXT TWO WEEKS! Then I can back it down a bit.

He's doing GREAT! Little messy during feeding time, wobbly, but appears to be healthy and curious which is good. Fingers crossed! My daughter is at her Mimi's this weekend so I have another day of him all to myself, get him on a schedule, and make sure he's going to live before she knows. Cool surprise huh! I'll give her the night shifts! Just kidding!

Any name suggestions? Something cool, not cartoonish.
I was thinking Pan or Puck, my DH suggested "RX7326 Specimen #1" LOL!!
 
#22 ·
Here is a short video from yesterday, had to get him up and going hence the wiping and petting. It's so hard not to pet the little feller so much, but he's more interested and now I'm using paper towels, have to be careful my hands are super clean so as not to get him sick.
I had to put the phone down to feed him, such a cutie!
 
#23 ·
omg he's so darn cute!!!!! Why can't i find a baby deer in the middle of montreal, huh? is it so hard to ask!

;) I did find a baby bird once. He fell out of his nest and wandered off. He was playing dead (he was standing though) in the middle of my driveway. I put on gloves and brought him somewhere safe where his mommy would probably find him if she was looking hard enough. My dad didn't' want to let me keep him and nurse him until he could fly on his own. :( Probably wise but I would have loved the responsibility.
 
#24 ·
I've never raised a baby bird but I did take in THREE very tiny wild baby rabbits that my neighbors dogs drug home. They all made it! I've heard it's pretty hard to get them to live but they did, now a deer? Oh man!

 
#25 ·
I raised a baby squirrel once, who eventually got loose into the backyard. He came back many times to visit, but I am not sure he should have been on his own in the backyard so young, so I dont' know if he survived the next winter or not.

I like the name Puck.


I also like Pan, short for "Panic" the deer.
 
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