{"id":3509,"date":"2021-06-30T06:06:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T06:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandcreekfarm.net\/?p=3509"},"modified":"2021-06-29T08:40:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T08:40:16","slug":"what-does-baby-deer-eat-how-often-how-much-to-give","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandcreekfarm.net\/what-does-baby-deer-eat-how-often-how-much-to-give\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Baby Deer Eat? How Often & How Much To Give?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baby deer are such beautiful and gentle animals that have won over the hearts of many. If you are intending to adopt an orphaned fawn, first & foremost you have to know about their diet.<\/p>\n

So, what does baby deer eat?<\/strong> A fawn\u2019s food varies according to its specific age. A fawn under 3 months old only consumes its mother milk. After that, it can digest solid food including leaves, grass, corn, alfalfa, lichens, and others of herbivorous animals\u2019 diet.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below, I will explain more details about how often, how much, how to feed, and what to feed wild baby deer. I will also let you know what to do when seeing an abandoned-like fawn before adopting it.<\/p>\n

What does baby deer eat in the wild?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Wide baby deer under 12 weeks of age can only consume their mother\u2019s milk. If the fawn has lost its mother or you are raising it on your farm, you can feed it with goat milk or a milk substitute. These are safe alternatives.<\/p>\n

\"mother<\/p>\n

Baby deer won\u2019t eat any solid food until they reach at least 3 months of age. This is when they start the weaning period. Giving them solid food sooner than 3 months might upset their immature digestive system.<\/p>\n

Please remember don\u2019t feed them with cow\u2019s milk. It is just not safe for baby deer to consume as it can cause massive gastrointestinal issues. So, never!<\/p>\n

Growing up, mature deer eat leaves, twigs, fruits and nuts, grass, corn, alfalfa, and even lichens & other fungi. A basic meal of herbivorous animals.<\/p>\n

How often do baby deer eat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eight times a day is the feeding intensity that is suitable for baby deer.<\/p>\n

Fawns depend on the source of food provided by the mother or owner to live. They are very susceptible to dehydration, illness, and even death if not adequately fed. So, provide them enough water, and give more when it is hot.<\/p>\n

Even when baby fawns drink milk from their mothers, water is necessary to help them avoid dehydration. And a balanced diet always needs water.<\/p>\n

\"baby<\/p>\n

How much should a baby deer eat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Baby deer get hungry very quickly. So you can bottle-feed young deer as much milk as they want.<\/p>\n

You can also refer to the following rule of the food amount to give by the fawn\u2019s weight. Specifically, the daily amount of food should account for 10 to 20% of the fawn\u2019s body weight.<\/p>\n

For example, if the fawn is 5 lbs (80 ounces), this amount shouldn\u2019t be less than 8 ounces and more than 16 ounces per day. You can divide it into 5 times a day, with 1.6-3.2 ounces per portion, or more often with smaller portions.<\/p>\n

As long as the rule of 10-20% is obtained, the fawn will grow healthily as you wish. This is also true for bottle-fed fawns.<\/p>\n

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Bottle Feed Baby Deers \u2013 Source: https:\/\/rangerrick.org\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How to feed baby deer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When bottle-feeding the baby deer with milk replacer, strictly follow the manufacturer\u2019s instruction of water mixing ratio. Don\u2019t forget to warm it to body temperature before giving.<\/p>\n

For the first time feeding, you can drib some liquid on the fawn\u2019s lip. This is to gain the fawn\u2019s trust in you, letting it finish the milk quickly.<\/p>\n

A wild deer often extend up high when eating. This is just an instinct of the deer family. If you love to preserve what is called \u201cnatural\u201d, hold the milk bottle high as much as the fawn can reach up.<\/p>\n

After every 10 days, reduce the feeding times, precisely about 3 times a day if the deer is 20 days old, twice a day when it is 30 days old, and once a day when 40 days or older.<\/p>\n

This routine helps the deer grow up and stimulates the animal\u2019s instinct to find food for itself. As long as you make sure it consumes 10-20% of its body weight per day, feel free to drop the times of feeding.<\/p>\n

When to wean the baby deer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You can wean the deer at its 12th-15th week of age. This number isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all but depends on the development of each deer.<\/p>\n

Some can start weaning as early as 60 days, which is fine as bottle-feeding is time-consuming and pricey. Many people choose to bottle-feed the fawn longer to make it more familiar to humans.<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s all up to you to decide when the fawn should be weaned.<\/p>\n

Some notices<\/strong><\/h2>\n

1. Stimulate the fawn to urinate\/defecate if needed<\/h3>\n

During the first few weeks, the fawn might have difficulties in urinating or defecating as it has no experience of doing so.<\/p>\n

You can help it get over the problems by stimulating while feeding. Use mittens and baby wipes to ensure hygiene, for both you and the fawn.<\/p>\n

Please change the tools between different animals to avoid spreading the disease from one to another.<\/p>\n

2. Uncleaned tools cause scour, not the milk replacer<\/h3>\n

If you follow the right formula specifically designed for baby deer, milk replacer can\u2019t cause scour to your fawn. Diarrhea happens when the animal is infected with bacteria or viruses, i.e E. coli, Rota, Salmonella, etc.<\/p>\n

If you clean and care for the tools used, hardly does scour happen. If it still does, then something is just not right. You should check and adjust accordingly. The problem might be from the water or the mineral content.<\/p>\n

3. Feed them milk from healthy does<\/h3>\n

If you feed the fawn goat milk, make sure the doe doesn\u2019t have any diseases. A doe infected with Caseous Lymphadenitis, Johne\u2019s Disease will spread the disease to your fawn.<\/p>\n

Some people choose to raise fawns on cow milk. If it isn\u2019t broken, just let it be. But as I know, goat milk has the most similar content on fat, protein, sugar to deer milk. So it gives better development and is the safest choice for the baby deer.<\/p>\n