Tranquilizing the Bucks: A Really Late Post!

   We tranquilized the bucks August 8th. We had one three year old and three year old deer tranquilized. The most we darted at one time was two deer. We were concerned that we wouldn't be able to work fast enough to dart more.
   The bucks this summer had looked thin and Mr. (2012 breeder) had a cough. It wasn't bad though. Then the deer in that pen all got diarrhea. We treated them with Corrid (for coccidiosis) and SafeGuard (general de-wormer) but only one deer straightened out. We also had them on ProBios probiotics to try and restore the good bacteria in their stomach that the Corrid killed.  We consulted the vet and another deer farmer and decided to tranq all of the bucks and medicate them.

Here is what was in our field kit:
   Nuflor- Antibiotic for treatment and control of Bovine Respiratory Disease and foot rot. It works well for treating respiratory in deer. We use it in lieu of Draxxin but it is NOT Draxxin.
   Ivomec- Highly effective against roundworms, lungworms, grubs, lice and mange mites in cattle and swine.
   Bovi-Sera- Antiserum for prevention and treatment of A. pyogenes, Pasteurella multocida, E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium and Mannheimia haemolytica. So yeah, it's good stuff. We had it on hand and the vet said it wouldn't hurt if we used it.
   Vitamin B Complex- Believe it or not giving a shot of B complex helps the deer deal with the stress. It helps restore vitamins that are lost.
   Darts- Before we leave the house the darts are loaded with the correct dose of tranq for each deer. If there is extra room in the dart, for instance, 1.5cc in a 2cc dart, then the rest of the dart will be loaded with sterile water.
   Salve- We glob* some on the tip of the dart before it's loaded into the gun. (*did you like that technical term?)
   Hoods- We cover the deer's face to protect their eyes from getting injured by dirt and debris. We just cut the sleeves off of a large sweat shirt and that works well.
   Tolazine- The tranquilizer reversal, you use it 2-1 to the tranq. For instance 1.5cc of tranq. would need 3cc of reversal.
   Blu-Kote- Wound dressing for the spot where the dart hit. It comes in handy for lots of things around the farm! However if it gets on you you'll be stained for a good day or so!
   Needles- You need one needle for each medicine for each deer. Unless the medication is thick or given in large quantities (we had to give both types) we try to use a smaller gauge needle. The Nuflor and Bovi-Sera needed bigger gauges. 
   50cc Syringe- Bovi-Sera is given in very large quantities in which we need a pistol grip syringe.
   List- I like to write down what medicines need to be given to what deer, the order in which they are to be given, what dose is give, and where to give it (IM or SQ). That way I know the procedure and it won't be confusing.
   Syringes- We use one syringe for each deer. 
   Latex gloves- You don't know when you'll need them.
   Fly Spray- The flies were terrible that day so we coated each deer before we worked on them.

Covering Mr.'s face

Say cheese!

 Mr. got:
6cc Nuflor IM
2cc Ivomec SQ
50cc Bovi-Sera IM (we split it 50/50 between his shoulder and butt. Ouch!)
3cc of Vitamin B IM
and then the reversal.

He was feeling pretty woozy after he came to!

Next we darted the three yearlings but the pictures are of only two of them.

We trimmed their hooves up too

Drawing the B complex into the syringe

40cc of Bovi-Sera, ouch! We divided it up into his shoulder and hip.

Here's what we gave them:
3cc of Nuflor IM
1cc Ivomec SQ
1cc Vitamin B Complex IM
40cc Bovi-Sera IM

   The yearlings were up on their feet when we left the pen but that's about all the farther they walked! 

   A few days afterwards they still had diarrhea terribly but with all of the meds in them it usually gives them diarrhea. We were concerned that it was too little, too late. We had them on high quality probiotics, but we did all we could do and it was a waiting game. We thought we were going to loose on of them and we praise God that we didn't! Eventually they straightened out and they are doing fine now. 
   Unfortunately their illness certainly did some damage to their antler growth. Our three year old ended up smaller than we  got him last year which was really disappointing! Though another deer farmer said that sometimes if you move a buck to a different farm they won't always grow bigger the next year. I hope that that is true and his antler growth will explode next year. Whatever happens God does for a reason right? 

  Mr. just after he shed his velvet. Did you know that when a buck sheds his velvet he eats it? Antler velvet is extremely high in minerals and vitamins, some deer farmers raise deer for their velvet production. If you search online for "Deer antler velvet benefits" you'll find a lot of information about it.
So that's what we have been up to, I hope that you may have learned something!

Trimming long hooves

    On Sunday we darted and tranquilized one of our biggest does, Eva, and trimmed her hooves. When we bought her last fall, her hooves were very long. Over the winter they grew longer still and started to curl. We couldn't dart her sooner because she was pregnant and the tranquilizer, combined with the stress of being darted, would inhibit her pregnancy. Rapid hoof growth isn't common and can be caused by a few different factors. A diet with too high of protein percentages, a pasture with soft dirt that doesn't allow hooves to be filed down, or ingesting to much corn at one feeding. *Believe it or not when a deer eats too much corn at one time it disrupts the PH balance in their rumen (deer stomachs are almost identical to cow stomachs) and this causes their hooves to grow abnormally fast.

We have to tranquilize our deer if we need to give shots or 'work' on them because, although they are very calm, they don't take kindly to being poked with needles! The dart gun looks a lot like a .22 rifle and propels the dart with air pressure. The tranquilizer is a mixture of two medications, Xylazine and Telazol. This relaxes the animal's muscles and puts them into sleep. However the tranquilizer is only good for about three weeks after it has been mixed. Our mixture was getting old and had lost some of its potency, the doe didn't really want to go out so we gave her another 1cc. Usually 1.5cc (or ML) of fresh mixed tranquilizer puts the deer out in 15-20 minutes or so.

Once she is knocked out we protect her eyes from dirt by sliding a camo head net (used for turkey hunting) over her head. The flies were terrible that day so we coated her with fly spray and got to work. First we evaluated her hooves checking for any unseen injuries. Deer hooves have a rubbery sole with a thick keratin covering or sheath. When over growth occurs the keratin covering is the part that lengthens, similar to your finger nails. We just want to cut the overgrown keratin off and not damage the sole if we can help it.

Taking the loppers we cut most of the keratin off.

Then we trim the corners off so that they don't splinter.

In this picture you can see where the sole meets the keratin sheath very well.

After trimming the hoof up we rasp the edges off.

 While the guys work on her hooves I gave her 3cc of Vitamin B Complex under the skin (or SQ) to help with stress and sprayed Blu-Kote on the spot were the dart hit her. Blu-Kote is an aerosol antiseptic protective wound dressing.

 Once she finished receiving her "mani-pedi" I gave her a shot of Tolazine in the muscle (or IM) to reverse the tranquilizer. When using Tolazine to reverse the Xylazine/Telazol mix you should always use a 2 to 1 ratio with the Tolazine being double the amount of the tranquilizer. An example would be 3cc of Tolazine to 1.5cc Xylazine/Telazol.

 We switched the head net for a towel to cover her eyes after her reversal shot. This way it will protect her eyes until she comes around, then she can shake it off. Poor Eva was a little slow coming out of her nappy but she is doing very well now.

Eva's little buck fawn looked on, waiting for her to wake up so that he could have some dinner. :)

*This is one of the many articles that I have read on rapid hoof growth- http://www.buckmanager.com/2008/10/10/foundering-long-hooves-on-white-tailed-deer/

The "End" of Fawn Season and the Beginning of Summer!

Well at the end of the week we have a total of five healthy fawns! Two males and three females! Six were born but unfortunately one buck fawn died. All of the girl fawns are in the barn now and are eating very well. Two of the girls, #3 and #5, are a week old and starting to bounce around and play, the third fawn is just two days old.

Doe twins born on May 24, they are now in the barn

I will try to elaborated more on bottle feeding in this post. Again, we bottle feed the doe fawns so that they are much calmer and easier to handle.

We feed them four times a day, every five hours. This year we are using Ultra 24 milk replacer instead of whole milk from the store as we did last year. The milk temperature must be at 110 degrees when the fawn is fed or she won't take the bottle. We use plastic pop bottles and pritchard nipples for goats and mark the bottle every 2 oz so that we can keep track of how much they eat.
Starting a fawn on a bottle is anything but easy! The very first feeding is more of a "force feeding" because they are not use to me and I get more milk on myself than in the fawn! Once the baby recognizes me as "mama" feedings can go smoothly. To help her bond to me more I will put my shirt that I had been wearing that day into her stall. This way she will know my scent and eventually recognize it as where the milk comes from.

After dinner is mandatory cuddle time

When mother does nurse their fawns they lick the fawn's butt to stimulate a bowel movement and urinating. We also must stimulate the fawns (but with a baby wipe, I'm opting out on licking them!!) that we bottle raise for about the first two weeks or until we start seeing wet spots in their stall. Generally fawns will accept the bottle better if you stimulate them at the same time as you feed them.

Mama stimulates baby before he goes in for a snack

A frequently asked question that we get is "Why is their a pile of dirt in the fawn pen?" the answer is that fawns eat dirt! Believe it or not fawns will eat dirt because of the minerals in it. Every day we place fresh dirt in their pen and once they're at two weeks old we will start putting clover in there as well.

This post covers most of what we do when we bottle feed the babies! I'm sure I will think of other things that pertain to fawns in the next post!

Twin fawns about 15 minutes after their birth

Fawn Season is here!

Our first fawn was born May 21st around 7pm. Our doe Eva had one little boy, I'm surprised that she didn't have another, last year she had twin girls. This picture was taken before he was tagged, his farm ID is Orange #08 and his name is Rebel Trooper. We call him Trooper Don after my cousin Donnie who is at training camp to become a state trooper.

Last night we had another very pregnant momma doe (Y#99) who was pacing and panting pretty hard. We were sure that we would have fawns in the morning but nothing when we went to check this morning. Y#99 was still restless, we will have some more fawns by tonight for sure! She is very round so I am thinking maybe twins? We'll see!

Snack time!

Trooper's half sister Lucky, was very attentive

Preparing for 2013 fawns!

It will soon be that time of the year again!

    Fawn season! The farm will be preparing for the fawns arrival next month. A doe's gestation period is about 200 days and we predict that we will have our first fawns on the ground on May 21st. Of course the gestation period may be altered depending on how many fawns the doe is carrying and the does environment etc. Fawn Season is a bit like Christmas and Easter together. The doe will start pacing non-stop around the fence 12-24 hours before she has the baby. Last year all of the fawns were born at night so we would all wake up in the morning knowing that there was a fawn hiding somewhere in the pasture. A whole lot like an Easter egg hunt! Fawns are about 3/4 the size of a dinner plate when curled up so they are difficult to find. Once they are located we ID them with a plastic ear tag and a microchip. The PA Dep. of Agriculture requires for captive whitetails to have two forms of ID with at least one visible. The fawn receives some probiotic paste orally, 2cc of vitamin B complex under the skin (SQ), and some iodine on it's belly button. We tag all of our doe fawns in their left ear and all of the buck in their right ear, this way we can tell their gender at a glance.

One of our 2012 fawns hidden in the golden rod

    After they have their ID's it is all logged in the herd inventory sheet the babies are put back with their mothers. The doe fawns are pulled off of the mother after 6-12 hours. We then take the female fawns and bottle feed them, this makes them easier to handle as they grow up. The buck fawns are rarely bottle fed because when they grow their antlers they become dangerous, especially during the rut (mating season). We never pull the doe fawns form the mother before they are 6 hours old because the mother doe needs time to pass the colostrum through to her fawn. The colostrum is crucial to the fawns survival. I could go on for a long time but I will write more on bottle feeding in a couple weeks.

    Here is a video of a fawn being born! This was not on our farm, but it's still really cool!

P.S. The bucks have also started to grow antlers! This picture of Mr. is from last week, since then he has put on a about 2" more growth!

"Chipped" Hooves

About a week ago we had a thaw in the winter weather and then it re-froze, forming a hard crust. One of the other doe chases Deedee around a lot and we came to the conclusion that her hoof pads were damaged by running through the icy crust. I sprayed Blue-Kote on it the left chipped hoof and noticed that her right front leg also had a chip but there was a flap of pad covering it. I figured the flap might protect it some so I didn't mess with it.
I checked it this morning and the flap has grown longer, all of the way up to the hair. The left hoof I don't think is getting infected but it has mud in it so I can't tell for sure. Deedee gets irritated when I touch it though.

 I checked with the guys over on the whitetail farming forums and one of them recommended Kopertox which is actually for treating thrush in horse hooves. It's also a waterproof bandage which will help very much in the yucky slush/mud weather. I hope that they have some at Tractor Supply!

Part of her treatment is getting extra peanuts and hugs as prescribed by "Dr." Autumn!


Also Deedee is now use to coming into the barn now, she use to hate buildings with an avid passion.

New Doe/Penn State Seminar/ Webinars

   On January 25th we got a phone call from our buddies that I bought Lilly from. They felt that they needed to "make it right" and wanted to give me one of their doe who was pregnant. I was pretty surprised, I wasn't suspecting that! The doe's name is DeeDee, she is six years old and very docile. I 'met' her before when we went down to their farm to help with the spring fawns. We picked her up on February 9th! DeeDee does NOT like to go into or be in buildings, so that is one thing I will have to work on with her. She was bred with an up and coming yearling buck that was sold, he'll be marketed as "XL's Maxin" so keep a lookout! I'm praying for buck fawns from her, I need to make some money back. DeeDee is settling in alright but she is so timid of the other doe. #99 chases her because DeeDee lets her.
     Last Sunday we separated Mr. Bob from the adult doe and put him with the buck fawns. Then we put the doe fawns in with the adult doe. Beatrix was on the top of the totem pole when she was with the doe fawns, but now that she is with the mama doe she is on the bottom. She doesn't like that, but she'll have to get use to it!

    On March 23rd we'll be taking a road trip down to State College, this time it will be to attend the Nutrition and Feeding Management for Deer Farms.  It's from 8am to 4pm and they will serve a meal. I can't wait to go, it will be one long day but it will be worth it! The topics will include

• Ruminant anatomy and feeding behaviors
• General feeding practices
• Life cycle nutrition (Fawns, pregnant does,
  adult bucks, etc.)
• Pen soil, forage, and water analysis
• Regulatory update (CWD, TB, etc.)

    Dad and I will be going along with our neighbor Pete and hopefully our veterinarian, Dr. Tanner, who is being trained to take care of whitetails. I'm not looking forward to getting up early so we can leave at 5:30am though. It takes roughly 2 1/2 hours to get from point A to point B going the speed limit. 
     For those who don't know, Penn State has a program dedicated to researching whitetails and whitetail farming. Recently I had been poking around through their website and found a mini-series webinar about whitetail deer management. It's from 2011 and it is directed at managing deer in the wild but it is highly informative and I would recommend anyone who wants to learn more about the species. I watched the one on whitetail breeding biology and communication. Click to be taken to their site -> Whitetail deer management series

   

Death of a good doe and a warning against shadecloth.

   Our five year old doe Lilly (Purple #809) died Tuesday night after a long struggle. After an autopsy we discovered that two softball sized wads of shade cloth had shifted and plugged her intestine off, half starving her. Shade cloth is a cloth barrier that farmers use to create shade for their animals, hence the name. We do not use shade cloth, on our farm so it was in her stomach ever since we purchased her from another whitetail farm a year ago. They've also been having problems with other deer eating shade cloth and dying from not being able to pass it and took it all the cloth down.
  
   Now it makes sense why 809 never gained weight properly and that she only had one small fawn this spring when in the past she always had twins. Her body just couldn't process food properly. No matter how much medicine we gave her it wouldn't have helped.
  
   Sarah Yurisic from The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture came and took a brain stem sample to test for Chronic Wasting Disease, which is mandatory for all whitetail deaths. She also extracted the lymph nodes, and piece of ear, and 809's identification tag. Why the extras? If the brain stem proves untestable the lymph nodes may be tested also. The piece of ear and farm tag is for DNA.
    
   It's all part of farming.