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Australia
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1
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One of my stags has arthritis. Could you please tell me the likely cause and
how to prevent a re-occurrence? |
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If this condition occurred in only a single animal it is likely to be just a |
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one-off problem. I would need to know more about the deer concerned,
especially his
age. Arthritis can be due to infectious reasons, but this is almost
always in very young animals with other health problems. This occurs in
cattle calves, and could occur in deer, but is not commonly reported. Sporadic
cases in older animals are mostly degenerative conditions related to age, and
nothing much can be done to prevent these. If you see additional cases a
more thorough investigation would certainly be warranted. Only then would
it be possible to come up with any rational preventive measures.
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2
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I wish to trim my fallow doe’s toes. Is Acepromazine 25mg an appropriate
sedative for a yearling fallow? How do I know the proper length to leave the
toes? |
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It has been my experience over many years with fallow deer that their hooves
rarely ever need trimming, but it may be that you have a problem if the toes do
appear to be excessively long. If you really do believe that this is the case,
using ACE will help to get the job done. It is not a particularly effective
tranquilliser once the animal is agitated, but if all goes well it should help a
little. Do not cut too far back -you do not want to open the sensitive laminae
inside the hoof. If the deer is getting normal exercise in a fairly large
enclosure the feet really should not get into too much trouble.
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3 |
We have been raising 1wk old fawn since we found her without a mother 10
days ago. She was lethargic and |
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dehydrated when we found her. The vet
treated her IVT, an antibiotic and amino magic? A few hours later she was fine - taking
fluids (goats milk about 400ml a day) eating grass, walking and crying out.
This was short-lived (5 days). This afternoon she was having a convulsion in
the yard- she was cold (even though it is a warm day). She has again had IVT,
selenium, and iron IM and appeared to be picking up. 1 hour later she began to
fit for 1.5 hours. When she stopped fitting she went into a comma-like state
before dying.
We are thinking of sending her for an autopsy as we have lost 6 fawns to date
this season, another which we found abandoned and died of similar symptoms 3
days later. Do you have any clues? We are new at this and are concerned that
they are lacking something. We have 30 other healthy looking fawns on the
ground. |
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The best advice that I can give you is to submit this animal for necropsy.
Only by doing so can you properly establish the cause of these problems.
There is no room for guesswork if you have lost other fawns before this one.
It could be a disease like necrobacillosis but only a necropsy can confirm
this. |
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4 |
I found a doe fawn snared in our fence 2˝ weeks ago. I assume
her to be approx 3wks of age now. I have |
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treated her leg (which was
maggot infested) by keeping it very clean and using Furazone Ointment in the gash. The swelling is
down and does not appear to have any infection. Healing nicely. She does not
seem to be gaining any movement below her hock where the wound is, but gets
around quite well on 3 legs.
She had been eating well up until this morning. She usually eats 5-6 times a
day and takes in about 800-1000ml. Today she has eaten some clover, but has
only consumed 500ml of milk in 2 feedings. Her faeces are much harder and more
pellet-like also. Although she appears to be fine, I am worried about her
becoming dehydrated.
What is the minimum she should be taking in and should I keep all grasses away
from her? And should I be introducing her to water, or keep her only on her
milk diet? Should I force feed her? Is it common for them to go off of their
feed occasionally? She is my first attempt at raising a fawn and it does not
appear to be a task that very many people are willing to take on in my area,
especially with the attention that her wounded leg requires. Any advice you are
able to give me would be greatly appreciated. P.S. Your web site is amazingly
informative! You give advice honestly and it is easy to understand. Thank you
so much for your service! |
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From what you tell me she is probably coping quite well with what is a
stressful and painful experience for her. It may just be pain that has
put her off her feed and that may only last a day or two - hard to say.
I don't think you should force-feed her just yet - that will only add to the
stress. She should have access to clean water and it's fine if she
wants to nibble some grass. If she stops drinking altogether that is
when you should worry, and then take her to a veterinarian for a full
assessment. It does sound as though she could have a major problem
with her leg, and if that does not improve then you should certainly have a
vet look at her to see what chance she has of regaining full function. |
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5 |
I am hand raising 2 fawns. I am feeding goat milk replacer 2-3x daily
(which in the past has worked beautifully). |
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One fawn has a perfect stool,
the other has intermittent diarrhoea. I am a veterinary technician so I have
checked 3 separate stool samples and found roundworms, which I have treated
with liquid panacur daily x 4 days.
I also see what appears to me to be some sort of egg that is fairly circular
with a opperculum at one end, though not every egg is uniform. I am not sure if
this is truly an egg or some sort or debris(spore)?
Needless to say I am concerned about the diarrhoea worsening. This is the 5th
fawn I have raised so I do expect some loose stools now and again. I have been
mixing pumpkin filling into his milk 2x daily and using pedialyte. Sometimes it
helps sometimes it doesn't. He does however have a good appetite and
appearance. He is slightly weak in his rear legs comparable to the other fawn.
When I got him his bowel movements were more formed than they are now. I am
hoping you can help me with any information you have. |
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You are pretty much on track with your management of this animal - not sure
that I can add very much. Your description of the "egg" does not ring
any bells. Any chance of a picture? |
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6a |
I am a fawn rehabilitator and received a 4-month-old fawn from people who
had her for 1 week. She was |
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emaciated and kept contained in a kennel
and was franticly pacing when I picked her up. They fed her a diet of
apples for the time they had her. Subsequently, when I got her to my
place, she developed acidosis and stasis within 48 hours. Although I
treated successfully and her faecal production is now normal, her urine was
reddish-brown for several to four days and she is unable to rise on her own
although will remain standing for 5-10mins when I get her up. She has
a slight drop in her hocks, and joint cracking. I believe I'm dealing
with ataxic myoglobinuric syndrome. She currently is receiving probiotics, sodium bicarbonate, bo-se and methocarbamol.
What additionally would you suggest, including your antibiotic choice and
dosage, and any other treatment. She weighs 12kg. |
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It certainly sounds like the animal has PCM, and if so she is in deep
trouble. There is no consistently successful treatment once this has occurred,
although the approach that you are taking is often tried. This is one
situation where prevention is much better than cure. With a very large amount
of luck you might succeed, but the welfare of the deer will be a primary
consideration.
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6b |
I thought I would follow up and let you know that 3 days after I e-mailed
you the fawn stood on her own. This |
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amazed me because she was unable to get up for two weeks, and I thought of
euthanizing her on more than one occasion. At this time, it doesn't
look like I will be able to release her. However, I didn't think she would
ever stand up again. I plan on getting some radiographs to see if
laminitis occurred with resulting damage and some blood panels. I
thought this follow up might give others who are dealing with animals with
CM some hope that all don't result in fatalities. You should see her
trotting around!
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International
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| 1a |
Hello, Our son works at a wildlife sanctuary that mainly rehabs and releases injured fawns & raccoons who are |
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brought to them. About 8 months ago a public park was going out of business & needed to find permanent homes for their deer & birds. This sanctuary took 2 of the deer to take as each is too bonded to humans to be released. From the change in diet and/or from the change inthe ground of the new enclosure the hooves of each der grew very rapidly. Our first question is what is the correct length for the hooves of adult deer? Is it 1", 2" or what? And do you think the hooves' rapid overgrowth was from the change in diet or from the lack of any hard surface within the new enclosure? What is the main cause for rapid overgrrowth of hooves? If dietary, is it from too much protein and/or too much grains? What about too much protein/grains could cause such growth?
The sanctuary did not trim the hooves right away but unfortunately waited until both deer were walking with difficulty. The hooves have now been trimmed [and again] I need to ask what is the correct length for the hooves? One of the deer has had anatomical changes to her left front leg. Instead of the leg being straight all the way down to the hoof, sort of like a ballet dancer on their toes, the leg bends a little below the dew claws [so that the claws are almost in contact with the ground] and becomes almost horizontal or flattened and is turned inwards instead of being straight. The deer walks okay, though stiffly. But is there pain, and if there is will it cease or not? What caused this, and is there any treatment? Is it the tendons, the ligaments, or the bone itself that has been changed? It seems to have come about after the hooves were trimmed. Why would that be? Or was it just not noticed previously?
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Thank you for the interesting questions about cervid feet. First of all, as a generalization deer do not seem to get many feet/hoof problems, and that is certainly my experience with wild deer. They are too active to allow the hooves to overgrow - at least that is my suspicion. I have seen it once or twice in farmed deer and I think you are correct - high protein in the diet does seem to be a factor, as does the movement on to soft ground where the feet do not wear. You might get a benefit from trying to correct these two issues if you can do so readily. But I think you have done the right thing in trimming the feet, and you should trim the claws back to something lifke a normal conformation. Did you get your vet to sedate them, and did he do the feet for you? Do not cut too much off or you will open the sensitive laminae. You must not draw blood!
I am not going to give you a foot length in inches - just too variable. Just trim back to something like the normal conformation. This may need to be repeated at 6 month intervals for a while.
The one with altered feet may cause you problems. It is most likely to be tendons, and putting on a fibre glass cast to straighten the foot may be worth trying. See what your vet thinks.
Good luck and let me know what happens.
(27 November 2011)
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| 1b |
Hello again, thank you very much for your answers. You said that "The one with altered feet may cause you |
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problems." What kind of problems? And if it is tendons why might a fibre glass cast "be worth trying"? Could it also be the ligaments and muscles that were altered? Also in the answer you said that they may need to repeat the triming at "t month" intervals. What does this mean & why is repeating necessary? They did sedate each deer & a vet did do the trimming. But they might not do it again so soon. That is why we'd appreciate knowing why it is necessary.
Most unfortunately these deer are not in our care but in the care of a sanctuary where our son works. We have little or no say in what is done. Is it at all possible that the sanctuary, since their experience is in the rehab & release of fawns, may not know what they need to know about the care of adult deer who are not permanently in their care? ... Apparently [the newest concern] they now lock up the deer in a storage shed at night with a bright red heat lamp on. They have even tried putting blankets on the deer, which were not tolerated. Their view is that this is necessary against cold & rain, and overlook that deer are naturally made to tolerate this. It seems unnatural and overly restrictive, or is it okay? If the deer needed shelter wouldn't they go into the shed themselves without needing to be locked in? How bad is it to lock them up in a shed with a heat lamp, so that if they want to get up and go outside they can't? And could a heat lamp overheat the shed, or not likey, and could the red light bother them?
With continued thanks!
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I will try to answer your further questions, but please keep in mind that when it comes down to some very specific possibilities, that really needs a good clinical examination to sort out. Your own vet is in a much better position than I will ever be in. This certainly applies to the attitude of the people in the sanctuary. I am not a psychologist and even if I was I have seen enough of the human race in 45 years as a vet to know that they will always make you wonder. So back to the deer in trouble.
My apologies for not noticing that I had left the figure 6 out of the sentence about the frequency of foot trimming, but please understand that this is a rough guide only and depends very much on how well you have removed the reasons for the overgrowth. You need 2 things when working with wildlife (well 3 really) - good observation skills with or without field glasses, common sense (lots of this) and animal welfare, with a genuine concern for the plight of a sick or injured animal. So often one sees things being done to animals that are for the benefit of the carer rather than for the animal. If you think that I am being too harsh I can only tell it as I see it.
I will now get off my soap box and try to give you sensible answers to the remaining questions.
The trouble I refer to is the possibility that the tendons have been ruptured and the deer is walking on the everextended foot, which never gets a chance to heal anything like straight. If the deer will tolerate a light cast for several months it MAY manage to get around without damaging the foot once the cast comes off. If this does not work then you really do start to see animal welfare issues coming to the fore.
If you provide shelter deer will usually use it if they want to, but on the other hand if being locked in does not worry them then why not. I don't think the red light would worry them too much. But blankets??
Hope this helps.
(1 December 2011)
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| 1c |
Is straw okay as ground cover? The enclosure had been terribly muddy and so has now been covered with straw. |
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Even when it snows will straw be okay, or is there anything better that could be put down? Would it also be good to put some pea gravel around the inside edges of the enclosure, so as to help keep the hooves worn down? Or is there even something better to help?
And sometimes when the deer with the altered legs walks her hind legs crisscross inward and she wobbles. Is that because she is weak? Is it because her overall structure has been changed, due to her hooves and left front leg, impacting on her hind area? Could anything be done so as to help that or strengthen her?
If we can work out how to email some photos of her front leg and hoof, would this be of benefit and help
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Straw is a very good substrate and I am sure that the deer will enjoy it. I am not sure what you mean by pea gravel, but if I guess right I don't think it will provide much beneficial effect on the feet of these deer. I don't think any treatment will benefit the deer with the wobbly gait. As you said, it might just be weakness.By all means send some photos via the Deer Vet email address.
(29 December 2011).
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| 2 |
Hi there. We live on a large piece of property and have deer who come by every day for apples and COB, and |
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have grown to love them. Recently one of our most beloved ones suddenly came one day with an eye that was completely white and cloudy looking (like a severe cataract?). It was weepy for about 3 days. It doesn't appear injured in any way. What are some things that can cause this, and is there anything we could do for him? Thanks so much!
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The cloudiness of the cornea or heratitis can be due to trauma, and with only one eye affected in only one animal that is the most likely cause. What sort of trauma? Perhaps the fawn was injured when it ran into a bush, and they sometimes play very vigorous running and chasing games. The energy of youth - I remember that (just). Sometimes in this country the fawns lie near or even on ants, and the ants do not like this at all. This can cause quiate sever keratitis. Most cases recover with no permanent eye damage, with a small ulcer perhaps having a permanent effect - but usually still able to see.
(22 August 2011)
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Hello, my friend was caring for a baby deer that was found abandoned. She was in the process of obtaining her |
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wildlife rehabilitation certification. Today, the deer (3 months old) was found dead. The only abnormal behavior we saw was a refusal to eat any type of feed, he would only drink goats milk from a bottle. He was checked on 30 minutes prior to being found and was acting normal. There were no outward symptoms but he was found bleeding from his left nostril. He could not have been dead more than a few minutes. There are questionable circumstances (his gate was found open with no explanation) but we are unsure what happened. Should we take the body to a vet to check for harmful diseases? He was the only deer on the property but there are a lot of other animals. |
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This type of sudden death can be due to any number of things, and we rely very much on post-mortem findings, including culture and sensitivity for possible pathogens. If a necroscopy was not done straight away I would only be guessing. It must have been sad for you to lose this fawn like this, and I guess the only thing you can learn from the experience is to always have a necroscopy done.
(20 August 2011) |
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| 4 |
We have a deer fawn that our vet asked us to care for. She is about 5 weeks old now and had all 4 hooves turned |
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under, walking on the first knuckle of each leg. She had terrible sores at each pressure point that we treated topically and then applied splints made of PVC that allowed us to straighten the front hooves in one week. However, the rear legs are proving to be an issue. They were much worse at the front and after 4 weeks in splints, she still turns them under after splint removal. It is very hot where we live and she is beginning to get splint sores even though we wrap well with cotton wrapping and rub PVP iodine ointment on each hoof every day.
Any suggestions on how we can finish getting the rear hooves straight? It is frustrating for both of us! Is there a splint we can purchase that might do the trick? We did give tetracycline infusions in the beginning to soften the tendons which helped tremendously but don't want to do that again as it can be dangerous and gave her scours pretty bad.
Thanks so much! |
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I wish that I had better news after all your care and commitment to this little fellow. I have seen congenital bowing of the tendons in cattle and deer, and unless they make a quick recovery it very soon becomes an animal welfare issue ... Most that I have seen do not recover if the legs are not back to normal by about 3 weeks. You will know when it is hopeless and you will have to be strong and do what is best for the fawn if he is suffering.
I wish that I had better news.
(29 June 2011) |
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| 5 |
I am a Veterinarian outside of Weatherford, Texas in hope of some advice concerning a case I saw yesterday. I |
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that came upon your email while searching for information pertaining to this patient's clinical signs. Please bear with me, I am simply a general practitioner and do not have much experience with farmed white tail deer.
I received a call from a large white tail deer farmer with the complaint of a three year old buck with scours, depression, and a bloated abdomen. Upon examination the animal did ambulate with his head down, but was able to keep up with the other bucks in the pen. His abdomen was swollen and a dark fluid could be seen on rum and hindquarters. The owner offered history that the patient had been darted (xylazine/telazol) three weeks prior to allow for removing antlers. At this event the patient also received presponse, covexin, cydectin, and some form of an EHD vaccine.
Once the animal was sedated (xylazine/telazol via dart) Physical Examination findings. BCS 5/9 wt approx. 145 lbs, temp 102.8 degrees F, cardiovascular/respiration was within normal limits, rectal revealed dark tarry feces, a noticeable ping and fluid wave was found with abdominal ballottement. An orogastric tube was passed into rumen, it produced a large amount of dark foul smelling fluid. A few minutes later patient arrested and died. Upon necropsy a diffuse pattern of ruminal ulcerations were found, a portion of the small intestine was found to contain a small amount of bloody fluid. Necropsy was otherwise within normal limits.
I suspect ruminal stasis with possible acidosis resulting in the ulcerations. Could this all be caused by stress? Any help would be appreciated. |
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Good afternoon Sydney time, and the first thing I must say is that there is nothing simple about being a general practitioner – your description of the buck and his problem verify that you know a great deal indeed about farmed ruminants, and that is exactly what you were dealing with – not a creature from another planet. He was far more like other farmed ruminants that you are familiar with, and your train of thought was logical. Having said that, where they do differ of course is the way they react to handling. Unless this is done well by a competent deer farmer with good facilities, there is always a risk when you dart an animal - any animal Can you imagine a beef farmer darting a Herefod bull for some routine procedure? From the very earliest days of the deer farming story here I have said time and again that a dart rifle is not a substitute for a good set of deer yards and deer that are trained to go through these yards, and through a suitable chute (which we call a crush.).
If every routine procedure becomes an exercise in wild animal capture then there is always the potential for post-capture problems. Gastro-intestinal ulceration tends to be a chronic condition due to ongoing stress, while the more acute cases such as you describe are more likely to be post-capture myopathy, sometimes complicated by acute enteritis due to Salmonella or yersinia. But I have little doubt that this buck’s problems started when they fired a dart at him. It is far easier to prevent these cases occurring than it is to treat them once they are in real trouble
I hope this helps, and why not talk to this deer farmer about your ability to set up a herd health program that will see these cases becominga rare event. Good luck!
(13 December 2010) |
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| 6 |
I realise that you are in Australia, but you should still be able to answer my question. I have been feeding a deer |
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that has a bulge just before the hindquarters. I've taken some pictures. I wonder if you could give me your opinion what the problem might be.
Could this be an injury that will correct itself? Go away? Or create more problems for this particular young buck. I have no way of being able to treat it. So, whatever is wrong with him could possibly take him out. I've been feeding him for a month now and had never noticed it before. Your best guess would be fine with me... and do you think 'it' will get larger? I just have no idea what it could be and whether it will create a problem for this young guy.
It is good to hear from you way down there in Texas. I have had a couple of trips to Texas and you are just the most welcoming folks. You have sent some very clear photographs and it is almost certainly an abscess due to a penetrating foreign body- probably a sharp piece of wood or something similar. It looks like it already has a thick fibrous capsule and it is possible that the object that caused the problem is still in there. It would be very easy to sort |
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this out if it could be examined more closely, but it is not worth the risk and cost of darting it. It will not bother him too much, and he might even have the object discharged without any intervention at all in due course. So don’t worry too much – he should be OK
(20 June 2010) |
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| 7 |
I have a question pertaining to an almost 2 1/2 week old fawn I am raising. I'm having trouble with diarrhea. I am |
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feeding her goat's milk which is what I am questioning right now. It doesn't have the smell or body that it had when I used it to raise other fawns in the past. She would pass an almost normal stool now and then, but it is getting worse. I took a sample of her stool to the vet and he said she had stomach worms. I treated her once a day for three days with Panacur. Her stool is worse than it had been. I've also been giving her Probiotics twice a day. Would it be safe to switch her to a milk replacer now, and should I do it all at once or gradually? Your advice is greatly appreciated.
PS: As I was writing this I just talked to the woman I get my milk from. She said she has been having problems with her goats. She saide one day her goats are coming in with very low, poor milk production and with diarrhea, then are fine the next day. It's passing from goat to goat. |
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It is extremely unlikelly that gut parasites will be the cause - it is just too young. The goats do need to be examined for the possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms that could cause problems for any animal drinking their milk (including humans).
When a fawn has diarrhea it will need some form of fluid therapy. This means giving it additional fluids over and above what milk substitute it drinks. Remember that the milk substitute must not be diluted otherwise the normal clotting of the milk in the abomasums cannot occur. For the same reason always offer the electrolyt at least two hours before or after a feed. If it is too weak to drink you may need to use a stomach tube. Sick fawns also need lots of tender loving care, with good hygiene and a warm dry place to sleep. Always a challenge though - good luck!
(18 August 2009) |
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8a |
I raise Whitetail deer in South-Central Texas. I have had a little
experience with EHDV or BTV. Right now I have |
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a 10 month old doe with fever,
ranging between 103-105F, a small amount of foaming, congested lungs, greenish
nasal drainage, lethargy, diarrhoea, and apparent stiffness in the joints
(although they are not swollen). I am treating her with Nuflor and
electrolytes. She is better today than the last 2 days. Are there any other
medications that you could recommend? Can you give deer aspirin? |
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The symptoms you describe do not appear to be consistent with EHDV. The
classical EHDV in White Tailed Deer is an acute haemorrhagic disease with death
in a few hours. There is no known treatment. At autopsy there is haemorrhaging
in most body organs including the lungs. The froth and lung congestion you
describe is suggestive of pneumonia and the stiffness may be an extension of the
infection from the lungs through the blood to the joints. The greenish nasal
discharge is a major concern as this suggests that rumen contents may have been
inhaled and is the cause of the pneumonia. If this is the case the prognosis is
not good. I am not familiar with Nuflor but assume that is an antibiotic. I
prefer the tetracycline family of antibiotics in deer. I would refrain from
using Aspirin and suggest you contact your Veterinarian for a check-up and (s)he
will probably prescribe something for the joint problem. |
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8b |
Nuflor is the synthetic, broad-spectrum antibiotic florfenicol. It is
used in cattle for respiratory diseases associated |
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with Pasteurella haemolytica,
Pasteurella multocida and Haemophilus somnus. The main reason I like this drug
is that you inject every 48 hours. I really don't feel she aspirated. Although
I don't know what other reason she could have for the nasal discharge. I also
use LA 200(oxytetracycline) we have been also injecting it SQ. and IM to
increase the on-board time and not have to inject as many times. She is up and
moving around more today. Eating feed and leaves I bring her and keeping her
temp. around 103F. One thing that puzzles me is that the end of her nose
appears to have sloughed off and is pink. At first I thought is was just that
way from being so wet but you can see the raised black areas that haven't come
off yet. Strange don't you think? |
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Continue the antibiotics as described and see if you can get some Flunixil
(Trade name here "Finadyne") to ease the pain in the joints. I suspect the
sloughing on the nose is from the constant irritation by the nasal discharge.
Whatever the cause, there is little doubt in my mind that you have a severe case
of pneumonia with secondary complications. Keep up the medications as you are
doing.
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9
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I have a 3yr old buck that seems immune to the highest dose of Xylazine
possible. Any suggestions as far as alternative drugs eg Detomidine or
Butorphanol? |
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I would not use xylazine alone to immobilise fallow or chital deer in the
open, and I am sure that the same would apply to WTD. I presume that the most
readily available option would be to use xylazine/ketamine at 4 mg/kg of each IM
(half this dose rate if IV in a chute). The xylazine can be reversed with
yohimbine, but do not use this IV within 30 minutes of induction to avoid
adverse ketamine reactions. If you give the yohimbine IM it will take about 45
minutes to act, and in that time the effects of the ketamine should not be a
problem. If you have access to carfentanil (Wildnil) this is very effective
with xylazine at 1.0 ug/kg and 0.5 mg/kg respectively, reversed with naltrexone
and yohimbine.
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| 10 |
I have a WTD doe with one runny nose and a swollen eye. What can I do? |
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It is almost impossible to tell you what this might be without seeing the
animal. For example, it could be the result of an injury. I
strongly suggest that you have a veterinarian examine the deer if the
problem does not resolve itself within a week or so.
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| 11 |
How young can a fawn be when giving a TB test? |
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It would not be usual to TB test a fawn under 6 months of age.
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12
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The state vet came in to do our TB test and after using Telazol 4 of our
deer are dead. Should Telazol be used on deer? And if so how many cc's should
be used? |
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When deer die as a direct result of immobilisation it is usually not as a
result of the choice of drugs or the dosage of drugs, since most have a
reasonable margin of safety. It is more likely that the deer were
stressed before or during the immobilisation, which places them at much
greater risk of having a problem when they are immobilised. It is
always important to recognise when this is likely to happen, and to defer
use of drugs until another day, when the deer are calm. Telazol has been used quite successfully for white-tailed
deer at a dose rate reported between 4 to 11 mg/lb, which confirms the margin of
safety. It is not used much in Australia for deer, but it is widely used in our
native fauna, as a matter of interest.
Can I also comment that your problem illustrates the fact that there is never a
total absence of risk when immobilising deer, even for experienced operators?
It is far safer to develop proper handling facilities with a chute, so that
routine procedures like Tb testing do not require chemical restraint.
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13 |
I raise both white tail and red deer I have a 5yr old stag that walks with
his head tilted. He is eating and seems to |
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be getting along all right. Has he got a central nervous disorder?
If so, is there any treatment or if not, can he be butchered? |
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A common cause of head tilting in all species is a middle ear infection.
This may respond to antibiotic treatment, so why not talk to your local
veterinarian. If he does not respond you could butcher him - after
waiting for the withholding period for any drugs used. He may even recover
without treatment, but only time will tell.
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14
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One of our farm-raised buck fawns is losing his hair and it seems like one
of the other bucks is chewing on him. The hair seems to pull out quite
easily. Is this a copper deficiency or something else? |
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This does not sound like copper deficiency, but perhaps you should talk to
your veterinarian about doing some tests to rule it out. Do not
administer copper without confirming a deficiency state - you can easily
produce copper toxicity. It is much more likely to be the result of
social dominance behaviour by the other buck.
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15 |
I have a 5wk old doe that has been doing great up until today. Today
she is unable to stand up and has slight |
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temp and slight runny nose. She does not appear to be sick but has
these symptoms. She has been very active and healthy up until now.
I have had her for 4 weeks and this is my first problem with her. I am
very concerned. |
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There are significant limitations to what can be achieved with long range
diagnosis. It would not be responsible of me to offer you advice in
this case, since your fawn could be suffering from a number of possible
problems. Only a careful clinical examination can reveal the answer.
You should ask your local veterinarian to examine this fawn as soon as
possible, so that prompt treatment can be applied.
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16
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We have 2 does, 1 buck, some small old English chickens and some pigeons. I
recently heard chicken can give deer diseases? Is this true? |
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I am not aware of any significant diseases of deer that can be transmitted
by poultry. This might apply to some strains of salmonella but I think
it would be a low risk.
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17
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I have a 2yr old whitetail from eastern Pa USA. It has chronic
diarrhoea which responds for maybe 2-4 weeks with antibiotics, then it
starts with diarrhoea again. No vet here can give me any answers. |
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Without seeing the animal and taking some tests I would only be guessing -
there is a long list of possible causes. You really do need to get a
vet fully involved. |
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18 |
We hand-raised a female fawn last year (born 1st week of June) and she has
been with the herd since |
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November. She is still not really mixing with the others and tends to
follow anyone around the boundary fences whenever work is being done.
She doesn't eat the feed when it's put out, as she tends to follow us
everywhere. She is smaller than the others born the same week and her
coat is patchy and wiry- she has put on weight but she still doesn't
represent "a fine specimen". Where did we go wrong?
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It is always likely that these animals will remain imprinted on humans, and
never really look on themselves as being a deer. If you sever all
close contact it might improve with time, but I cannot guarantee that this
will happen. There does seem to be a nutritional problem, which might
relate to her diet before she was returned to the herd. If this
persists you should consult a veterinarian - this is not something that can
readily be done by advice on the internet.
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19 |
We live in upstate New York, USA, almost in Canada. We have many white
tail deer living around us. I noticed |
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about a month ago that one was losing it's hair (the outside hair, it still
has under-hair). It looks almost white or grey instead of brown.
I noticed another is starting to loose its hair. The deer look healthy
otherwise & not mangy. Do you have any idea what would cause this? |
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I cannot say that I do - there may be nutritional reasons but that would
require a local investigation.
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| 20 |
We raise WTD from 2 days until they are weaned. We have had several
fawns develop diarrhoea. We've been |
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treating them with LA200 with some success. However, some have died and I
was wondering if there was a better treatment. |
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You really do need to sort out just what is causing the problem by having
some tests done on the next fawn that develops the problem, before you use
any antibiotics. There are a number of possible organisms that might
be involved, and also you need to check for resistance to antibiotics.
When it comes to treatment you must also use oral fluids - your vet can give
you advice on what is available locally. If the fawn is very
dehydrated it may need intravenous fluids initially, but this would be up to
your vet.
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21
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My family raises fawn whitetail deer during the summer for a local deer
farmer. I was wondering if you could tell me what to give a fawn with
an unset stomach. |
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You have not given me enough information to have any idea what advice to
give. If you can tell me more about what you see with this animal I
may be able to help. |
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22 |
I have had this whitetail buck since he was approx. 3 days old. My
nephew caught him for me after his mother |
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got hit by a car, and I bottle fed
him and raised him like I would have any other pet. My nephew got
killed in a car accident soon after that, so that makes Jake a little more
special than he would normally have been. He is 9 years old and has
been raised on a diet of sweetfeed, corn, apples, bananas, grapes, lettuce, grass, and whatever else I
have given him that he would eat. Sweetfeed is mainly what he preferred. 2-3
weeks ago I noticed he was off his normal eating habits and wasn't drinking as
much water as usual. Then he started coughing and his breathing became labored.
I was concerned that this was congestive heart failure because I lost a dog of
14 years about 3 years ago to CHF. However, his nose was running a lot and he
seemed to have some foamy substance coming out of his mouth when he coughed. My
husband suggested pneumonia. We gave him a shot of A-180 last Monday and
repeated it 48 hours later and it seemed to help some. Then, he seemed to get
worse yesterday so we gave him another shot of A-180 and will repeat it again
tomorrow. He will only eat some grass, a little Purina Puppy Chow, some grapes
and very few carrots at this point. He will drink a little water but not much.
He is so very bony and weighs about 70 lbs. or so. His bodily functions have not
shut down--he still has bowel movements as of now but I have to baby him and
hand-feed him to get him to eat. Am I spinning my wheels here or should I go
ahead and keep doing what I am doing and does he have a chance of getting
better? What else can I do to help him? I am at a total loss here and in Texas
we are not supposed to have a deer in captivity so it is a little difficult to
ask questions. But like I said, he is very special. Please help me out here and
tell me what to do. I love him so much but if it is time for me to let him go,
I need to know what to do. If not, I need to know how to help him or at least
what else could be his problem. He lays around mostly but will get up and walk
from time to time- apart from when I get in with him and coax him to get up. |
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Debbie, it is so hard to give you definitive advice without seeing Jake, and
if possible you should seek a veterinary opinion of his situation. It
does not sound good though, but only you can know when his quality of life
is no longer sustainable. I really do appreciate how much he means to
you, which also means that it your responsibility to do what is best for
him. I just cannot give you a final opinion from this far away, and I
cannot even give you a tentative diagnosis without seeing him. You
really should try to get a veterinary examination so that it is not your
decision alone. That would clearly be a heavy burden for you. My
thoughts are with you. |
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23 |
I purchased a 2yr old buck and moved him approx 45 miles to my house.
He was darted, loaded into a dark |
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trailer, we gave him exnel 3cc wormed, and
vaccines. The deer was not stressed, he came out of the trailer at night looking
good. The next day he looked good but was trotting the fence. It was 100F with
high humidity. He never took water. The next he was laying alot and looked like
his muscles were weak. We moved the water to the back of the pen and he took
approx 1/2gallon. He remains like his muscles are weak but he is aware of what
is going on. Is there something I can give him to help?
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From what you have told me it seems almost inevitably that the buck is
suffering from the effects of hyperthermia and post-capture myopathy.
I am reluctant to give a specific diagnosis from this distance, but it is
probably going to kill him. If it is PCM then treatment is rarely successful. This is
not to say that veterinary intervention might not be successful, so I would get
this organised without delay. The use of anxiolytic drugs - the so-called
long-acting neuroleptics (LANs) might have prevented this from happening.
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24 |
Hi, I have a 9 month old fallow deer. About 4 months ago he was found in his
barn unable to stand on his back |
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legs. I took him to the vet who kept him
overnight and administered an IV, wormed him and antibiotics. He got
better but then worse. I took him back to the vet and they gave him
another worming and antibiotics that I administered - shots twice a day. He
got 100% better!
Around this time my husband also noticed his leg was different, and it gradually
got worse. I keep him downstairs in my new basement which has cement floors. I
noticed his leg turning out and it slowly started to get worse. I just thought
he stood like that. Yesterday I took him to the vet and his front legs were
buckling and having a hard time standing. They asked me if he could have broken
it ? I said yes, when he was in his pen he would get scared of his leash and
freak out. He even went through his pen once. I had a rough time when he was
outside.
Now he's as calm as can be. He goes out free, no pen or fence! He has a
friend, my wallaby, and they are great friends!
The vet said he could have a deformity or a broken leg. He also said he looks
like he has parasites.
Now I'm worried! He is standing but leans on the wall. He walks, but kind of
sometimes in a circle. I'm worried he might lose his leg or we'll have to put
him down! I'm positive it’s a break that the vet didn't even catch at the time,
so I hope you can please tell me he's going to be fine! In 2 days he gets
x-rays and we go from there. What is your opinion? Thank you so much for
caring about animals and answering all these questions for people and someone
like me. |
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From what you tell me it is rather difficult to work out what might be going
on, but I do have to say that a cement floored cellar is not the best place
to keep a deer. The vets who are looking at your animal are in a far better
position than I am to sort out the problem, and certainly the x-rays should
help. I can say that parasites are not his problem though. Good luck
with him.
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25 |
Hi there. Sonja from Sweden. A full grown male came to the food-place we
have for the deer 10 days ago. He |
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was totally underfed and his stomach was
like a balloon. The winter has been hard and cold over here and with 30cm
snow, and many deer have died.
He is alright now but he doesn’t look normal. This is a full-grown buck but he
has no antlers. Do you think the malnutrition can have caused this problem? Do
you think he can live a normal life without his antlers? Can he normalize this
next year? I am so grateful for your site. |
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From what you tell me this animal seems unlikely to survive for very long -
it is obviously undersized and very vulnerable to rough weather. The lack of
antlers is also puzzling - I was not aware of a gene for poldness in roe deer,
such as occurs in red deer. I am not sure that there is much you can do to save
this animal.
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26 |
I am raising my first deer calf. I received him as an orphan < 24 hrs old,
very dehydrated, weighing 7˝lbs, |
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umbilical cord shrivelled and dry but still
attached at the navel. He received a shot of A.D. Selenium E a booster at
8wks. I have bottle-raised him on pasteurized goats milk 2% or 3.8% with
vitamin A & D.
He is now 13 weeks old and receiving 16 oz. of the goat’s milk once a day. I
also feed him a combination grain mixture of horse sweet feed (which contains
rolled oats, pellets and rolled corn), rabbit pellets, rolled barley, sunflower
chips, squirrel mix and calf manna. He is very fond of the squirrel mix which
contains many seeds! To this mix I add a small amount of calf mineral which
contains various minerals including selenium. I pick him clover and various
grasses and cut maple bows from my trees for him to nibble on. He is offered
alfalfa hay but he doesn't prefer very much of that yet. He also receives cut up
apple, sweet potato or carrots in the morning.
He currently has an open paddock area (40 x 70 ft.) with a fine gravel bottom.
I keep clay soil in the pen for him as well. His stall is in our barn with a
cement floor and is bedded thickly with pine shavings. The door to this stall is
left open to the paddock.
He now seems to be loosing weight slowly and his back legs (one or the other,
not both at once) tend to bend outwards when he is standing still and goes to
turn or move sideways. He stumbles over or backwards when he rises up on his
hind feet to reach for branches I put over his head. He can run very well and
around corners and jump and play without a problem. It is just when he makes
quick moves sideways when he is standing still that he stumbles on his back
legs.
I have purchased a deer pellet with 20% protein , 2.2% fat, 18.0 % Fibre, 1.5%
Calcium, .7% Phosphorous, .23% Sodium, .2% Magnesium, Vitamin A 20,000IU/KG,
Vitamin D 2,000 IU/KG, Vitamin E 50 IU/KG It says to feed this as the sole
ration but the man who had it developed adds corn to it. Should I switch to
this and feed it as the sole ration?
I am taking a faecal sample into my veterinarian's tomorrow and will have a
blood sample taken for analysis if recommended.
If I am able to release him back into the wild it won't be until late spring
when the foliage is thick on the trees and he has enough cover next spring. We
are just entering into fall here. Dancer may not be able to be released due to
habituation as he has been raised alone. He has developed his flight instincts
but doesn't, naturally, fear people. I am thinking about getting a goat for him
for company as I cannot find a deer companion for him. |
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You are certainly putting a huge amount of effort into him, and I can see
how much you want to help him. I really do wish that I could tell you
what is wrong, but it simply is not possible without a close examination,
including radiographs. You must ask your veterinarian to examine him. If he
is becoming used to humans then he will eventually become very dangerous.
You must arrange for his castration (with tetanus vaccination) before he
reaches puberty. Please don't think it cannot happen to you. |
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27a |
I have been hand rearing a fallow deer fawn which is now just over 4 months
old. She has suddenly taken ill, |
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the local vet gave her some injections and thinks she may have eaten
something. The only new feed that she may have taken was some grain
put out for sheep. Is this poisonous? We also have a rhododendron bush
near our house which I know are lethal for sheep. Can you give me any
clues? |
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There really is not enough information to even begin to make a diagnosis,
but you are correct about rhododendron being toxic. It a causes an
acute gastrointestinal upset, with diagnosis based on access to the plant.
If there is evidence that the fawn has eaten it then you may be on the right
track. Even 2-3 leaves may be enough. Put the fawn where the
plant is inaccessible.
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27b |
Thanks for your reply. She is very wobbly on her feet, bleary eyed and
when we pick her up to put her in her |
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shelter, she screams out in what seems to be pain. We had semi-weaned
her about 2 weeks ago, but still give her diluted cows milk every 2-3 days.
Since she took ill yesterday she could barely stand, but after her
injections from the vet she was standing this morning. I have fed her
undiluted cows milk today and she is doing ok. To me, she almost seems
a bit brain-damaged by her actions. Could she possibly even have
crashed herself into something to cause these symptoms? The
rhododendron bush has always been reasonably accessible, which makes me
wonder why she has not eaten it until now.
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The symptoms you describe could be due to the plant, but they are not
specific. Your vet is best placed to deal with this animal, including
examination for evidence of traumatic injuries. |
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28
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My 2˝yr old deer has been coughing and seems to have a rattle in her chest
when she breaths. Any idea what might be wrong with her and what I can
do for her? |
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With clinical signs that clearly indicate a respiratory tract problem, she
could well have pneumonia. You should seek veterinary advice, since she may
need antibiotics.
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29 |
I stumbled upon your website by accident... what a wealth of knowledge. My
wife and I live outside Victoria, TX - |
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USA, and have rehabilitated orphaned whitetail fawns now for four years for
the State of Texas. Our most significant challenges have been dealing with
deadly bloat and diarrhoea, the latter most common especially when we
"inherit" new fawns. We've tried adding pro-bios, yogurt, dried cow
colostrum and other live bacterial additives to their formula with every
meal with mixed results. Do you know of anything that we could do better to
alleviate the diarrhoea and how to effectively deal with deadly bloat? |
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Make no mistake, you have taken on a difficult and demanding task in hand
raising mismothered, orphaned, sick and injured fawns, with the expectation that
you can get most of them back in the wild. The reality is that every fawn
is different, with a different set of problems. Therefore any attempt at giving
you templates to work from is never going to work. Each fawn will have
experienced a varying set of stressors, from how much colostrum it might have
consumed and when it did so, to physical injuries and just plain terror as it
tries to avoid human contact. There is nothing more frightening to the
fawn than being forced into close proximity to man. This soon passes, of
course, as the fawn comes to associate familiar people with a food rewash, with
the main problem then becoming "imprinting" on the feeder with its inevitable
effects on attempts to release the now tame fawn. Similarly, entire bucks that
are tamed by hand feeding become extremely dangerous - this is probably the most
discussed topic on this site.
So, finally to your question about gastro-intestinal disturbances in young
fawns. Firstly, this is most likely to happen when the fawn is newly in the
situation, being terrified and stressed, and possibly in pain. Some people are
just better at this than others, in the way they assess and handle each fawn.
This is "stockmanship", with a good knowledge of what is required and a calm,
sympathetic attitude. Fawns which have had no colostrum or inadequate colostrum
are far more likely to develop GI disturbances, including enteritis, and they
are far more likely to die.
The key points are as follows:
1. Provide colostrum for the first few days - goat or sheep is fine, as is cow if
that is all you can get.
2. Treat the dehydration in scouring fawns with oral electrolytes as are marketed
for cattle calves, and never dilute the milk
with these fluids. Feed them with
full strength milk replacer and give the fluids as an extra source of both
fluid nd electrolytes. If you dilute the milk the fawn cannot clot the milk in
the abomasum, which is part of the normal digestive process. Feed the warm
fluids at least 2 hours after the milk.
3.
If the fawn has a temperature above 39.5 degrees C use IM broad spectrum
antibiotics like Trimethoprin co. and IV fluids if the fawn is flat and unable
to drink. Warmth, a quiet place to rest, good hygiene all play a part. It
helps a lot if you like this work and have a genuine concern for the fawn's
welfare.
4.
Bloat can be due to a number of things, from problems with the feeding
regime to ingestion of foreign bodies. If necessary use a needle or small
trochar to depressurise the gut, or perhaps pass a stomach tube.
5. Have necropsies done on as many fans that die as possible, to understand what is
killing them.
There are many other points that I could make, but these are probably the main
ones. Good luck.
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| 30 |
We operate a wildlife rescue & rehabilitation refuge in NW Arkansas, USA. We
typically rescue, rehabilitate and |
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release about 24 deer yearly. An integral
part of keeping orphaned fawns wild is "Franco", an adult stag we have had
for several years. Once the orphaned fawns are weaned they are put in his
care in a multi-acre wooded enclosure. This allows them to grow up with
minimal human imprinting. Franco grooms the fawns and protects the herd. He
will come when called, bringing the herd with him, allowing us to check on
them as needed. Once they are old enough they are darted and released back
to the wild.
Last week we had Franco and several other deer sedated (Xylazene) by our vet for
various reasons (Tumor "wart" removal Franco, 2 castrations, and 2
examinations). We administered Toluzene reversal agent afterward. None of the
deer were under more than 45 minutes and all deer came around within 15 minutes
of the Tolezene injection. The only complication was the fact it poured rain at
the end of the procedure right when the reversal was administered.
The temperature was 75-80 deg F when the rain started, so we did not thin. There
is little doubt that of illnesses in deer hypothermia would be an issue. But we
have had some serious after-effects we do not understand.
The 3 deer that had surgery, including Franco, were all out of sorts the
following day. None of them would eat, 2 developed diarrhoea. We assumed the
problem was stress related, due to the surgeries.
After 48 hours we became quite concerned. Franco was the largest (about 200
pounds) and was the hardest hit. He lay around and would not eat. If we offered
food or water he might drink a little and eat 1-2 nibbles. His temperature was
97F. The other 2 deer would eat a little bit but both had diarrhoea.
We administered Baytril, Dexamethazone and Probias (oral microbial gel). All 3
deer looked better the next day. Franco was up and about and ate a little food.
One of the younger deer (yearling) had a developed deep cough and could not pass
a bowel movement despite his constant effort. We gave him an enema which
relieved him but his stool was very pussy. He has since gotten better and is
eating more each day. The other deer also improved and is eating a little bit.
None of them is eating anywhere near their normal intake and Franco is eating
virtually nothing. They have natural foods available in the woods such as green
tree leaves, acorns, bark etc. We keep a feeder full of alfalfa based deer feed
with a sweet grain mix and we provide fresh fruits, carrots, peas and vegetables
daily.
The veterinarians who work with us know very little about deer. Do you think
this is possibly a case of hypothermia? If so what can we do? The younger deer
appear to be improving but Franco is getting weaker. He acts like he wants to
eat but does not, He tries to regurgitate his cud but only air comes up. It
would appear his stomach has shut down. Can you offer any suggestions or
direction? Thank you so much for your consideration. We have a web site at:
witterwildliferefuge.com |
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It is certainly distressing when an old friend like Franco gets into
trouble, especially when it is a consequence of an elective procedure. There
is little doubt that the illness in all 3 deer is a direct consequence of
the xylazine sedation, with my difficulty being that I can only speculate at this
distance from where you are. It would be so much easier if I could examine the
animals. It does emphasise the fact that every time you immobilise a deer there
is a risk of some problem occurring. This may be even more the case when
something unexpected and stressful happens, as with your rainstorm. One possible
explanation is that the stress from the handling/sedation/rainstorm caused a
latent infection with an organism like Salmonella spp. or similar organism to
flare up into clinical enteritis. This would explain the systemic illness and
diarrhoea. Only culture of the faeces can confirm this diagnosis but this needs
to be done before treatment with antibiotics. Many animals die from these
infections, so hopefully the worst is over and they will continue to improve.
Let me know how they go.
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31 |
I am a wildlife rehabilitator and recently got a very young <1wk old WTD
fawn. Its first stool was bloody |
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diarrhoea, lots of blood! I immediately took
him to a vet and had the stool cultured. Many tests (including checking for hemorragic disease, salmonella, bacteria, worms, etc...) were done and nothing
was found, so it was assumed to be a virus. He was given an injection of baytril
and a paste to help restore the natural flora (can't remember what it
was called). The diarrhoea turned into a thick, tarry colored sticky stool. The
tarry color makes me think there is still bleeding occurring somewhere. We have
him on Day One Diastat (normalize stool consistency) and Day One LA200
(Lactobacillus Acidophilus). He acts normal, eats well (Purina goat milk
replacer), runs, plays, just can't get his bowels straightened out. Questions
are, what do you think could be causing the bleeding and do you have any other
suggestions on what to check for or what I can do to help straighten this little
guy out? Also, another rehabber suggested I give all of my deer (7 in total) a
shot of penicillin, sick or not. I don't believe in medicating a healthy animal,
but rather separating them from the sick ones. What is your opinion?
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First of all - no way should you give your healthy deer a penicillin shot -
not good advice. The tarry faeces indicates that there is bleeding occurring
high in the bowel – fore-stomachs or small intestine. Given the course of
the illness as you describe it there is a strong possibility that it is a
bleeding ulcer in either the abomasum or duodenum (first part of the small
intestine). Recent studies in humans have shown that gastric ulcers
can be due to an infection with a particular bacterium. In animals it
has always been assumed that stress plays a part as well, but your little
guy seems happy enough right now. The bleeding may resolve spontaneously,
but in the worst case the ulcer may perforate, with fatal peritonitis.
Surgical excision of a bleeding ulcer is possible, but not done commonly.
Let me know how he goes. |
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32 |
I have about 60 deer - 40 are pregnant, 20 have given birth. 5 of the
new born have died, 1 or 2 after birth. Our |
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vet gives them Aminovet solution mix
with (Linco-Spectin *100)150g powder. How can we treat them and could you advise
if the medicine above is right for them or not?
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I do sincerely wish that I could be of immediate assistance to you, but I am
afraid that the information that you have provided does not give me enough
to comment on. Are you able to give me more information? What species
of deer? I and a colleague published a paper on perinatal mortality in
farmed fallow deer, and I recommend that your veterinarian obtain a copy.
English and Mulley (1992). Perinatal mortality in farmed fallow deer,
Australian Veterinary Journal. V.69, pp. 191-193.
I hope to hear further from you.
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33 |
I have noticed a fawn on our property seems to be losing fur from his
shoulder blades right down his backbone. I |
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would say this buck fawn is approximately 1˝ months old. I was just
wondering if he could be moulting early or if there is something wrong with
him? Have you seen this before? I was curious as we have deer on
our property all the time and I have never noticed this before. Thank you
for you help. I am located in North-Eastern USA.
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It is difficult to know what might have caused this, but if only one animal
is affected and he does not seem to be ill it might be some sort of contact
allergy. Should not worry him too much.
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34 |
I live on a very large pond surrounded by woods and a peninsula on either
side of my property. Since early |
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summer a female deer has lived on my
land. She primarily stays on the peninsula, but comes out usually in
the morning or evening hours. I noticed that she has a large sack
hanging from her belly that almost hits the ground when she walks. One
of my neighbors called the animal
control people to take her away. Animal control said that they were going to
tranquilize her and take her "dead" babies and then return her to the woods.
They said that she will eventually get gangrene and can become dangerous if they
don't do this. I actually don't believe that animal control will help her, but
are in fact, going to just kill her. It's sad, because she is so beautiful and
seems to be very tame. Can you tell me if animal control is doing the right
thing for her or is there another solution to this problem? |
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I am having some difficulty working out what is wrong with this deer from
your description of a large sack. Where did the notion of "dead
babies" come from? It might be a prepartum vaginal prolapse, in which
case she will definitely have to be immobilised for surgery or euthanasia.
I do not think you can do anything. |
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35a |
I live in Florida and my husband and I have a Whitetail Deer Farm. We
have been in the business since 2000. We |
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have a good friend that is also in
the same business, but only for 2 years. He often calls and asks us
for advice on certain things. If we are ever unsure of anything he
asks, we tell him to call his vet.
He has lost more deer this year than we have in 7 years. Some lost from being
transported, one from blue-tongue and some from "unknown" causes. The owner has
a tendency of "over-protecting" his deer using way too much medicine like
antibiotics, wormer, diarrhoea medicines, and I think he changes their feed
every time the wind blows. I have tried to tell him, and so has my husband,
that deer need to be on some form of "steady management", not changing their
feeding habits all the time. I know I am making this long, but wanted to give
you an idea of how he was.
I am writing mainly because he has a 3yr old Whitetail Doe with diarrhoea and he
gives her some kind of "anti- diarrhoea" medicine, seems like daily or every
other day. I told him he needs to let her go for a week or so and see how she
will do, but he won't listen.
Do you have any information on what I can tell him to try for his doe? He gives
her Nutra Glo, Corrid, and said he even read that you could give coconut for
diarrhoea. I told him I’ve never heard of that.
His doe really looks "run-down" and is so skinny, she looks like she hasn't
eaten in weeks. I think he is 'over-medicating' her, myself. Could you help me
with this and give me some advice as to what else I would tell him to do, or not
to do?
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I fully appreciate that you have a genuine concern for your friend and his
deer, but it is difficult for me to give advice in such a situation.
It does sound as though he would benefit from talking to a veterinarian
about nutrition and preventative medicine in deer, and that is probably the
best advice that you can give him. As for the sick doe, there are a
number of possible causes of chronic diarrhoea, and the only way to
establish a cause is to take samples for lab analysis. So once again
he needs to call a veterinarian, not to continue to use a list of
medications on the basis that they might help. As a friend you should
urge him to do so. |
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35b |
I want to thank you for your help. I am going to advise him to get
a sample and take it to the vet. He is the type |
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that if he reads something he is going to try it out and therefore he hurts
his chances of getting the right medications. But telling him what
he needs to do is one thing, getting him to actually do it is another.
But, I will advise him, and that is all I can do. Thanks again for your
help. |
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You can only try.
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36 |
After removing the CIDR from my doe it is recommended that I give 1.5cc of
PMSG( Pregnant mare serum |
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gonadotropin) to synchronize. I'm having a hard time
finding PMSG, the local vet suggested that I might use CHORULON which is
chorionic gonadotropin. Are these two the same, and is the dose equitable? |
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I believe they are equivalent. |
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37 |
We rescued a fawn that was apparently born without eyes. We had her
for about 6 months. She was eating deer |
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chow, orchard grass and
alfalfa hay, and corn. She had a deer lick. She hung out with sheep.
She was small, but active and playful and happy. She was urinating and
defecating normally. Last worming was one month ago (deer
farmer supplied).
One late morning we found her acutely dead in her normal sleeping spot. Her
front legs were tucked when found and hind end extended. This was in a stall -
no sign of trauma, no blood. Externally she looked completely normal and had
eaten her grain with vigour earlier. We did not see any signs that she was ill.
The sheep she was with are all fine so far (36 hours later).
Any thoughts? Does this congenital condition with the eyes correlate other
congenital conditions? |
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There could well have been other congenital defects, eg. cardiac
abnormalities, which would explain the sudden death.
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