How can you raise fawns well? Key points of fawn feeding and management techniques
Summer is precisely the production period for does. Scientifically raising lactating does and weaned fawns helps improve the economic benefits of deer farming.
Postpartum feeding and management must be careful. During doe delivery, a designated person should be on duty to guard them. After the fawn is born, its body mucus should be wiped dry, and it should be allowed to suckle colostrum as soon as possible, then its ear number should be clipped, and it should be returned to the doe herd at fixed times to nurse. During the doe's lactation period, avoid letting items with special odors (such as alcohol, soap, etc.) touch the fawn; otherwise the doe will dislike the foreign smell and refuse to nurse it.
Artificial nursing must be timely. If the doe dies after giving birth or has insufficient milk, artificial nursing must be carried out. Usually fresh cow's milk or goat's milk is used instead of mother's milk to feed the fawn. If powdered milk must be used, the concentration of the reconstituted milk must be increased to meet the needs of the fawn's growth and development. The time, frequency, and amount of artificial nursing should be determined according to the fawn's age in days, birth weight, and development. When there is no experience or standard, the fawn's artificial nursing amount can refer to the artificial nursing amount for calves, and the milk and milk utensils should be well disinfected to prevent bacteria in the milk and acid spoilage.
Supplementary feeding should be gradual. After 30 days of age, fawns can be fed fresh, tender, succulent feed, and concentrated feed should be gradually supplemented. Sorghum can be stir-fried until fragrant and then crushed, mixed with cooked corn and soybeans, and fed to the deer after even mixing. The feeding amount should go from less to more, reaching 500 grams per animal per day before the fawns are weaned and grouped. Green roughage should be chopped before feeding. In fact, when fawns are 20~30 days old, they begin to search for some tender green grass leaves, but at this time the fawn's nutritional source should still be mainly milk. When the fawn's body weight reaches 25 kg, it can be weaned and switched to artificial feeding.
Do not rush when separating fawns into pens. When separating fawns into pens, a small gate can be set in the middle between two adjacent pens. First drive all the does and fawns into one of the pens, and after 4~5 days drive the does into the other pen at fixed times. The time for separating mother and young should be gradually extended from 1~3 hours each time at first, and at noon and in the evening the small gate should be opened to let the fawns nurse. During this period, opportunities for contact between people and deer should be increased. When feeding and watering, whistling can be used to make the fawns stable in temperament and establish conditioned reflexes.
Manage carefully after weaning. After weaning, fawns should be raised in groups according to sex, physique, individual condition, etc. After leaving the doe, fawns often bleat continuously, and their mental state and appetite are affected. The keeper must nurse them patiently. Fawns eat little and digest quickly, so the number of feedings should be increased. Within half a month after weaning, they can be fed 4~5 times a day, with one supplementary feeding of green roughage at night, and later gradually reach 3 feedings per day. Drinking water should be clean and sufficient. In addition, attention should also be paid to adding minerals such as salt and bone meal to their diet, and supplementing additives such as multiple vitamins and trace elements to prevent fawns from developing rickets, osteomalacia, and other conditions.