What are the artificial breeding methods, techniques and precautions for river deer?

The river deer is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae. Its hide, bones and meat all have high culinary and medicinal value. In particular, the extract of the milk clot “river deer treasure” taken from the glandular stomach of suckling fawns can not only treat indigestion, but also has the effect of resisting cold and improving disease resistance. In recent years the market for river deer breeding has also become increasingly sought after, so how are river deer bred artificially? What breeding methods, techniques and precautions are there?

1. What feed do river deer eat?

The river deer is an omnivorous animal, which makes artificial breeding of river deer convenient. Wild river deer feed on the tender leaves of shrubs and the tender stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds of weeds, and often go to nearby farmland to eat vegetables, leguminous crops, sweet potato leaves, wheat leaves and so on. There are more than 100 species of wild plants that can be fed to river deer; they eat both monocotyledonous (narrow-leaf) and dicotyledonous (broad-leaf) plants, but if green feed is abundant, they will be picky. In rearing, they will eat ryegrass, bitter lettuce, sweet potato vines, lettuce leaves, mulberry leaves and paper mulberry leaves. Among broad-leaf plants, the leaves of kudzu vine and sumac on the hills are the river deer's favorites. When breeding river deer, you can flexibly use varieties that are easy to plant locally or that are rich in wild resources and easy to collect. Feed combinations can be diversified; when nutrition is poor, a certain amount of animal feed can also be supplemented regularly, such as fish meal and bone meal (but not too much, especially for fawns, because fawns eating these sticky concentrated feeds are prone to intestinal obstruction; for nutritional supplementation, soybean cake is generally better); mineral feed such as shell powder and salt; sometimes a little vitamins are also given. Usually, at most a little salt is given, and ordinarily grass feed is the mainstay.

The food intake of an adult river deer is about 1.5 to 3 kg per day and night, mainly fresh feed. In winter when fresh feed is scarce, concentrated feed can be added. Soybean dregs (sun-dry them a bit to make them drier), bran, rice bran, barley flour (used in combination, in small amounts), soybean cake and so on can all be supplied as concentrated feed. At the same time, in winter, green feed air-dried and stored in summer can also be used. When storing dry feed in summer and autumn, note: leafy green feed must be collected back on sunny days, then spread out and sun-dried immediately, and must be placed in a dry, ventilated place to avoid moisture and mildew; it can be stacked in piles for storage. Reserve dry feed must be kept well, with attention to cleanliness and hygiene, turned and checked regularly, and strictly protected against insect damage and rats.

2. How is river deer feed planted?

General feed preparation: Sow ryegrass in early September, and begin supplying it in late November. At the Beginning of Spring, that is, in February, sow bitter lettuce, and supply it in early May. Plant sweet potatoes in May, and begin supplying them in July. Each kind of grass feed can be harvested for multiple cuttings. In mid-May, female river deer give birth, so some extra nutrition should be added in advance so that the females have sufficient milk.

Of course, multiple models can also be adopted; for example, the following method also works:

Feed for all four seasons: (taking the time when river deer are born as the starting point) May to June, mainly lettuce leaves, with carrots also fed. They eat all lettuce leaves, and carrots are also eaten, both roots and leaves. July to September, sweet potato stems; October to November, sweet potato roots; soybean dregs. From late November all the way to April, mainly soybean dregs and bran, with ryegrass and grass feed also fed. All year round, soybean dregs and bran can be fed, while other foods change with the seasons and the river deer's preferences. Prepare feed according to this diet.

If a lot of peanuts or soybeans are planted, these two plants can serve both as ordinary green feed and, when sun-dried, as winter feed. Because I do not know the plant distribution in your area, I cannot tell you one by one. Generally speaking, broad-leaf plants can all be eaten, but ordinarily they do not like broad bean leaves. Specifically, I suggest you try more when breeding in the future.

3. Rearing models for river deer

A variety of methods can be used for rearing; generally the following 2 are used.

1. Barn rearing

Generally, providing three square meters per river deer (for example, 2 m long and 1.5 m wide) is enough. They can be raised singly or several together. For a group of one male and three females, providing ten square meters is enough, and if space is sufficient, a bit more is also fine. The barn floor generally needs some bedding such as grass feed or rice straw (chopped). From the standpoint of ensuring health, barn-reared river deer should also be released regularly to an activity area to move about and sunbathe.

2. Free-range rearing

According to the number of river deer raised, decide the size of the enclosure. Build walls around it, and along the walls appropriately build some small shelters for the river deer to avoid wind and rain, as well as work rooms.

Which method to use for rearing depends on our needs. Whether for extracting river deer milk or for other uses, the rearing methods can differ slightly.