How to Raise Roe Deer? A Detailed Explanation of Key Feeding Techniques

    Young Roe Deer: Young roe deer refers to small roe deer from weaning at 2 months of age to 6 months of age at the end of the year. Roe deer generally wean at 2 months of age, and the weaning time is generally in August. The fawns that have just left the mother roe deer often long for the mother and bleat restlessly, and both their spirit and appetite are affected. Therefore, the keepers should nurse them patiently, feed them carefully, often enter the enclosure to call them, use tender branches and leaves and other food to entice them to approach, and stroke and care for them, so that the person and the fawn become affectionate. Generally, they can return to normal after 3-5 days. Young roe deer have strong plasticity, so they must be carefully trained and disciplined to lay a good foundation for future feeding and management.
    For fawns that have just been weaned, the ability to eat is poor, and they still long for the mother's milk. When feeding, choose fresh and tender, easy-to-digest, good-palatability, and nutrient-rich green feed, give small amounts frequently, and do not limit the amount. In the first week after weaning, still follow the lactation-period diet ratio, with concentrate gradually increasing from 80 g per animal to 100 g per animal. Mixed grass meal feed is mainly various green feeds, mixed with concentrate at a ratio of 1:1, and then fed 3-4 times a day; remove the leftover feed 2 hours after feeding.
    Starting from the second week after weaning, the diet ratio should be adjusted and the diet quality improved. In the concentrate, peanut cake 35%, roasted soybeans 15%, corn 25%, wheat bran 15%, bone meal 3 g; the amount gradually increases from 100 g per animal to 300 g per animal (diet in early December). Afterward, when green feed is lacking, succulent feed such as carrots can be supplemented in the mixed feed, and dry leaves should be added twice a day, with the amount based on leaving a small amount each time.
    Growing Roe Deer: Growing roe deer are relatively mature in all aspects of development, so roughage should be the main feed to train their ability to tolerate roughage. The feed should be of good quality and many varieties. From January to April, dry leaves and grass meal are the main feed, and the concentrate remains at 300 g per animal. From April to August, green feed is the main feed, with grass meal as a supplement, and the concentrate remains unchanged. Because at this time the roe deer is in an important period of sexual development and body growth, the diet must be complete to ensure they are fed well and fully.
    Young roe deer experience their first cold winter after birth, and are in a vigorous period of growth and development, so their cold resistance is weaker than that of adult roe deer. Attention should be paid to preparing enough dry, clean bedding, sealing the windows on the north side of the shed, and making preparations for cold protection and overwintering, so that the roe deer can rest and spend the winter in a windproof, sunny, and warm enclosure. Roe deer have the habit of lying down to defecate, so the bedding should be cleaned and dried every day to keep the enclosure clean, dry, and hygienic. For drinking water, it is best to use rubber buckets, which are not easily damaged by freezing. The bucket should be placed in a corner of the shed. In northern winters, when the temperature is too low, clean snow or clean ice blocks can also be provided for the roe deer to lick as a substitute for water. Roe deer do not need to drink warm water.
    When farm households raise a small number of roe deer, the fawns can also live together with the mother roe deer and be naturally weaned. The mother and fawn are affectionate and eat together, and the young roe deer will also develop and grow healthily. Attention should be paid to improving diet quality and taking into account the nutritional needs of the young roe deer. After 14 months of age, young roe deer can be raised and managed according to the same requirements as adult roe deer.
    Breeding Male Roe Deer: The feeding and management of breeding male roe deer is the key to the success or failure of domestic roe deer reproduction. Breeding male roe deer are in a resting period for 70% of each year, the estrus time is very short, and the mating period is less than one month, which is often neglected by breeders. The breeding preparation period for breeding male roe deer is from early July to August 25 each year. Breeding male roe deer must not be too fat or too thin, and should reach a medium-to-upper body condition. Therefore, during the breeding preparation period, the protein level of the diet should be increased and the proportion of cakes and meals should be increased, so that protein feed accounts for 50%-60% of the concentrate in the diet, and various green feeds with high nutritional value and good palatability should be selected for feeding. In particular, branch-and-leaf feeds and green feeds rich in vitamin E (such as silphium perfoliatum) should account for more than 60% of the green feed in the diet. During the breeding preparation period, breeding male roe deer should be raised in a large enclosure with a spacious exercise yard. The male roe deer should be allowed to run and exercise in the exercise yard several times a day, and should not be kept in a small enclosure without room for movement. For male roe deer that are too fat, the total diet should be appropriately reduced, especially feed varieties with high fat content, which can be given less or not at all, and their daily exercise should be increased, with the keeper driving the male roe deer to move 2-3 times a day. For male roe deer that are too thin, feed with good palatability should be selected and the nutritional level of the diet should be increased to encourage the male roe deer to gain condition. According to the diet level, if vitamin E is lacking, veterinary vitamin E should be added to the concentrate at 30-40 mg per animal per day. For male roe deer whose antlers have not been sawed off, if they often butt people, the antlers can be sawed off.
    From August 26 to September 25 is the mating period for breeding roe deer. Due to sexual urge, breeding male roe deer often show decreased appetite and reduced food intake, and sometimes fight over females. Energy consumption is high, so feeding and management should be strengthened and a complete feed should be supplied. The nutritional level of the diet should be the highest of the year. Protein feed in the concentrate should account for 60%-70%, and the concentrate should be increased to 400-500 g per animal. Green feed should be selected from the best quality, with high nutritional value and good palatability, to stimulate the male roe deer's appetite, promote increased food intake, and promptly replenish physical energy consumption. During the mating period, male roe deer like spicy and sweet green feed, and can be fed soybean green forage, barley sprouts, scallions, tender leaves of elm and mulberry, alfalfa, grain amaranth, silphium perfoliatum, and so on. During the mating period, attention should be paid to controlling the male roe deer's drinking water. The male roe deer must not be allowed to drink water after fighting or mating before it has calmed down. Male roe deer should not drink water within half an hour before and after mating. Drinking water while breathing heavily can easily cause injury or death or loss of mating ability.