How to raise velvet deer well? An analysis of the key points of feeding and management techniques

Deer belong to the class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae, genus Cervus, and among them, deer whose velvet antlers have medicinal value are all called velvet deer. The velvet deer domesticated in China are mainly sika deer, red deer, white-lipped deer and black deer, etc. Deer antler velvet is a precious traditional Chinese medicinal material, with effects such as promoting spermatogenesis and replenishing marrow, enriching blood, strengthening yang, and strengthening tendons and bones. Others such as deer fetus, deer blood, deer sinew, deer penis, deer bone, deer meat, deer heart, deer liver and deer skin are all first-class raw materials for medicine and industry. Velvet deer have high economic value, and wild resources are scarce, so @#@253@#@ is a promising good industry. 1. The living habits of deer Because the history of deer domestication is relatively short, they still retain the wild habits of their ancestors. Their hearing, vision and smell are well developed, and they are timid and easily startled, fleeing quickly at the slightest disturbance. Under normal circumstances, male deer are more aggressive than female deer. Under natural conditions, they mostly live in groups, ranging from a dozen to several dozen, and we can use their strong social nature for domestication and grazing. Deer are herbivores and have the physiological function of rumination, feeding on various plants year-round. Green grass, crop straw and the branches of trees and shrubs are all good feed for deer. Under artificial feeding conditions, soybean cake, corn, wheat bran, etc. can be used as supplementary concentrated feed. 2. Deer shed construction The deer farm should be chosen in a place with high and dry terrain, flat and spacious, good drainage, sufficient sunlight, abundant forage grass, and shelter from the wind in winter. Because deer are wild by nature, the pens should be sturdy. The pen area should be 2-3 sq m per deer, the exercise yard 8-10 sq m per deer, and the enclosure wall height 2-2.2 m. The pens should be paved with brick, stone or cement flooring, and equipped with feeding troughs and water troughs. 3. Feeding and management The purpose of raising velvet deer is to obtain deer antler velvet. Therefore, raising male deer well is very important (male deer produce velvet, female deer do not). Feeding male deer can be divided into two stages: the pre-antler-growing period (February to April) and the antler-growing period (May to August), and the mating period (September to November) and the post-mating recovery period (December to January). After February, as the weather turns warmer and the daylight becomes longer, in order to meet the physiological needs of male deer for antler growth, concentrated feed should be gradually increased. A mixed concentrated feed of 1-1.25 kg can be fed, then increased by 70-80 g per day, reaching 2.3-2.4 kg by early May. Among this, protein-rich legume feed should account for more than 50%-60%. Mineral feeds such as salt and shell powder need to be fed at 10-20 g per day, and if conditions permit, some additives such as livestock growth hormones can also be fed. In July, after the first crop of velvet is sawed off, non-breeding male deer should have their concentrated feed reduced by 50%-80%, to avoid fierce head-butting during the mating period. During the mating period, male deer become excited and aggressive due to sexual impulses, and their appetite decreases, so attention must be paid to supervision to minimize injuries and deaths. The feed should be as varied as possible, with more green feed and root feed. The mixed feed should be 0.5-0.75 kg per day. After the mating period, the nutrition of male deer declines, and coupled with colder weather, this is a season when they are prone to death, so roughage should be sufficient, and the mixed concentrated feed should preferably be 0.75-1 kg per day. 4. Reproduction of velvet deer Female deer reach sexual maturity at over 2.5 years of age, and male deer at 2.5-3 years, but mating at 4-5 years is preferable. The estrous cycle of female deer is 17-21 days, the duration of estrus is 18-36 hours, and the gestation period is 224-231 days. The peak estrus season for female deer is September to November. In the early and middle stages of estrus, they show restlessness and excitement, wagging their tails, and the external genitalia swell, become congested and discharge transparent mucus. Mating 12 hours after the onset of estrus makes conception more likely. Male deer with high velvet yield, robust constitution and good hereditary performance should be selected as breeding deer. In terms of mating methods, the one-male-to-multiple-female mating method is currently commonly used, that is, 1 male deer mates with 20-30 female deer, and the conception rate can reach over 90%. May to June is the fawning period for female deer, with 1 fawn per litter, and few twins. The lactation period is 2 months. Male deer produce initial antler velvet at 1 year of age, produce standard deer antler velvet at 2 years of age, and 4-8 years is the peak period of velvet production, with a productive lifespan of up to 12-14 years.