Merry Merries

May joy, peace, health and love

be yours to have & to share!

Exploring the new enclosure

 
Here's what happened when we opened the gates on Sunday, December 5, 2010 and let the bucks explore the new space (about an acre)...new grass and, of course, trees and bushes on which to thrash. Moki and Mike made mincemeat of a small cedar bush in the photo above. No one had problems entering into the new "playground" through the sliding gate designed by Don Murphy. Present to watch the show were Don, Allan Park, Jane McDonald and Wendy Workman who took the photos seen above.

Rut 101

Here's a good look at Max in rut (mating season). The dark colour is caused by secretions of a waxy fluid from the orbital gland located below the eye. He has stimulated this gland by rubbing his head on tree branches and rocks. The fluid smells like rancid butter and is part of the bucks' scenting ceremony that is designed to attract does.The photo also shows the thickness of his neck. The bucks have not been eating much as their throats are swollen. Gradually as the weather gets colder, their appetites return.


 

Feeding question

We get asked for our advice and are always happy to try to answer any questions that we can. Please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments and we will be sure to pass them on.


Here is a recent exchange with DM:

My Mom has 2 beloved fallow girls....Angel and Peanut. We live in Oregon and do not know of any deer vets, so our equine/goat/large animal vet trys to help as much as they can. We just moved the girls to a 2 acre area across from the other property about 3 weeks ago. They have a very nice stall area to walk in and out as they please and a Great Pyrenees that has always lived with them. The last few days Angel has refused all food and seems a little fearful...usually, as tame and loving as a dog. My Mom spends and enormous amount of time with them and I just pray she doesnt lose one as we have already lost my Dad (her husband) and my Grandmother (her Mother) already this year. Our vet doesnt want to tranquilize her since she said they are so very sensitive to this. They are fed quality grass hay which they have available at all times, purina deer chow (antler max) which they dont seem to like very much and for treats my Mom feeds them nutrigrain bars, whole wheat bread, strawberries, peanuts, grapes and romaine lettuce. I have told her NOT to feed them bread anymore but, cannot think of anything else it might be. I would so much appreciate if you have any information or ideas at all for me to give her. We are having the vet come tomorrow and we are just going to hold her while they check her vitals. I would love to bring my Mom to your reserve to visit one day....she would be in Heaven seeing all the Fallows.

 

Our deer are all male so we don’t have a huge expertise with females but we have a few thought/possibilities and more questions:

• The doe could be still adjusting to the move and change in her environment. If she started to limp or had poor muscle coordination, we would worry about delayed capture myopathy in an extreme case. However, since the girls are so well socialized, it might be unlikely. How were they moved? Was there any trauma involved in the move? We have heard that Vitamin E helps with stress levels in a deer, so perhaps that might help. Keep in mind body weight. Perhaps the vet could recommend the dosage.

• Possibly the nutrigrain bars might be causing some fermentation or bloating in the stomach, too much refined sugars that affect stomach acids. You mention she is not eating, but is she drinking? Sometimes feeding the girls less is the kindest way to go, so maybe she is on a self-imposed fast to clean out her system. We worry about too much sugar and tooth decay as well. We don’t used any pre-mixed deer feed either. Why do does need antler max? This is designed for hunters who want to fatten up a deer before killing it, and the manufacturers are not concerned with the long-term effects on the animal’s digestive system.

• Any sign of problems in the mouth? Drooling, swelling around the jaw? We lost one deer this way as the infection caused by a tooth abscess went into his jaw. The vet could prescribe some anti-biotics. Will Angel take a piece of apple from your mum’s hand if offered? This is a good way to get the medication into her system.
• It is “rut” season for males (Sept-Oct) and possibly she is experiencing some form of heat. The hormonal changes may be affecting her eating as it does in males. Our guys don’t eat much for a month or more when it’s mating season. Is Angel losing weight? How is she behaving other than not eating?

• Is the feeding area very different in the new place? Could one girl be bullying the other for food? Remember they are herd animals and as the girls age they may show more dominant/submissive behaviours.

We hope this is helpful and if you ever come east, please visit.

2011 Calendars coming soon

Just sent the master of the 2011 desktop calendars to the printer and they should be available in about 20 days. This year's photos are captioned with the name of the deer shown. The cost will be $20 plus postage of $2 per calendar. Ten dollars of the cost can be receipted as a donation to the Fallow Deer Reserve.

This is a limited edition, so if you want to reserve calendar(s), please email your intention to jmcd@reztel.net

 

New Fencing

Fencing on the new one acre enclosure took a giant step forward on Saturday, October 2, 2010. Joined by Bernie Sagriff, Don Murphy and Allan Park sunk approximately 35 poles about 2 feet into the earth to add the new space to the southwest corner of the enclosure in about 2 hours! Your blog writer assisted, too.

We will be using the space as an isolation paddock for any deer that becomes ill or needs individual attention from us or the vet. 

While he was helping with the new fencing we were able to introduce Bernie to the bucks as well as to the signage that was added to the original fence built in 2007 with his help.

Another loss

At about 2pm yesterday afternoon we discovered Gulliver lying in a cedar grove away from the others. At first it looked as if he had injured his front leg and Allan went into the enclosure to see if he could get him to stand up. When he did, we saw that he had been gored in the lower abdomen and a grapefruit-sized portion of his bowels was hanging outside his body. In the shadows we did not see much blood and shortly after standing up, he lay down again with the wound hidden by the earth.

During the past week, the deer were losing their velvet and each one's newest set of "hard" antlers emerged. On Sunday we had observed Max and Bash and then Max and Moki fighting and heard the sound of hard antler on hard antler. We knew that Gulliver was not a fighter, but possibly had been caught by the sharp brow antler of others who are. We will never know just how he came to receive such a serious injury.

We called the vet, Dr. Brian Willows, who asked us to describe the colour and size of the material. He told us that any efforts we would make to try to save his life would be heroics for us, but not for him. There was no doubt that infection from such an injury would occur and cause a slow and painful death even if field surgery were attempted.

We called Don Murphy at work and talked it over with him. He also talked to the vet. We all decided that Gulliver deserved a quick and painless death, and that meant asking someone to put him out of his misery with a bullet. I called upon my neighbour, Bob Bird, who did not hesitate to offer his help.

Allan took Bob to the place where Gulliver lay. I stayed under the maple tree where we have spent so many hours with the herd and they with us. Several of the deer were lying on the ground near me in the shade. At 3:30pm I heard one loud retort. The deer jumped and ran into the woods as far away from the gunshot as they could go.

Gulliver was shot in the cedar grove with a single bullet to his head. He was looking at Allan who thinks that he did not see Bob nor his gun.

Don arrived and we shared some moments with Gulliver's beautiful body. One of our largest and oldest deer, he was the one who escaped from the Scotland Road farm during testing and had been on the lam for about 6 weeks. Don and Wendy spent hours trying to lure him back to the farm and finally accomplished the feat with apples, corn and headlights. After the fence at the Reserve was cut in November 2008, Gulliver was one of the deer who followed Don into the enclosure, returning to this home by his own free will, without need of dramatic capture.

With Don's help we took Gulliver's body to the deer burial ground. With the backhoe, Don dug a deep place. By sunset, Gulliver was lying safely in the earth beside Ty and Dandy.

We are grateful to Bob Bird of Wilton for coming to assist Gulliver at a moment's notice and for his skill and kindness.

Prime Time Bucks

We apologize for the absence of entries in the blog since May. Truth be told, there is an abundance of good news and nothing bad of concern to report.

All the bucks including the youngest ones (Spike and Moki) are in their prime that means large antler growth and maximum body weight. George's antlers are bigger than ever this year as you can see from the photo.

The antlers are still in velvet, still growing and will continue until some time in August when the velvet will fall away.

The hot weather and frequent rain has provided them with ample pasture and we continue to supplement with mineral licks and produce. Small apples have fallen from neighbours' apple trees this year, so we are receiving many buckets of apples that are useless for people and gourmet delights for our deer. Special thanks to the Sparlings for a continuous supply this month.

Small token

Spike lounges under the names of the bucks who have died since the deer arrived at the Florida Road site on May 26, 2007...almost three years ago.

We lost Ty and Dandy in November 2008 and Koko early this year in January 2010.

Antler dropping season is over.

The list is now complete. All the antlers 2010 have been cast and found. If you are interesting in purchasing a pair the cost is $100 plus $25 for shipping if needed. So far we have sold the antlers of Bash, Gulliver, Murph and George.

1. Moki, April 6
2. Bash, April 6
3. Murph, April 8
4. Gulliver, April 9 and 10
5. Buddy, April 12
6. George, April 13
7. Mike, April 15
8. Spike, April 15
9. Max, April 15, April 16
10. EGee...April 18

Murph's joins the anterless group

On Thursday, April 8, Murph joined the group of antler-less bucks. He's hanging out as far away from the herd as possible, shaking his head as he learns how to adjust to his new, more vulnerable status.

Here's the latest list:

1. Moki, April 6
2. Bash, April 6
3. Murph, April 8

Second Place in the Sweepstakes

Mike and Bash challenging one another, Fall 2009

Bash's antlers, April 2010

Bash dropped his antlers on the same day as Moki, just several hours later. Here's a photo of the antlers on him and off him. John C. of Brampton has expressed an interest in this beautiful pair. Here's a photo of the antlers on the floor and as worn by Bash from the end of growth in August 2009 to this month. The length is approx 26 inches, the beams are about 4 inches in circumference and the palms are about 5 1/2 inches wide.

Who knew? Antler Sweepstake Winner 2010

Moki, September 2009

You'll never guess who dropped his antlers today, the first this year. None other than Moki who was one of our "babies" when the bucks first came to the Reserve in 2007.

Here's the list from the past two years and you'll find Moki was way down the list in 2008 and in the middle in 2009.

2008
1. Gulliver -- April 10, 2008
2 .Max -- April 14, 2008
3. Mike -- April 16, 2008
4. Bash -- April 18, 2008
5. Murph -- April 19, 2008
6. George -- April 22, 23, 2008
7. Buddy -- April 25, 26, 2008
8. KoKo -- April 29, 2008
9. EGee -- April 29, 2008
10. Moki -- April 29, May 1, 2008
11. Spike -- May 3, 2008

2009
1. Gulliver -- Apr 6 & 7, 2009
2. Murph -- April 7 & 8, 2009
3. Bash -- April 8, 2009
4. Max -- April 10, 2009
5. Moki -- April 14, 2009
6. Buddy -- April 14, 2009
7. George -- April 15, 2009
8. KoKo -- April 15, 2009
9. Mike -- April 19, 2009
10. EGee -- April 21, 2009
11. Spike -- April 21, 2009

Worm free status confirmed

Allan's photo of the reserve from a flight with Chris Grooms

We were contemplating giving the entire herd anti-worm medication when Lorraine Alderman, a board member and avid horse lover, suggested we test the deer droppings first. The test results are in and the herd is worm-free!

Here is an aerial photo of the Reserve taken by Allan Park, our head deer keeper in early March just before the snow melted.

Buck in a truck

Your blog host has been trying to get this photo for months! Annie was visiting the Reserve on Monday. Every March 22 for the past three years, Annie and I have walked and talked to celebrate her birthday. Annie brought her camera, and voila! Buddy in the horse trailer out of the rain while we were, of course, getting wet! Great photo Annie and thanks for sending it to us.

A second mini-rut?

The head deer keeper, Allan, has reported an unusual occurrence in the herd hierarchy. He thinks this may be occurring because Bash has had a surge of testosterone and looks like he did during the Fall rut (golden head colour, thicker neck, flaring orbital glands, thrashing trees and rocks, defending his territory). He is the only one of the bucks in this state and is bullying all the others with particular focus on Max. Max has lost his status as herd leader and seems to have fallen into fourth place, acting as if he has already lost his antlers (an event that usually occurs in early April).

Bash got his name for being bashful or timid when we first took over caring for the bucks. However, now he is "bashing" the others aggressively and giving new meaning to his name. He is certainly intent on taking over Max's spot as leader and is anything but bashful when it comes to his behaviour towards the other deer.

His overall health appears to be good and we see no reason to think this behaviour is caused by ill health. Another positive note, Bash is not displaying any aggressive towards the deer keeper.

We have been unable to find any reference to a spring rut or any other reason for this drastic change in appearance and behaviour.

Annual General Meeting Minutes

Third Annual General Meeting
FALLOW DEER RESERVE
Tuesday, February 16, 2010, 5:15pm, Kingston, Ontario

Present: Don Murphy, President, Jane McDonald, Treasurer, Allan Park, Head Deer Keeper, Lorraine Alderman, Aida Sulcs, Board Members
Regrets: Wendy Workman, Monique Cloutier

The meeting was called to order at 5:30pm. The Agenda for this meeting was approved as well as the minutes of the 2009 Annual General Meeting held in February 2009.

The President welcomed all present and gave a brief summary of the activities of this year. The 2009 hunting season brought with it no extraordinary incidents. He praised the work of the team this year especially Allan Park, head deerkeeper.

Copies of the financial statements for the period January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 were distributed to those present by the Treasurer, reviewed and accepted. Sales of antlers (to artists, especially Dandi Maestre) and fundraising activities netted more money than expected. Purchase of horse trailer and additional fencing materials made possible because of this increase in revenue. Increase in bank fees caused by having to purchase cheques. A Budget for 2010 was presented indicating anticipated new revenue of $4185(excluding surplus) and expenses of approx $4715.The financial statements and budget were reviewed. A motion was made by Aida Sulcs, seconded by Don Murphy that these reports be accepted and approved by unanimous vote.

All offices were declared vacant. The following were nominated to serve as officers in 2010:
President: Don Murphy, Secretary: Wendy Workman, Treasurer: Jane McDonald
The above nominations were approved by unanimous vote.

The Head Deer Keeper, Allan Park, thanked the board members (security, sign making, winter water heating) as well as Emerald Murphy and Bruce Burt for their time, hay donations and companionship. He reported the occurrences leading up to KoKo’s death. A post mortem examination done by the Animal Health Lab, University of Guelph (Kemptville) indicated a chronic abscess in his jaw that led to emaciation and his death. The veterinarian who did the exam estimated KoKo’s age to be 10 years, about 2 years older than we had believed. Allan shared some of his observations and memories of KoKo, one of the most recognizable and loved of our bucks. Dr. Brian Willows had inspected the herd on December 29, 2009 and found the remaining 10 bucks to be in excellent “awesome' condition. Communications had been received from people near Lake Simcoe who are caring for a wild escaped fallow deer buck and from a reporter in Waterford concerning 12 fallow deer bucks living on 17 acres, descendants of a herd there since 1949. Female deer had been killed by coyotes and the township wants to bring in new females to continue the herd. However, in the past this herd was regularly “culled”. We had expressed our concern about this and recommended an approach similar to that of the Fallow Deer Reserve, i.e. let the males live until death occurs naturally.

Future plans, considerations:


Veterinary care: Lorraine recommended testing the deer’s scat for the presence of worms/parasites before any chemical treatment is administered. It may not be necessary. All agreed this was the best approach.

Shelter/squeeze: A discussion took place about creating an additional paddock adding approximately ½ acre to the enclosure for the purpose of isolating an injured or unhealthy animal or the introduction of a new animal. The former stable of the barn can be considered for a squeeze in order to examine or test animals and would also provide the bucks with additional shelter.

Rescuing/introducing additional fallow deer bucks: A good discussion took place about the future, purpose of the Fallow Deer Reserve. It was generally agreed that introducing a new animal to the herd could be problematic and that each situation be considered carefully. Three conditions would need to be met before a new animal could be accepted.

1) the buck would need to pass all health tests in order to prevent introducing disease to our herd
2) the buck would need to be in a moveable state, i.e. having recently lost antlers or very small regrowth
3) the buck would need to 3 years of age or less so that his chances of being accepted into the herd would be good

The meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm.

Sad news

We are very sorry to report that KoKo, our only black fallow buck, died on Friday, January 8, 2010.

In December we noticed that he was drooling after eating and one of his cheeks was swollen. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. He was eating hay, treats and we had observed him up on his hind feed reaching for some tender cedar bits. The other deer were not bullying him or altering their behaviour towards him in any way as we had observed when George had an injured leg several years ago.

Our vet, Dr. Brian Willows of Thousand Islands Veterinary Services, examined KoKo on December 29, 2009. An abscessed tooth was suspected or perhaps "lumpy jaw". We could have tranquilized him to examine the mouth, but that procedure is not without danger especially in very cold weather. So, we began to give him antibiotics twice daily by feeding him a paste embedded in an apple and this was to be given for 14 days. If nothing changed, we would then consider tranquilizing. We noticed some weight loss but nothing extreme and thought it was related to the meds.

On Friday morning Allan fed KoKo his meds and watched him eat a bit of hay and then disappear into the woods. He seemed to be steady on his feet but oddly vocalized a bit making some grunts as he left the feeding area. In the afternoon there was no sign of him. Allan searched for over an hour and found him in a cedar grove. There were no signs of trauma. His front legs were still folded. It appears that he had collapsed and died suddenly trying to get up.

Dr. Willows was just as surprised as we were about KoKo's sudden death. We took the body to the Animal Health Lab at the University of Guelph in Kemptville for a post mortem examination.The preliminary report from the Lab indicates he was suffering from chronic mandibular osteomyelitis, tooth abscess and emaciation. The infection of his mouth had moved into the jaw and bones and was a chronic condition. Although we observed him eating and drinking, he was unable to chew his feed and was unable to create fat stores. This resulted in mild mass atrophy. The weight loss was hard to notice because of the thickness of his winter coat.

As someone has suggested, wild animals often keep their weakness hidden to protect them from predators or loss of status, and it appears that KoKo was a master at this. Or else, he was just as unaware of the seriousness of his plight as we were. In any event, we take some comfort that he did not suffer for very long, if at all.

The only good news is there appears to be no infectious disease which would harm the other members of the herd who are doing well. A sample of his brain tissue was sent for testing to ensure there was no rabies or chronic wasting disease.

We asked the Lab to determine KoKo's age and it was 10 years, about 2 years older than we thought. As you know we had no records of any of the deer rescued from the farm where they were born. When Wendy and Don bought the whole herd in 2005, KoKo had a large abscess on his flank. The farmer recommended euthanization, a recommendation that was not followed. Also earlier this year, he caught his antlers on the fence and was rescued once again.

He was a true survivor, well-loved by all who visited him. His dark coat made him easy for kids to identify and he trusted people enough to eat from their hands.

We miss him very much and wish we could have understood how ill he was. The knowledge we have gained from his loss will help us to keep his brothers healthy and strong.