Velvet vanishing

Happy to report that almost all the deer have shed their velvet and are starting to calm down now that they don't have long strands covering their eyes or face.

George was one of the last to lose his velvet layer, and we must have been observing him very shortly after the process began because the blood was still visible, as you can see from this picture.

Mike is starting to lose it

Mike is one of the four largest deer and the first to begin shedding the velvet from his antlers in such a big way. We thought the velvet might just rub off in small pieces but you can see the long strands to the right of his face and on his forehead.

Yesterday he was a bit annoyed with the dangling old velvet and lowering his head trying to shake off the unwanted strands . The other deer thought he was challenging them whenever he lowered his antlers, so they were on edge, too trying hard to keep out of his way.

In the herd hierarchy, it appears that Mike is second to Max in command in most situations. He can be aggressive and can intimidate other deer, even when he isn't shedding his velvet.

We named him Mike because we like deer names that begin with the letter M and because it's Allan's middle name.

Humane Education

Here's a great example of mutual trust and respect. We can't think of any two better ambassadors for human and deer beings.

Thanks to a generous donation from her grandmother, Marg, this young person has become the official sponsor of the fallow deer (Curious) George, pictured with her above.

Mischief and Moki

Moki is one of two smallest deer with more brown colouring on his mid belly than Spike. Of the two, Moki was most fearful of humans, weather, loud noises and such when we first started observing the herd.

As we speak and as his antlers continue to develop, Moki is emerging from his shell and is now coming closer and closer to people, unafraid and determined to get his share of all food offered.

He looks like a small version of Gulliver with white legs and chest and has a similar temperament: unpredictable. Sometimes he spaces out and fails to notice food at his feet. Sometimes he chases other deer or tries to mount them which is surprising to watch because of his small size and low status in the herd.

He got his name from the native American (Hopi) word for deer.

Meet Murph

Murph is a mid-sized deer about the same size and age as George. He has a dark patch on his forehead just below his antlers and a narrow head. He is slim and strong.

He is interested in people and he has no problem making direct eye contact, but he keeps a safe distance away from us. Sometimes he hangs out with Max and Mike (two of the leaders) away from the herd. He showed some aggression towards other deer in the spring, but lately he stands his ground only when challenged and won't be spooked easily. In the herd hierarchy, he seems to be in the middle and okay with his place.

We named him to honour Don, his Dad and the Murphy spirit.

Antler Development

We found a very useful article about antlers on the net:

The fully developed antlers of Fallow are easily distinguished from the antlers of other deer species as they are palmated or flattened in comparison to those of other deer species such as Red and Sika which end in points. The palmation is usually fringed with a series of mini points and these are called spellers. Proceeding up the antler from the coronet the first point or tine is called the brow, the second is called the trey and then comes the flattened palmation. There is no bey tine on a Fallow antler as there is on a standard Red antler.

Fallow adhere to an annual cycle of antler shedding and regrowth. The bucks grow their antlers over the spring and summer when food is readily available to provide the required nutrients for antler development.



The pedicles, from which the antlers grow, are not present when Fallow are born making the skulls of fawns of both sexes identical. The pedicles start to develop in young bucks during the winter, at about 6 - 7 months of age, but are so small that they are not clearly visible.

By March the pedicles are well developed enough to be easily spotted and they continue to grow throughout the spring. Antlers continue to grow until fully formed from about the end of July to mid August. At this time the covering of velvet dries off and is shed over the next week or so.

The first pair of antlers grown consists of simple unbranched spikes which can vary from 1-20 cm in length. The antler has a club shape, being thicker at the base where it forms an irregular, pearled coronet. This may be up to 5cm in diameter and can progress up the length of the antler. This first set of antlers or head gives rise to the yearling bucks being called ‘prickets’.

The first head is retained until the following summer when it is cast, with the new antlers starting to grow almost immediately and taking 12-17 weeks to develop fully into hard antler, depending upon the age and condition of the animal. The better the condition of the buck, the bigger the antlers will be and hence the longer they take to develop fully. It is the older bucks which cast their antlers first although, by the end of the period of antler renewal, all bucks will be clean of velvet at approximately the same time.

As a buck gets older the antlers become larger and more palmated until the animal reaches its prime. Once past its prime the antlers start to deteriorate in size and weight, termed ‘going back’. Any buck which develops a particularly good head is referred to as being in its prime, irrespective of age.

The above photo was taken of Dandy on August 13, 2006 and you can see he still has velvet on his huge, beautiful set of antlers of which he is very proud ... Dandy's dandies.

Deerkeeper Allan with George

This photo gives you a good idea of how large George's antlers are. It was taken on August 11, 2006 and George is eating his favourite, corn.

EeGee (formerly known as Scratch)

When we first began to observe the bucks regularly after the fawns and does had left our reserve, we had trouble telling two similar deer apart. Both were the same size and they were often together doing the same things. George had a noticeable spot above his right eye and the other deer had a scratch above his, hence he received the name Scratch. The mark has long since disappeared, and we have had a chance to get to know more about him. He is a very kind deer who does not bully any others ever. We think he is probably the most gentle and calm of the herd, so we decided to rename him, EG for easy-going. He takes food from hand and is starting to nudge feeders whenever he wants more than his share.

His antlers are continuing to grow. He has a odd vertical spur only on his left antler which you can barely see in the picture above which was taken in August.

KoKo:Looking like a million

KoKo is easy to identify because he has the darkest colouring in the face, body and antlers. In size, he has a slightly shorter and more compact truck and smaller head than George.

When the Reserve bought the herd in October 2005, KoKo was not in good health. He had a large abscess on his left hip. The farmer (on whose land the reserve is currently situated) thought it best to shoot him, which we are happy to say Wendy and Don did not do. The abscess decreased on its own and is now just a small scar. Thanks to improved nutrition, summer and love, KoKo is looking like a million bucks!

He has always been skittish and jumpy but lately has calmed down considerably. We thought he was one of the oldest deer, especially when he was looking so poorly. But now that he has regained his health, we are not too sure whether he is on his way to or from his prime.

The top picture was taken in June 2006. The side pic was taken on August 1, 2006. The antlers continue to grow and branch out.