More dreads

More deer are losing the velvet that has covered their growing antlers since April/May. Gulliver and Moki are added to the list. KoKo lost his velvet overnight, from black velvet to bone with no signs of the dried velvet strands. Mike has lost his velvet and we are pleased that his injured brow antler has hardened in such a way as not to impair his vision. It looks like a broken finger and we are still trying to get a good picture of it.

This picture shows Ty in the background with his velvet still on. Moki is in the foreground with the velvet torn away from his left antler and the hard right antler, but some of the strands of velvet are still attached to the base (burr) and look like dreadlocks dangling on his forehead and sometimes over his eyes. This bothers the deer and they rub their antlers against the juniper and cedar boughs to tear away at them and hurry up with their loss.

Velvet shreds

Two of our bucks have shedded their velvet so far -- both in the past few days. First EGee, then Dandy. Our picture of EGee was not the greatest, but Dandy stopped moving his head from side to side long enough to give us this picture. The deer are bothered by the long strips that hang in front of their eyes both the shreds of velvet dry and fall off in about 48 hours.

Sign posted

Allan, Aida, Adam, Jane and the new sign

As of yesterday afternoon, our official sign is finished and in place at the entrance to the new Reserve. Thanks to artist, Aida Sulcs, for her excellent work which captures George perfectly in his prime.

Merci also to Diane Lalonde and Adam Strauss for helping to mount the sign.

July update and thanks

Thanks to Don Murphy, we have a wonderful new gate that has allowed us to start work on the barn and that opens wide to allow tractor-drawn hay wagons easy entry to the enclosure.

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With design, coordination and labour from Terry Thomson and Sam Bush, we have built a lean-to on the south side of the barn which will provide the bucks with warm shelter from winter winds, ice storms, etc. We were able to use lumber and plywood salvaged from the old reserve by Don in addition to the lumber that was stored in the new Reserve's barn. Also helping in this project are Adam Strauss and Drew Sauve.

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Emerald Murphy has donated 250 bales of this year's hay which is now stacked in our loft thanks to help from Murph and Don. On Monday, July 23, Bruce Burt, our 90 year old volunteer, drove his tractor (purchased in 1949) and a load of 113 bales from his farm to the reserve about 4km. We are happy to report that both the tractor and he made the trip and the descent down the Florida Road hill without incident. Thanks to Colin Saccary and Paige for helping us unload the hay wagon and stack the bales. Thanks to Barry, Bruce and Stewart for the "supervision".

The deer are flourishing, growing enormous antlers and very relaxed. They've convinced us that they love their new home.

Many thanks from Allan and Jane

Bash, Buddy, Dandy, EGee, George, Gulliver, KoKo,

Max, Mike, Moki, Murph, Spike & Ty

Come Visit

Our new location is on Florida Road in the
northwest corner of the city of Kingston.

We welcome visitors by appointment only.
Contact us to make an appointment and get directions.
jmcd@reztel.net
613-386-3673

Donations of time, apples, carrots, corn, oats, hay bales and dollars are always welcome, too.

Charity registered by Canada Revenue Agency.
Income tax receipts issued for financial donations of $5 or more.
Mailing address: 204 Simmons Rd RR2, Odessa ON K0H 2H0

Falling antlers

In 2006 the bucks had their antlers sawed off when they were tested by federal government inspectors. So we really didn't witness the natural shedding process or the order in which it happened. This year we kept track of the events. Our research indicates that the oldest or most respected bucks shed their antlers first, and the youngest last. We guess that is because Mother Nature needs more time to re-grow the largest antlers and perhaps that the older bucks can handle the indignity of being vulnerable a bit better than the youngest. Who knows?

1. Gulliver, April 8, 2007
2. Max, April 10, 2007
3. Mike, April 12, 2007
4. Dandy, April 12, 2007
5. Bash, April 18, 2007
6. Murph, April 20, 2007
7. Koko, April 20 and April 24, 2007
8. George, April 22, 2007
9. Buddy, April 23, 2007
10. EGee, April 24, 2007
11. Ty, April 28 and April 30, 2007
12. Spike, May 5 and May 7, 2007
13. Moki, May 5 and May 7, 2007

Those listed with two dates did not lose both antlers on the same day. KoKo has the record for walking around with one antler for the longest period, 4 days!

If you have a theory on the "why" of antler shedding order, please let us know.

Wonky Mike

There may have been one injury from the transportation process to the Fallow Deer Reserve's new home. Mike has one brow antler that points down rather than up. There's no blood or sign of trauma, other than this rather unique antler formation. From our research this would be evident only in this year's antler and not a permanent problem for him. The wonky antler does not appear to affect his vision or any other skills.

This means we'll have no trouble recognizing Mike this year!