anyone know anything about deer ?

[angelish]

hi
we have 4 deer (small dark beigey color ,white bums )
around our place and due to the snow are looking a bit poor.

it is really tempting to put a bale of hay out for them & maybe some pony nuts ?
just while there is so much snow on the ground ,will it do them any harm ?
should we interfere ?

they are having a tough time any way as there is a lot of building going on around here and they have possibly also lost there home
poor bambis ,i'm not a bunny hugger honest just feel sorry for them and don't know if feeding them is really the right thing to do

 

[Montyforever]

The deer where i work have a special deer mix when it snows and they cant get to the grass I dont think its too expensive! But these are domesticated deer so im not sure really

 

[EAST KENT]

Oats/hay/pony nuts...but what they WEALLY WEALLY LIKE is roses..so off you go and buy a few leafy bunches for them

 

[angelish]

yea these are wild one's
i am prepared to go and buy something for them because its lovely to see them as we are close to a town and there are not many left around here due to poachers
i'm just not sure if its the right thing to do to feed them

 

[angelish]

Oats/hay/pony nuts...but what they WEALLY WEALLY LIKE is roses..so off you go and buy a few leafy bunches for them

 

[jhoward]

hay is fine for them. if your near to a city maybe put it as far as way as possible to stop them becoming to used to you and other humans.

 

[Jayde87]

Could you not contact the local RSPCA / Wildlife center and ask of their advice? The only problem I can think of is if they become to rely on you and your feeding, and will them become lazy and will not find food for themselves. I too would be tempted to put something out for them though.

 

[angelish]

thanks ill put some out tomorrow
we walked down fields today and lots of prints from them in snow beside the hedges so will put it right down there out the way
they do keep there distance and would like to keep it that way or they will get shot

 

[NeverSayNever]

personally i would leave them be...

 

[angelish]

Could you not contact the local RSPCA / Wildlife center and ask of their advice? The only problem I can think of is if they become to rely on you and your feeding, and will them become lazy and will not find food for themselves. I too would be tempted to put something out for them though.

yes thats what i'm worried about ,our local rspca and wildlife center are about as much use as a chocolate fire gaurd

 

[Archangel]

The deer eat at my round bales and I have seen their tracks round the water trough so I think they make themselves at home. They seem to like fallen apples too.

 

[angelish]

personally i would leave them be...

what makes you think that ? i'm not being fluffy or anything just wondering as this was my immediate thought so i do see your point but they are looking quite shabby and what harm can it really do
apart from obviously costing me for hay

 

[Serenity087]

Pretty sure hay is actually bad for them... but I can't remember where I got that from!

You want to ask HenryHorn, she used to farm deer!

 

[Ditchjumper2]

Braised slowly in red winefor a few hours taste lovely!!!........personally would leave well alone. Deer are a major issue round here and a big nuisance.

 

[angelish]

we don't have that many so didn't really see them as a pest i guess if you have 20+ trampeling and eating your crops they wouldn't be popular

 

[NeverSayNever]

what makes you think that ? i'm not being fluffy or anything just wondering as this was my immediate thought so i do see your point but they are looking quite shabby and what harm can it really do
apart from obviously costing me for hay

just that they are either wild animals and in which case, survival of the fittest will see them right or they could be being raised by local keepers in which case you'd probably not want to interfere. We have hundreds wild round here and tbh if we fed them , intentionally (they have been known to eat my hay tho) we'd be over run with them, they can do a lot of damage too- there is a good reason my family's homes over in the west highlands are all surrounded by very high deer fences, lol. just my thoughts tho...

 

[LazyS]

The other half says feed them 150 grains of lead with a copper cover doing about 3000ft per second, hang in a chiller for at least a week, skin and cook till tender! Serve with sautéed potatoes!
Awh - luckily when I went out with him I had a camera and he had a gun but all we used was film (film in them days!).
They sound like Roe deer and really should be able to fend for themselves. They don't only eat grass they browse brambles and hedgerows. They have evolved to survive.
Someone close by to me had some deer on her land and was convinced they had worms, on the advice of a wildlife centre she left out wormers mixed in feed (can't remember what precisely) they did eat it I think, but we still found them dead shortly after! It was a doe and her twins, which were born in the field. They were quite a feature, people used to stop and look at them over the hedge from their cars. I got some great photos of them when the buck came a courting, they are usually very shy creatures but their mind was on other things so was able to get quite close.
I would leave well alone. If they help themselves to whatever you leave out for the horses all well and good but they are wild creatures and live by whatever means they find.

 

[Ravenwood]

I agree with the above - personally I wouldn't feed them either. They are wild, they have survived to be so. Its not good to intervene, you will encourage a breed that relies on human intervention.

The LACS centre did a similar thing - put out forage for wild deer and it created no end of misery, over population, worm burden, weak and dying animals, concentrated TB etc etc In the end Defra had to step in and tell them to stop feeding them

 

[angelish]

thanks everyone
yep i have now changed my mind and am going to just enjoy watching them and leave them be
wow i wouldn't dream of giving them a wormer just felt a bit sorry for them because of weather and building work ,i'm not normally this fluffy

they are def wild and not been raised by keepers but yes local farmers would not be overly happy with me encoraging them into his field bordering ours to eat his crops eh

as always thanks for replies
(ill still not be eating them though)

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

We have poxy Muntjac deer getting through our fences & trashing the fences as they go, also roe deer sometimes tho not so of the latter in the past week or so. They scramble in when the fields are empty overnight & clear up any leavings of hay - and drink a fair bit of water. (you can imagine how annoying that is as it means MORE carting of water!)
There is not one scrap or wisp of hay on the ground overnight, but a poached line of footprints in & out - and a trail of broken electric fence (yes, I've even left it on overnight to deter them!)

Dinner, thats what I say!

 

[angelish]

i'm def seeing your point now lol
bambi's are not so nice when there wrecking the joint

never really thought this through did i ,like i said we don't see many around here so we think its nice to see them
they haven't been in our fields yet ,just around the outside but if they do get in and rip any of my haylage bails i won't be so fluffy and may be posting for venisen recepies

 

[Rueysmum]

Haven't read the rest of your responses, but yes I would, and some water, if I were you.

 

[angelish]

hi
yes i was temped but there have been some very valid views particularly this one :-
quote
I agree with the above - personally I wouldn't feed them either. They are wild, they have survived to be so. Its not good to intervene, you will encourage a breed that relies on human intervention.

The LACS centre did a similar thing - put out forage for wild deer and it created no end of misery, over population, worm burden, weak and dying animals, concentrated TB etc etc In the end Defra had to step in and tell them to stop feeding them

so i'm just going to leave them be

 

[jaypeebee]

I wouldnt feed them either. They will get bits of feed and hay left by the horses. Deer scavenge and will come around at night when people arent there to pick bits of grain and hay. I see lots of deer tracks around my hay storage barns.

 

[joeanne]

The majority of the blooming things also carry lice......So if they are grazing alongside your ponies, keep a good eye out for backpackers!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

The majority of the blooming things also carry lice......So if they are grazing alongside your ponies, keep a good eye out for backpackers!

agreed - had a big problem with youngsters having caught them the other year & had to do them several times

 

[Mike007]

ON NO ACCOUNT PUT OUT HARD FEED FOR DEER ,you may kill them. They are a bit like horses in that they need a lot of digestible crude fibre and not starchy feed. They keep warm by virtue of the bacterial breakdown of digestable fibre.Its a bit like using petrol to start a bonfire, a big flash of heat and then the damn thing goes out.Even hay is a bit rich for them.