This a.m. as I was reading email we heard a strange bleating sound. My
kids thought there was a loose sheep around but when we went out to
investigate a very young baby deer and somehow gotten in the dogs' pen.
We have a dobie and black lab/chow mix and they were chasing the poor
thing. I had 2 of the kids corral the dogs but one broke his collar trying to
get back to the deer. We only have one leash (the other was chewed up)
so they had to move the dogs one at a time to the garage. Their pen is a
fenced in acre at the back of our property bordering a 15 acre field. My
poor daughter who has a fractured left elbow was holding the dobie by the
collar as he is better trained than the lab who acts just like Chance in
Homeward Bound.
When we finally got the dogs put away then we had to get the deer over to
the gate so it would get out. It had been trying to jump back over the fence
but it is 5' high hog wire fencing and it was too exhausted to make it. Then
it kept running head on into the fence. The whole time it was bleating
sounding just like a sheep. I felt so horrible that it had to go through this
torment. We finally had to get a neighbor to help us. Even though the gate
was wide open every time it would run there it would run right past the
opening and back down the fence line. Finally with three blocking the end
of the gate and my staying behind it begging it to just go out the gate, it
finally did and bounded off into the woods.
This whole excercise took around 45 minutes and the acre pen is all
wooded with brush and bramble undergrowth. There are some paths
through it but the little deer didn't always stay on the paths. I must have
jogged the perimeter of that acre 6 times before it was all over. We have
always had deer but they have always stayed in the woods on both sides
of the house and back 2. (Can't say back 40 as we only have 3 acres
There wasn't any sign of a mama deer around and my kids and I said a
prayer that it would be able to find it's mother. I haven't ever had deer in
the veggie/weed patch as it is situated right in front of the dogs's pen.
They are so used to deer going by the outside of their pen that they don't
ever bark at them, but they must have thought this was a new play thing.
There weren't any bite marks on the baby and the legs worked just fine.
It's mouth was a little bloody but I think that was from all the times it ran
into the fence.
After all this excitement on the way out of the pen I noticed that a few of the
blackberries have already turned black but they are still small. The
bushes were here when we moved in but this is the first year that they
have been so prolific. There are red berries all over the canes. How can I
tell when the berries are ripe? I am allergic to strawberries and have
avoided most berries on the advice of the allergist.
Kacey
Fayetteville GA
Well, you did the right thing to get the little one out of the enclosure and
on its own. Trying to keep the fawn or assuming it was abandoned is all too
often what people do when they come across a fawn and then they virtually
assure its death by taking it somewhere or confining it and trying to help
it.
Hope you don't have to go through anything like that again, however!
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of
levesq_k@BELLSOUTH.NET
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 6:16 PM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: OT baby deer rescue/blackberry ?
This a.m. as I was reading email we heard a strange bleating sound. My
kids thought there was a loose sheep around but when we went out to
investigate a very young baby deer and somehow gotten in the dogs' pen.
Agree with Debbie on all counts. Unless you absolutely know that the
mother is dead, leave the babies on their own - the mother will
return for them (goes for all wild animal babies).
Discovered fawns make the most incredibly loud blatting bleat when
distressed. Also that the doe is not going to be too far away, but
will stay concealed until all humans are gone. She leaves the fawns
alone, coming to feed them twice a day, until they are old enough to
follow her around. The doe who left her fawn in my garden the year I
was building my deer fence came to feed it at 8PM like clock
work...think the other feeding must have been around dawn.
The reason I know about the bleating is that I found this baby inside
my garden very soon after it was born and picked it up to put it
outside the fence...it screamed bloody murder. I was surprised as
deer are generally silent, although adults will give a very loud call
if startled; otherwise, they don't seem to say anything - occasional
grunting snorts is all.
The mother was with it when I found it and she ran and rolled under
the fence (which wasn't secured to the ground at that time.) So I
figured I needed to put the fawn outside the fence where she could
find it...NOT in the garden. Durn doe brought it right back in that
same night and left it for me to baby-sit....guess she figured a
partly fenced garden was safer for it than in the woods.
Cute little beast; never could catch it again after that first time.
It had several different 'nests' and I'd go out and there it would
be, curled up and looking at me with these huge eyes; nose sniffing
like mad, but otherwise perfectly still. I could get to within about
5 or 6 feet of it before it would take off. If I didn't try to get
too close, it would just stay there.
About the time I was getting the fence totally done, it was old
enough to go with her, which was a relief as I was wondering how I
was going to get it out of the fenced in area. Once they get their
legs going, they're fast as greased lightening.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Deborah Green
> Well, you did the right thing to get the little one out of the
enclosure and
> on its own. Trying to keep the fawn or assuming it was abandoned
is all too
> often what people do when they come across a fawn and then they
virtually
> assure its death by taking it somewhere or confining it and trying
to help
> it.
> Hope you don't have to go through anything like that again,
however!
I am laughing at how wily Marge's deer are...when she finally committed to
that fence they attempted to start a new population inside it!
Debbie
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardens & Gardening [mailto:GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU] On Behalf Of Marge
Talt
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 1:44 AM
To: GARDENS@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: OT baby deer rescue/blackberry ?
The reason I know about the bleating is that I found this baby inside
my garden very soon after it was born and picked it up to put it
outside the fence...it screamed bloody murder. I was surprised as
deer are generally silent, although adults will give a very loud call
if startled; otherwise, they don't seem to say anything - occasional
grunting snorts is all.
The mother was with it when I found it and she ran and rolled under
the fence (which wasn't secured to the ground at that time.) So I
figured I needed to put the fawn outside the fence where she could
find it...NOT in the garden. Durn doe brought it right back in that
same night and left it for me to baby-sit....guess she figured a
partly fenced garden was safer for it than in the woods.
> blackberries have already turned black but they are still small. The
> bushes were here when we moved in but this is the first year that they
> have been so prolific. There are red berries all over the canes. How =
can
> I
> tell when the berries are ripe? I am allergic to strawberries and =
have
> avoided most berries on the advice of the allergist.
> Kacey
> Fayetteville GA
They are easy to pick when they're ripe...if they're hold on like =
anchors,
they're not ripe enough yet. They develop a dull, blackish color when
they're getting close to ripe....
Are you also allergic to cooked strawberries?
Barb in Southern Indiana Zone 5/6 dorsettb@kiva.net
One of the most important things a gardener does is
*look.* The rewards are immeasurable. ~Elsa Bakalar
> From: Deborah Green
> I am laughing at how wily Marge's deer are...when she finally
committed to
> that fence they attempted to start a new population inside it!
----------
Well, Debbie, as frustrated as I was with them, I had to laugh, too.
That doe was so persistent; just determined that her fawn was going
to be inside that fence!
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor: Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part 5 - Pinellia
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
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