Fawn Country Internship

Hello everyone!

My name is Kristen, and I am doing a Fawn Nursery Internship. I will get to hand raise baby deer for the summer. But as of now, there aren't any fawns. We aren't expecting any till early June. But yesterday was a big day. The yearling does were moved from this ranch to another where they would receive vaccinations and ear tattoos. Getting the does onto the trailer was tricky as they were scared and kept jumping into the fencing.

They had an interesting contraption at this ranch. They have a shute with four chambers. each chamber can hold one deer, and are separated by doors that can be operated from the outside. once the deer enters the fourth chamber, they are held by their trunk, the floor drops out from underneath and they are easier to manage and vaccinate. Much of this work was done under red light, as the deer cant see red. I assisted by keeping record of what deer received what vaccinations, and any other treatments for injuries.

This method is easier on the deer. while it is stressful, it does less damage to their immune system then darting them and knocking them out will. After all the does were treated they where moved to another ranch were they will stay. Today I visited the deer in their new yard and fed them grapes! They love grapes!