Attention: It is illegal to take a fawn out of the wild.
No, the mother did not abandon it. Mothers never lay with their fawns. They put them in good hiding places and check on them many times of the day. They are good at hiding so predators do not find them.
Mothers may be watching as you pick up their baby. It is not true that the doe won’t take the fawn back after you have touched it. The mother will stay in the area up to 3 days looking for her lost fawn.
So take it back to the exact spot you got it so she may find it.
If you see the mother has been hit on the road do nothing with the fawn. Because of new laws even rehabilitators are not allowed to care for the fawn . If you bring it in, you are guaranteeing a dead deer.
Please understand that private deer raisers have rules to follow from 3 places: The USDA, The PA Game Commission, and the PA Department of Agriculture. None of them allow us to have deer from the wild. Our deer are either bought from other licensed deer raisers or they are born at our ranch. So please do not try to bring us deer, as we cannot take them.
And please do not try to raise one yourself. There is a $200.00 fine for this – and the fawn will then be destroyed anyways.
Thank you for your cooperation. Rusty (the deer lady)