The Deer Lady's Blog

The Girls–summer 2010

Deerlady — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:32:44 +0000

Since the bucks have their own page…….. here are the girls!!!!

Bambie age 2.

Jane age 2

Margaret age 1

Miss Kitty age 6

Pebbles age 11

Tweety age 7

And our visiting doe for the summer….

Julie age 3

Julie is owned by Brian Herron, Red Oak Whitetail in Hookstown, PA.

Our “deer” faces summer 2010.

Deerlady — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:18:52 +0000

After several weeks of phone calls we are finally getting a chance to upload pictures on our web site of the deer this season. My friend Alyssa is helping me learn how to do this. So we are posting all the bucks, then all the doe will be added on a separate page. Fawns are updated on the news page.

The name and age of the buck is located at each picture.

Adam–Age 13

Bert–Age 12

Chester–Age 6

Comet age 1.

Cupid age 2.

Henry age 5.

Marty age 10.

Prancer age 1.

Snoopy age 11.

Sundance age 8.

Vixen age 2.

Woody age 10

What do you do every day?

Deerlady — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:25:15 +0000

Hi, When people email me or stop in at the ranch, they ask what a typical day at the deer ranch is like.

So the day described has no meetings, no salesman, no tv crews or no building projects. (which all happen from time to time.)

My husband Shorty and I take turns wih the fawns. Since he is a early riser he does the 6 a.m. bottle. I usually get up by 7a.m. First I feed all 5 cats. Then I usually make toast or cereal sit on the patio and have breakfast with the cats. I take a walk around the fence and converse with all the deer and give them apples.My husband Shorty feeds them alfafa hay, roasted soy bean corn and dairy balancer pellets.

Then I get the shop ready for opening and do the dishes. Wait on customers, along with my step daughter Lisa. Then we do the noon bottle for the fawns. The fawns drink Milky Way calf milk replacer. The customers can help. We then love up the fawns, then come in and wash bottles. Work on any on going painting projects. (we are still doing stuff with the golf). Or mow the lawn inside or outside the fence. I love to mow.

Wait on customers till 6 p.m. bottles and treat time. The best time of the day. We take out buckets of cut up apples, pass them out. Then we go in the fence and bring the deer over for the customers to pet and feed. It usually takes about an hour to make sure everyone got their treats. Then I come in and my husband watches the desk while I cook supper. We close around 8p.m.

Then we go out to take some pictures, and make a fuss over the deer. I watch 1 tv program. Shorty usually goes to bed and then I do the 10 p.m. bottle. Some nights I do an extra trip around the fence. Then I check my email and hit the sack. Some nights Lisa stays over night with the grand kids and we have cookouts, or play board games. We go back in the fence for extra play time with deer. Some nights we even camp out. Not too exciting , but I love every minute of it.

Photos of hard antler

Deerlady — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:15:45 +0000

: Woody age 9

Hello, I have been getting many requests for photos of our deer in hard antler. So in the next few weeks I will be adding some to our site. There are some on our facebook page. But I promise to get more photos on here soon. Woody has had his antlers removed because he is the breeder buck. He is being quite aggressive and not being nice at all to the ladies he is with. (5 of them)…He doesn’t realize how lucky he is.

: Adam age 13

Adam is our oldest buck and looking good for his age. Here he is appreciating the scent of the ladies.

Bert age 11

This year we lost Oscar and Bert really misses him. He was 12 this June.

Chester age 5

Chester is such a handsom buck. He is Adam’s son and they look so much alike.

Cupid age 1

Cupid has his first set of antlers and is looking so good. He now comes over to fence to see us.

Henry age 4

Henry has really grown this past year. He is currently customer’s favorite deer.

Marty age 8

Marty is the largest deer we have ever raised. This means body and antlers. He is the dominant buck.

Rudy age 12

Rudolph is one of our senior citizen deer. He doesn’t grow much antler, very non typical but we love him anyway.

Snoopy age 9

This Fall all the girls would hang behind Snoopy’s pen. He was their “rock star”. But Woody got to be breeder buck. Not fair…

Sundance age 7

Sundance is pretty chubby this year. He also likes to stand in his sink so we notice him..As if we could miss him…

Vixen age 1

Vixen is our piebald with attitude. He gives Cupid a run for his money.

Bucks shedding their velvet:

Deerlady — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:32:14 +0000

I am asked all most daily about bucks shedding their velvet. Why does this occur? Is it painful? And how long does it take? All very good questions.

This is happening in our pens right now. We have our bucks all separated so that they won’t hurt each other.

A deer’s antlers begin to grow each year in May. They are covered with a soft furry covering called velvet. This is protection for their antlers because there is blood running through them as they grow. They are a living thing with nerve endings. In August the antler stops growing and the blood supply shuts off. Then they harden from the inside out. No they are not itchy, nor do they hurt at this time. They are hard bone. The velvet is removed to show their crowning acheivement, a beautiful set of hard antlers.

To remove the velvet a deer picks a low lying bush, a branch, or something plyable to help get that old dead skin off. Some deer are lazy and let it fall off on its own. Others can’t wait to remove it and it is all over in 20 to 30 minutes. At any rate once it is removed their antlers become weapons that they use to prove their man hood to the other bucks. That is our reason for separating our deer. They love to spar and would injure each other. Some bucks have been known to fight to the death. It is not always over “Doe” as we are led to believe. But many times just over territory and wanting to be “the big man on campus”. By giving our buck’s their own pens, they mark their territory and seem to settle down knowing they have claimed their domain.

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments.

Rusty

Taking Fawns out of the Wild

Deerlady — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:55:27 +0000

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)

The Deer Lady's Blog

The Girls–summer 2010

Bambie age 2.

Bambie age 2.

Jane age 2

Margaret age 1

Miss Kitty age 6

Pebbles age 11

Tweety age 7

Julie age 3

Our “deer” faces summer 2010.

Adam–Age 13

Bert–Age 12

Chester–Age 6

Comet age 1.

Cupid age 2. Henry age 5. Marty age 10. Prancer age 1. Snoopy age 11. Sundance age 8. Vixen age 2.

Woody age 10

What do you do every day?

Photos of hard antler

Bucks shedding their velvet:

Taking Fawns out of the Wild

Attention: It is illegal to take a fawn out of the wild.

Cupid age 2.

Henry age 5.

Marty age 10.

Prancer age 1.

Snoopy age 11.

Sundance age 8.

Vixen age 2.