How Do I Feed a Fawn?

If you find a lone baby deer, or fawn, it might not be an orphan, especially if it still is wet with uterine fluids. Female deer, or does, are good mothers and rarely abandon their young. While searching for food, a doe often will leave her well-camouflaged fawn hidden in the woods. Before assuming the doe isn't coming back, watch from a distance while keeping pets and people away, and check the area for a dead lactating female. If you are sure the fawn is an orphan, be aware that it has special nutritional needs and requires care and commitment if you adopt it.

Things You'll Need

  • Clean sheet or towel
  • Latex gloves
  • Straw
  • Heat lamp
  • Colostrum
  • Baby bottle with nipples
  • Goat milk
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Pick up the fawn with a clean sheet or towel once you are certain it's an orphan. Wear latex gloves to prevent transmitting bacteria to the young deer. If the fawn is wet or cold, rub it vigorously to prevent hypothermia.

    • 2

      Prepare a bed of thick straw for the fawn in a warm, dark, well-ventilated area impervious to predators. Do not use sawdust as bedding, as it can cause respiratory distress in deer. The area should be free of wires and other items that could entangle or injure the fawn's delicate legs. If the fawn is cold, set up a heat lamp in a place where the deer cannot come into direct contact with it. A heat lamp also will provide Vitamin D, which is vital to its growth. Clean the fawn's area frequently to prevent disease.

    • 3

      Provide the deer with colostrum, a fluid that precedes its mother's milk and contains immune-building nutrients essential to the fawn. If you don't have access to deer colostrum, goat colostrum is an appropriate substitute. Synthetic colostrum is also available. Fresh colostrum is best, but you can keep it frozen for several months.

    • 4

      Feed the fawn a goat milk formula, which is close enough in composition to substitute for deer's milk. Use a bottle designed for pets, or a baby bottle with a cross-cut opening. According to the Deer Farmer website, deer prefer rubber nipples to silicone. Disinfect the nursing apparatus before each feeding to prevent infection, and warm the formula for the first couple of weeks.

      The amount varies according to the age of the deer and should be increased daily. The Deer Farmer website recommends the following: one week old, 300 to 600 grams per day every four or five hours around the clock; two weeks old, 800 to 1,200 grams daily, six or seven times a day; three to five weeks, 1,000 to 1,500 grams daily, four or five times a day; six to seven weeks, 1,500 grams daily, two or three times a day; eight to nine weeks, 1,500 grams once a day; at age 10 weeks, begin weaning the fawn off the formula. Begin supplementing feedings with grass at age two weeks; begin serving the formula at room temperature starting at four weeks.

      Remember to underfeed rather than overfeed, ignoring cries for more formula. During the fawn's first week, massage its abdomen and rectum to induce elimination, which may be loose. By two weeks of age, the fawn's feces should be dark and hold its shape like that of a grown deer. Thereafter, watch for diarrhea, which may be a sign of illness.