Wednesday morning was unlike any other morning I have experienced. First, Steveoke me at 6:30 in the morning, which is way earlier than I would normally grace the day with my presence. But this morning, there was tiny little package waiting for me!
As Steve was walking to the back 40 that morning, he was praying and gathering wood for a bon fire. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something and did a double take. A baby deer! A fawn, a newborn baby deer! Is it, hurt, orphaned, what? Why won't it move or call for it's mother?
He decided it was in danger and brought it home and give it some milk. Then, he woke me to come see it and figure out what to do.
Well, after researching a bit, we found it is a very big misconception that a fawn left alone has been orphaned. The mother actually leaves the fawn in a safe place, within distance, while she goes to forage. A predator seeks movement, and if the fawn is very still, its in less danger, same reason the mother forages away from it, decreasing the chances of movement nearby.
The next big misconception is what to feed a baby deer, if by chance you have found one in need. Most people would think milk. Close to deer milk right? WRONG!!! It's one of the worst things to give a fawn. It can cause major damage inside and even cause death. If you must give something, try water first.
The last misconception we discovered was about the scent left from humans. Most people think if you touch an animal, the mother will reject it due to the scent. This is also very wrong (in most cases)!! The mother is very distraught for losing it's young. And it's also very happy to find it's young when it's returned/found!
Best thing to do if you see a fawn laying very still is to leave it be. The mother is probly watching him very closely nearby. If he seems in distress or extremely weak then is the time to intervene. Call the local wildlife conservation and they will know exactly what to do.
So, after all this, we decided the best thing to do is to return it back to the exact spot where he was found. I prayed all day that this little creature would not be negatively affected by the cow milk and the mother would find him and re-bond with him. When we retured at dusk to see if she had come back, he was gone! Yeah!! I love happy endings!
Another blessing.....Steve drove out early this morning and just a few houses down the road, he saw a mother deer crossing the road with a very tiny baby fawn, struggling to keep up. This was out little deer, united with his mommy! Thank you God, that was a sweet little blessing.
