My husband and I received our first Whitetail Fawn when she was one day old. A few weeks before bringing it home, we applied through the Department of Natural Resources for our wildlife breeders license. You should get this and the number of breeders of the male and female the fawn came from. We let this fawn nurse its mother for 24 hours to get some colostrum before taking her home.

We put her in a dog cage for transportation home. Fawns are very scared and docile and are easily handled for the first few days. She was kept in the house for the first 3 weeks and then moved to a dog pen outside. The white-tailed deer can jump up from a very young age. We recommend at least 4 feet. fence until 12 weeks of age and then a fence 9 to 10 feet thereafter.

White-tailed deer are fed goat’s milk substitute. This can be found in many food stores or farms. For feeding we use a normal bottle with a rubber nipple. You can also buy a long red rubber nipple that is used for bottle feeding goats and lambs. The substitute bag will tell you how to mix the formula. We would mix a large batch and store it in a container in the refrigerator.

We start our fawn with a 3 hour feeding schedule. It is very important that these fawns feed at least 6 times a day for the first few weeks. Start with an ounce of formula. Our fawn stayed in bed for the first week and did not get up or move much. To feed her, we placed her on a towel and fed her while she was lying down. We had a lot of problems with his eating. She didn’t take the nipple well and we ended up using a syringe to force her to feed her for a few days. After mastering it, she ate like a pro. It is advisable to add 1-2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to each bottle to prevent diarrhea. Diarrhea can be fatal to a fawn and you can lose it very quickly. If the diarrhea still persists, it may be necessary to speak to a wildlife or exotic veterinarian about medication.

The reason most people lose fawns is because they don’t know to clean the deer butt after each feeding to stimulate urination and defecation. It is mandatory that this be done. Fawns cannot use their bodily functions on their own until about 4-6 weeks of age. They can easily become septic and die if not cleaned. We placed our fawn in a Rubbermaid tub with newspapers in the bottom. We used baby wipes to clean it and did this after every feeding.

At about 12 weeks of age, you can wean the fawn from the bottle. We started offering deer pellets and water in a bowl starting at week 3. She started eating solids around 8 weeks of age. We also feed clover, corn, and soy hay to supplement their diet. Our bottle feeding schedule is as follows:

Day 1-3 2 oz every 3 hours (force feeding as needed)

Day 4-7 4 oz 6 times a day

Day 8-14 6 oz 6 times a day

Day 15-21 8 oz 5 times a day

Day 22-28 8 oz 5 times a day

Day 29-35 9 oz 4 times a day

Day 36-42 10 oz 3 times a day

Day 43-49 10 oz 3 times a day

Day 50-56 12 oz 2 times a day

Day 57-63 12 oz 2 times a day

Day 64-84 16 oz once a day

Keep in mind that each deer is different and adjustments may be necessary. The main problem with bottle feeding is the overfeeding of the fawns. All deer farmers do things differently, we have found that this system is what works for us.