Well we have found a fawn but it won't eat. What should we do?

Question

We found a fawn on the side of the highway. We have tried feeding it, milk in a bottle. We have done every step that is required, but it still doesn't eat. We plan on contacting and giving her to someone suitable to care for her.

Answer 1

contact your wildlife and parks office or call the sherrifs department and ask them what you should do. In most states I think it's illegal to keep wild animals without a license.

Answer 2

This is what happens when you go with what "feels" right and not with what is.  The nicest thing you could do is shoot it in the head and kill it quickly, cuz it will probably never eat now and just slowly starve to death.

Answer 3

Contact the local DNR or US fish and wildlife service.

Never touch a young wild animal especially a fawn. Momma know where it is and will come back to get it. Once you've touched it momma will either abandon it or kill it outright.

Answer 4

Look for another deer mother in the area. Release the fawn and the mother will probably adopt it. I've seen that happen where I live. ps What douche bag gave this idea a thumbs down? What a freakin' moron.

Answer 5

if her to the wildlife conseravsoin people they will know what to do

SAVE THE WHALES

Answer 6

Well, the damage is done, since you already removed it from the wild, lets try to minimize further damage, shall we?

Do NOT try to give the fawn any other milk, except goats milk.  I'm talking about whole goats milk, fresh from a goat, not the pasturized c**p you find in stores.

Cows milk will kill the fawn.

You need to get a Pritchard Nipple, which will s***w onto any regular mouth soda bottle.  Here's a link, so you can see what they look like:

http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/searc...

Fawns are compedative, since they are almost always born twins.  Put your hand under the babies jaw, and massage your fingers on one side of the fawns jaw, and your palm on the other side.  The fawn should try to push it's head forward, into your hand.  That's because you are stimulate the instincts/feeling of it's mothers udder, and a sybling fawn competing for the teet.

The milk you are offering the fawn need to be warm, a little warmer than your own body temperature.  Get the nipple in the fawns mouth, and give the bottle a very gentle squeeze.  Remember it's only tasted its mothers teet before...rubber had to taste simply horrid to a fawn.

If the fawn starts to nurse, stroke the fawns cheeks gently, to keep it nursing.  Do not give it more than about 8 oz at a feeding.  Feed the fawn every two hours (yes that means setting your alarm clock and getting up, and warming a bottle every two hours).

Remember if you feed it cows milk, you WILL kill the fawn.  

If the fawn completely refues to nurse, it's blood sugar may already be too low.  In that case it needs to be tube fed.  You will have to have a Vetrinarian do that.

You need to call Fish & Game, or a licensed Wildlife Rehab Center to get the fawn.  She will probably die overnight if you keep her.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Active wildlife study over 40 years

Answer 7

Not every single fawn that is standing alone is waiting for its mother. Seeing it was beside a busy main road, you probably saved its life. Its not realistic to leave it there so it can run in front of a car and cause a LOT more problems for everyone. Anyway, search online "DNR(then put the name of ur state here)"  Look around on the site for a "contact us" number. If you can find it, call ur vet, they should be able to help you. DO NOT wait too long, any animal can dehydrate very quickly which will kill them. Offer it a bottle as well as put down a small bowl of water, maybe its older than u think

Answer 8

Congratulations. You have probably killed it by your well-meaning interference. Usually it is the state that is responsible for wildlife. There is an outside chance that they will be able to save it.

Next time, do not touch a fawn that appears to have been "abandoned". They spend most of the day alone and survive quite well that way.