Ash, the Roe Deer
May 2006
We had hoped that this fawn would be company for a new born roe called Lady who was brought in to our centre in April. Sadly she died on May 11th. Again orphaned by a road accident, Lady was so young that she had not had her mother’s first milk ( colostrum ) which carries antibodies and protects young from infection. Although given probiotics to help her, Lady succumbed to an infection despite veterinary care.

Ash has a better chance being that much older although roe fawns are notoriously difficult to rear. It is really important to make sure that if you see a fawn lying curled up in long grass on its own, that you leave it alone for a few hours until you are really sure that it is a true orphan. Roe very often leave their young for several hours while they forage and the youngster will sit tight until her return. Do not stay next to the fawn as you will prevent the mother from returning. If in doubt – seek advice before taking action.

It is essential that Fawns are cared by one or two different carers at most. Ash is being fed every 4 hours and lives mainly in the cubby hole in the kitchen. However he often follows his carer around and goes for a walk in the garden so will not always be on camera.

May 26th
Ash has now been joined by two small female fawns. Derby arrived on Tuesday May 23rd from West Sussex having been found lying in the road during the day. Her original carer managed to get her to feed but she seemed very depressed and would not eat any solids. It was felt that she would benefit from company and so she was brought to be with Ash. As soon as she arrived she walked straight into the cubby-hole and started to eat the browse. Derby is very fond of Ash and spends most of her time preening him.

The second female fawn came from Somerset and again was found on the road. She is much more nervous than the other two and of course with Derby as a friend just had to be called Joan! Joan is not taking her milk very well but is eating a lot of browse. We hope that all three will survive to finally be released together. All the fawns are in the kitchen still, but once they are all feeding strongly, we shall look to moving them down to the fawn unit in the Millie Havercroft Building.

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