White Tail Deer fawns are primarily born from mid-May to mid-June. However, they can arrive as early as April and as late as the beginning of August. Most does will have one fawn, but occasionally twins are seen.

Fawns have no scent. To avoid leaving her own scent, the mother only stays close to her baby to feed in the early morning and early evening. Do not assume a fawn has been abandoned just because you don’t see the mother. In most cases, she is close enough to see you and will not approach the baby while you’re there.

Signs of a fawn that’s been  abandoned include loud bellowing or crying, roaming around as if looking for mom, being  covered with flies and/or maggot eggs or larvae, and/or appearing excessively weak.

If you’re in doubt if you’ve found an orphan, please leave the animal where you found it and return at dusk or dawn to see if the mother returns. If it’s not possible to camouflage yourself from the mom, return later in the morning/evening to see if the fawn appears to have been fed.

If you are reasonably sure the animal is an orphan or if it has been injured, it’s important to get it to a rehabilitator that specializes in deer as soon as possible. Although the animal may seem calm and docile, they are a high stress animal. Too much handling or changes in the environment can quickly lead to capture myopathy, which is always fatal. Additionally, it is important that they’re raised with as little human interference as possible. Their lives literally depend on having a healthy fear of man.

Month-old fawns being fed by a licensed rehabilitator.

Alibino deer fawn	Deer fawn	Piebald or pinto deer fawn

 Steps to follow if you should need to rescue:

Step 1:  Keep  warm.  Place fawn in a covered container (with air holes) with a soft cloth that will not snag or has any strings on a heating pad set low or other source of heat.  You can use dry rice in a socks, tied at the top. Microwave it for 45 seconds, and then place under bedding of baby.  Keep checking the temperature to be sure it stays warm (not hot).  Make sure the animal is not directly against the heat.

Step 2:  Check for fly eggs.  These may look like sawdust or clumps of white/yellow dirt.  Remove these as quickly as possible.  If they hatch they can cause further injury and possibly death.

Step 3:  Do not feed any milk or baby formula.  Animals are lactose intolerant.  Regular milk will cause severe digestive problems.  There are special animal milk replacers used for their needs.  After baby is warmed, you can offer warm Pedialyte or diluted Gatorade as a hydration fluid until you can get it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator who specializes in deer.  Call our hotline 804-598-8380 for a licensed rehabilitator.

Step 4:  Injuries, cat or dog attacks.  Fawns that have injuries or have been attacked by cats or dogs will need antibiotics within the first eight hours to prevent infections from bacteria.  Call our hotline 804-598-8380 to locate a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for deer.  The baby's best chance of survival is to be taken to a wildlife rehabilitor as soon as possible.

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