Fawns are extremely delicate animals that often suffer because of well-meaning but unnecessary or incorrect human interference. Feeding a fawn that is sick or dehydrated, or feeding a fawn the wrong type of formula can lead to extreme and irreversible digestive damage that may eventually kill that fawn. Remember, every wild species has extremely specific dietary needs and internet formulas are not a safe replacement for professionally developed diets. Removing a fawn from mom when it is healthy can lead to a condition called capture myopathy. This is a condition of extreme stress that can result in muscle damage, particularly to the heart, and eventually death. Please read through the information below to learn when and how to interfere. But remember, it is always best to call a wildlife rehabilitator before bringing an animal in to them!
Below is a series of articles on best practice when coming across a fawn that may need assistance. Please read through the information before acting. If you are in need of assistance, please follow the instructions listed on our general emergency page to get in contact with a licensed rehabilitator.
Misunderstandings that Cause Kidnapping
Two misunderstandings about fawns result in excessive interference:
First is the belief that the mother will abandon or kill the fawn because it was touched. This is a fallacy. The mother will NOT abandon her fawn because she smells you on her fawn. Human scent on the fawn can, however, reveal the fawn’s location to a predator, such as a fox; so touching should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
The second misunderstanding comes from the finder’s not seeing the mother with the fawn, leading many to assume that the baby was orphaned or abandoned.
The mother’s absence is part of the fundamental biology and defense of the young deer. A fawn’s scent glands develop as it matures, so a young fawn will have no body odor. This, along with visual camouflage, protects it from predators. The mother does not want to place her odor in the area, so mom only visits baby for short periods, often during the night. Her presence endangers her baby, so she must leave it alone. She may leave her baby alone for up to 24 hours at a time, increasing the likelihood that a watching human will miss the moment she does come back.
A fawn can be seen alone in the same area for days or weeks at a time with no evidence of the mother. The fawn’s continued health is the only indicator that it’s receiving care from its mother.
Signs That a Fawn is in Trouble
Fawns found with their dead mother or those born as a result of a pregnant doe being hit by a vehicle, are the only fawns we label as true orphans. These need immediate rescue so that they do not develop problems.
A fawn found in the area where a doe was hit may not necessarily be the fawn of that doe and should not be rescued unless it develops signs of distress. Fawns may be relocated in special circumstances, which are addressed further down in this article.
An orphaned fawn will quickly develop signs of distress indicating that it’s in trouble. Dehydration will be visible within the first day or so without mom. Signs may include curling of the ears, ruffling of the fur, and dulling of the eyes, but these may occur for other reasons, so it is important to consult with a licensed wildlife rehabilitator before intervening based on these signs.
Injuries are often obvious. Punctures from animal attacks and fractured limbs will become infected quickly with maggots and bacteria. Prompt treatment by a wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian is necessary.
Diarrhea is another life-threatening condition for a fawn. Soiled fur will attract flies and cause maggots to form around the tail as well as the face, between the hooves, and in the developing scent glands on the legs. The maggots will enter the body cavities and begin eating the deer alive. Maggots and maggot eggs are an immediate sign of distress, and action needs to be taken quickly if the fawn is to have a chance of surviving.
Fawns will often be seen lying curled up or on their abdomens, flattening themselves to the ground. This is their way of camouflaging themselves, and it is completely normal. A fawn lying flat out on its side with its legs extended is in severe distress.
A hungry fawn will cry out for its mother. This is normal. Extreme and continuous vocalizations for more than a few hours at a time can be a sign that the mother is not returning. However, the mother may not respond because you are in the area, making you believe that the fawn has been abandoned, and some fawns can be very vocal and demanding naturally. When dealing with a crying fawn, it is best to contact a rehabilitator to assist in assessing the situation.
Fawn Rescue – Finding Help
Only orphaned, injured, and sick fawns should be assisted.
Document the fawn’s location (close intersections, town and county, or GPS coordinates). Call the wildlife rehabilitator in your area for advice and assistance right away. Calling the wildlife rehabilitator before intervening, will not only alert them to your emergency, but will also enable them to inform you about local laws and regulations. Not all states allow the rehabilitation of deer of any age, including fawns.
Even states that allow rehab may not have a rehabilitator locally or may not allow deer to be rehabbed from certain areas. Deer should not move around the state. The potential of moving a disease to other areas is too great to allow deer to be transported from distant areas.
If the rehab center can receive it, transport it right away. Even a few days can disrupt a fawn’s personality. Fawns also have very specific nutrient requirements, and even one “meal” of the wrong kind of formula can cause extreme, often irreversible damage to the fawn’s digestive tract. Goat’s milk, cow’s milk, and other recommended diets that you may be able to find on the internet or through a feed store are NOT nutritionally complete and will cause damage. Don’t feed it anything. It will get what it needs when it arrives, usually beginning with injectable fluids.
The Danger of Interfering
Each year, Red Creek receives over a hundred calls about foundling fawns. Foundling fawns can be found during a nature hike or seen standing on or near a roadway. Fawns can show up in backyards in rural and urban neighborhoods and have been found lying under carports and on porch steps. They’ve also been known to stroll into barns, garages, warehouses, and unusual locations where we would never expect to see them.
People often find fawns and think that they have been orphaned or abandoned. The fawn will be seen day after day, in the exact same place… alone. They are cute. They appear fragile, and they are hard to resist. It can be difficult to just walk away.
Finding a fawn alone, whether in a natural environment or a completely unnatural setting, in itself does not constitute an emergency. Being alone is part of their early development; and being curious and intelligent animals, they can get bored and wander into the strangest places. Do not attempt to interfere without consulting a rehabilitator.
Young fawns lose their fear of humans very easily. Once they feel that people are not a threat, they often seek them out. This attraction can draw them away from the area the mother visits thus causing separation. If someone visits a fawn regularly, it may begin to follow other people who enter the area. This behavior can be interpreted as a fawn having been abandoned or orphaned and results in its being kidnapped by a well-meaning person.
If humanized fawns survive, they will grow very quickly and will soon become adult deer large enough to injure or kill a person. Fawns that have lost their fear of people will carry that lack of fear into adulthood. Although appearing tame, they remain wild animals whose actions and reactions can be unpredictable. This is called habituation, and can cause an animal which would normally flee to become aggressive when startled due to a reduced fear response. Habituated deer can be a real danger to any person they encounter, even to the person who tamed them.
Each year, news stories arise about deer that are kept as pets or raised and released back into the wild that subsequently maul people. Sometimes, those people are family members, friends, neighbors, or complete strangers that the deer encounters. Often these encounters result in a person being injured. Occasionally, a person dies. Almost always, the deer is killed by authorities all because someone tamed it when it was young.
Feeding Foundling Fawns
Another temptation at “helping’ the fawn is often just as deadly: feeding the fawn.
It seems to be human nature to want to feed baby animals. Wildlife rehabilitators are constantly advising the public not to feed baby animals. Suddenly feeding any wild animal, whether that animal is in distress or not, will almost always cause it harm. With fawns, that statement is critical.
If a fawn is truly in trouble, perhaps injured and dehydrated, feeding milk to the baby deer can cause refeeding syndrome, a metabolic disturbance disrupting the amounts of insulin and electrolytes in the bloodstream.
The effects are not immediate. Animals may rally from the sugars and fluid and appear as if they are recovering. Death can occur in 3 to 5 days.
This syndrome is almost impossible to reverse. Most animals will die. A wildlife rehabilitator will attempt to give injectable fluids and vitamins, which are also depleted in starvation, but the damage is usually not reversible.
We are often asked by people who find fawns if they should assist a foundling by feeding it, even though it appears healthy. But introducing a new milk formulation will result in the fawn’s getting diarrhea, which will attract flies that will lay eggs on the soiled fur around the fawn’s tail. Within one day, these eggs will hatch; and the maggots will enter the digestive system making the fawn sick, eventually killing the young deer.
Feeding too suddenly or feeding the wrong type of milk or formula, including goat’s milk, will also cause inflammation in the animal’s digestive system. This inflammation makes it difficult for the animal to absorb nutrients and fluids. This is catastrophic to healthy animals and even more so for animals that are already weakened by starvation, dehydration, or illness.
It is always more difficult to treat the problems caused by incorrect feeding than to treat whatever it was that caused the fawn to need help in the first place. Please follow the advice of a licensed rehabilitator, and keep the animal warm, dark, and quiet until it can receive help.
Assisting a Fawn in a Dangerous Location
Sometimes fawns will get themselves into a dangerous place, such as on a road or next to a busy roadway. These fawns can be moved away from the road.
Fawns old enough to run can be encouraged to run away from the road until they reach a safer area. Tiny fawns can be carried a hundred yards or so away from the roadway and encouraged to lie down and stay. Don’t worry about the mother finding it. When she returns, the fawn will respond to her call.
Be aware that approaching a fawn can be dangerous. A fawn could run out into the roadway and cause an accident. A larger fawn can kick and injure the person attempting to move it. There is also the danger of the mother doe attacking the person who approached the fawn. Moving a fawn should only be attempted when it can be done safely and by someone who understands the risks.