New arrival-only a few days old. At this early stage, the fawn will be fed only goat milk from a bottle. Later, other foods will be added, as she grows.

The same fawn as above, but she now has plenty of company. The mother usually gives birth to twins. Single births are the exception, so a fawn in a rehabilitation setting benefits from having other fawns to bond with. Occasionally there will be three fawns born to a doe.  Playpens are a good enclosure for deer this size.

Outside for fresh air and exercise. Fawns like to explore and will eat plants and even dirt.

Feeding time. Deer eat a variety of things when they are older, including greens, fruit, vegetables, and deer pellets. And of course, milk. The young deer will stay on milk for several months, gradually being fully weaned in September. This is the same schedule as the mother doe would follow had the baby stayed with her.

Young deer in an outside enclosure. They will soon be ready to be transferred to the release site

This young deer is just being transferred to an outdoor cage, where she will remain for the winter. She will have several other fawns for company. Also, she will be sharing the outdoor pen with a couple adult female deer who will teach her how to be a wild deer. By spring, she will be a fully wild deer and will be ready for release. In the wild, the mother deer usually keeps her young with her over winter and teaches them what they need to know to survive.

Deer photographed in the wild. This is the desired end result we are aiming for with each fawn we rehab.

This little buck was hit by a car and was unconscious when taken to a local vet clinic by a good Samaritan. He was transferred to our care, and once recovered, was released near where he was found. Here he poses for a photo just before strolling off to join his mother and sibling in the woods.

This female fawn was hit by a car and had serious injuries to her neck and face (note the scarring). She was weak and near death when she arrived at Wilderness Haven. She recovered fully, was wintered over, and released the following spring. She has been sighted several times in the wild near the forest where she was released. She is identifiable by her shortened tail, which was also injured when she was struck by the car.

Outdoor deer pen at Wilderness Haven. The shed is for shelter at night and during inclement weather.