Yesterday, we saw two separate new born fawns on our farm. This one was born right up close to the house. We didn't even know it was there till mom came back to lead it away. So cute with long wobbly legs and a body the size of a kitty cat!
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Spring is Here!
- Thread starter Susquatch
- Start date
I've heard that before, but it isn't very common.
For me, spring is all about flowers, bird song, baby critters, and of course, farm planting.
Yesterday, my bride was in heaven collecting wildflowers and planting new annuals.
historicalarms
Ultra Member
Havent seen any fawns yet in our yard but the does (mule deer)are hanging around so they will be hidden in the bush. My favorite part of summer is watching the "locals" grow their families around the yard. Some years we have as many as 4 families that are around almost daily.
ChazzC
Ultra Member
Searching it seems there is no agreement on the origin (or it being “Spring Has Sprung” or “Spring Is Sprung”); Ogden Nash, ee cummings and Spike Milligan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Milligan) seem to be the most popular theories. And there are song lyrics:
Spring Is Sprung Lyrics - Child Song Lyrics
Spring Is Sprung Lyrics - Child Song Lyrics
www.lyricsondemand.com
I don't mean to be a downer, but unfortunately another sign of spring is the several black-legged ticks we have already pulled off the 2 and 4 legged animals here. I guess the other reason it jumps to mind is that I read that part of the tick life-cycle is on mice and part on deer.
In summer 2023 I had Lyme, and don't want that again.....
Brian
In summer 2023 I had Lyme, and don't want that again.....
Brian
1018Machine
Well-Known Member
Had a tick on me the other day out in the garden, didn't have time to attach itself luckily. I've had a few friends afflicted with the disease with one finally dying from it sadly. Wouldn't wish on anyone.
On a good note, I saw they finally isolated an enzyme (BbLDH Lactate dehydrgenase) which is crucial for the survival and infectivity of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria causing Lyme disease and are working toward a vaccine for it.
I normally have to catch and relocate fawns from our hay fields, as their birth schedule times rather well with our first cut of hay. Usually a pretty easy process to catch them, as they rely on remaining still and unseen, you can often simply walk up to them and grab them.
Had one, a couple years back, that was a bit hard core, he kept running back in to the uncut hay. When I finally grabbed him, he started screaming, I looked up to see that I had 5 does closing on me from various directions, clearly in a mind to lay a whupping on me!
Never had one not get picked up by it's mother from the relocation spot. Most of the time, within a few minutes of having been placed there in the tall grass outside the hay field perimeter.
Worth the effort, as I end up feeling like such the turd, when one goes through the mower-conditioner.
Had one, a couple years back, that was a bit hard core, he kept running back in to the uncut hay. When I finally grabbed him, he started screaming, I looked up to see that I had 5 does closing on me from various directions, clearly in a mind to lay a whupping on me!
Never had one not get picked up by it's mother from the relocation spot. Most of the time, within a few minutes of having been placed there in the tall grass outside the hay field perimeter.
Worth the effort, as I end up feeling like such the turd, when one goes through the mower-conditioner.
Downwindtracker2
Ultra Member
That is good news.
I have had the same experience. I have not mulched one yet either. But more than once, I've had to slam the brakes. Nice to have an overrun clutch on the PTO. My old Ford 8N would have ignored the brake and I would have been slamming it into neutral.
I don't try to relocate them. Same with killdeer nests in the plowed fields. I just backup and go around them leaving a 20x12 patch uncut. It's peanuts in the big picture.
Wish I had a video of you and those does. Funny how it's so different without a gun.....
I had a similar experience with a flock of wild turkey. 50 or so came running straight at me. 1 would be dead, 3 badly injured. 5 would be a fair fight, but 50 wasn't odds I liked. I was just about to jump in the pond to even up the odds, when I spotted the fox they were running from. Stupid turkey figured I was an easier battle than the fox! No idea how they came to that conclusion. Even the fox bailed like a bat out of hell when he saw me.
Turkey are really stupid. But they have the eyesight of a condor. They can see a hunter blink behind a camo face mask.
Dan Dubeau
Ultra Member
Had one born here about 4 years ago (maybe 5?) Still hangs around, and is not bothered by us at all. She was always much more comfortable getting closer to the house where mom would hang back a bit more. Of course I don't know for SURE that it's the same one, but I'd bet a good chunk of change it is just based on how comfortable she is with me out there. I'm almost positive I could eventually get her to eat from my hand if I put some effort into it.
....the other weird thing for me about young deer in the yard is one early, early foggy morning when I was sure I hear a child in the yard call "Dad, Daaad!" kinda eerie until I woke enough to understand that it was a young dear calling for Mom.
Brian
Brian
MashingMetal
Super User
Lyme is awful, I tested positive and it and affected all my joints. The doctor gave me heavy antibiotics. I am glad they are working on a vaccine. I seem to be hyper affected by bites now, bulls eye even for a minimal short duration bite, I have had them take over a year to heal.
It's more likely that it was the doe you heard. Does make that same sound too and they make it way more often. That plus foot stomping and blowing (some call it coughing). Just a wee bit deeper than a fawn.
Fawns are less likely to call unless they are in severe distress because it could also attract predators. Mind you, as said earlier, sometimes it summons help.
How fast do these combine things go? Could you not get a flagman to walk in front, just like the old days with automobiles?
I cut hay at about 4-5MPH, depending on the field conditions. I tend to have spent some time in the days and weeks prior to the cut, watching the various does, and where they have staked out areas that were 'theirs'. I still hit the odd one, still makes me feel like a right sh!t, and nature often rubs my nose in the idea that nothing goes to waste!
Last season, while doing the initial rounds of about a 10 acre hay field, I stopped to talk with my nephew to solve a problem he had, Next round, I hit a (nearly still wet!) White Tail Fawn, which was way late in the scheme of things here. By the time I made a full trip around the field, I had three Buzzards circling (yeah, we have those here in BC), and the mother was running out from cover chasing them off her dead offspring's remains. By the next round, there was a Golden Eagle on scene, cleaning up as it could. Still with the Doe running out and chasing the clean up crew. By the time I got around to finishing that field, and going to see what was left, I doubt that I could have made a decent pot of soup out of what was left on the carcass.
Still felt like a sh!t. But I was rather gratified to know, it was, at least, not wasted.
FWIW, the speed I cut hay at is SLOW! I know folks that routinely run at 15 MPH, and a few (who have fields I envy a little) that run at 20 MPH when mowing. This seems slow compared to, say, road speeds, but I still think 15 MPH across a hay field, and especially when you are trying to make a clean 90 degree corner (without having to change speed), is an art on the order of Formula 1 racing!