What do they feed deer on the farm? Feeding antler deer. Main food for reindeer in winter

Rokkol 07-11-2006 06:55

Two deer from the city park hang out at night and even sleep right next to the entrance and garage. They are almost not afraid, they allow you to approach within 10 meters or less. By nightfall I give them a piece of salted bread and a couple of apples. They eat it. I tried to give potatoes, carrots, cabbage - they ignored it and didn’t eat it. What else should I give them? What do they like? There is no snow yet and they have enough green grass for now.

Chuck13 07-11-2006 07:07

Sierra SPBT, Game King. These are bullets.
But if you’re serious, don’t, it’s better to drive them away, for their own good.
“We are responsible for those we have tamed...” /c/

Rokkol 07-11-2006 18:52

Yes, I have a caliber for deer too. But I'm not a hunter. So, I'm a shooting enthusiast.

You are absolutely right about domestication. I agree. And it is not because of me that the “beautiful” deer graze near my house. A couple of oak trees grow near the house. And this year there is an incredible harvest of acorns and everything is strewn with them. So they come to eat and at the same time sleep next to them. I wouldn’t pay attention to them. But there were a lot of deer in my area of ​​the city and the authorities sold off a number of permits to hunters to shoot them with bows and crossbows. They'll kill them in the park! So I want to hold them longer. Yes, they are full. Today, apart from bread and one apple, nothing else was touched. And during the day they still go to the park to sleep. If only I could write on their side that “I am not a deer. I am a cow” and they would definitely not be touched...

YANKEE 11-11-2006 04:01

Ignore them, for their own good.
Let them eat the acorns, but don’t pamper them with human food.

Rokkol 15-11-2006 20:22

It's all over and there is no longer a problem - what to feed the deer. They shot them one by one... First the female, and on the second day the horned one. And I saw the “hunter”. He sat under a bush at the edge of the clearing and “with his antlers” knocked on the deer in his hand, beckoning. He made signs for me to go quietly and not interfere. It's a pity for the beautiful deer, but such is our vile life.
And the hunters are not to blame. These are people who are sick with their Huntingphilia. They don’t need meat, but the process itself. What to take from them! We should feel sorry for them too. Lonely orderlies-predators in the forest and in the city.

YANKEE 16-11-2006 05:13

What, you can hunt near your home?
In Connecticut, if memory serves, 500 yards away, that is, practically nowhere in the places where I live.
Hunting is hunting, the most ancient instinct, and there are too many deer, the other day I was driving to NY, during an hour and a half journey I saw eight downed deer.
When there are a lot of them, they start to get sick, lime desiz from the ban on hunting and off we go.

Rokkol 16-11-2006 05:37

My street runs parallel to a half-abandoned Railway. Behind it is a stream and again a street. Between the stream and the railway there is a paved road for bicycles, dogs and pedestrians. And everything was overgrown with bushes, grass, trees. That's where they lived. A family with young fawns. Well, all of them from the bow.
Yes, in principle everything is correct. This year they were allowed to shoot them in the city with bows. It’s just human nature (mine) to be greedy and protest... They were beautiful. They ate apples from the apple tree on the side of the road together. They are on one side, and I am on the other. When I left, I shook the apple tree with it. It's just humanly pathetic.
No problem, new ones will be built next year. The place will not be empty.

The most important thing in reindeer farming is feeding. I have already written more than once that the red deer is less picky about the variety of food than a cow, but is very demanding in terms of quality and quantity.
The biggest mistake I have seen other farmers make is dividing into small paddocks. In a small space, animals, according to them, are better controlled and moved from pen to pen, but here we are faced with another problem - a trampled field. On the project in Smolenskaya, my boss had a mathematical mindset, and as best he could (or could have done well) drilled into me his view of things. I decided to digitize the deer, translate their vital activity into numbers; this was useful for me and was familiar to the management.
Here's what I got: In the large paddock, the grass went away much more slowly than in the small one. Net proportion - X sq. m of area for 1 deer for 1 day, it was not possible to breed. For 7.5 hectares it was 17.4, and for 2 hectares it was all 25. All because deer trampled part of the field. After all, there is a concept - the living and total area of ​​​​the apartment; for a small paddock, the percentage of area for bedding and trails was noticeably higher. And hence the lack of feed and poor condition for the breeding period. If we don’t feed, then our animals will approach the autumn mating thin and emaciated, and this is a disadvantage in terms of reproduction, but if we feed, then we end up with another problem. Deer are wild animals and will eat as long as there is food, especially something as tasty as compound feed. If you calculate the dose incorrectly, the females will arrive at mating with obesity, and this is also a matter of minutes before reproduction. Therefore, every reindeer herder should strive to keep his livestock on natural feeding for as long as possible; this is physiologically correct and economically feasible. The area of ​​feeding pens must be calculated taking into account the amount and value of grass cover, amount of precipitation, soil structure, geography, and many other factors. Based on conversations with other reindeer herders, I came to the conclusion that for a normal meadow Middle zone, pens should be 6-8 hectares. No more, no less. Have 4 small pens of 1.5-2 hectares each for various zootechnical purposes.

That is why every respectable reindeer breeder must determine externally, I would even say from afar, the condition of his animals and correct it in time so that by September it is in perfect condition, otherwise we will lose the calves.

I’m giving you a sign from the site, maybe someone will find it useful. Notice how thin the line is between Good and Very Good Condition.
So, autumn came, we managed it and the second stage of feeding began.
We need to deceive the deer, they, like any females, including the human race, will never become pregnant if they do not have a guarantee of a good apartment and the ability to feed the baby deer. We need to deceive the females, to make them think that everything will be fine. Avoid overcrowding and heavy feeding. In the fall, the grass is no longer the same, so we add silage/haylage and grain to the diet. Here you don’t have to worry too much about overfeeding - you won’t get particularly fat in the fall, especially with such physical activity which the male experiences (I won’t show the porn video a second time), but still don’t overdo it. After all, deer is a herbivore and an excessive amount of concentrated food causes acidosis and death of the animal. The normal dose is considered to be 1-1.5 kg per adult deer and 0.5-0.75 kg per calf, depending on the quality of the feed and the ambient temperature.
We set up a family of deer (20-25 females per male) on an area of ​​2 hectares, so small paddocks came in handy. For industrial breeding, where the accuracy of whose calves and from whom is no longer important, then on 8 hectares we put one hundred females and 4-5 males, naturally without horns.

Deer. Deer do not abandon their offspring. They often hide their young, so if you happen to encounter a fawn in the field, do not try to help it until you are sure that its mother has died. If this is your first time adopting a fawn, it will be helpful to consider the following initial guidelines. If your yard is not fenced, install a fence with a perimeter of approximately 15 m. This area will be quite enough for a child. It is better to use metal poles, which are easy to install and dismantle, and use metal mesh for fencing.

It is advisable that there are trees and shrubs inside the fenced space. As the fawn grows, it will gradually be able to reach the lower branches and will soon begin to feast on green leaves.

The dwelling can be built from plywood, fencing it on three sides. Another sheet of plywood should be placed on the roof and covered with roofing felt on top to prevent water from penetrating. The matter remains small front door- and here is a ready-made pen for the fawn. There should always be fresh water and a small piece of salt lick in the pen.

Feeding a fawn is not difficult. Basically, this is any type of milk with the addition of milk substitutes and various nutritional mixtures. It is best to feed using a half-liter bottle. The pre-prepared nutritional mixture is stored in the refrigerator, and before use it must be placed in hot water for heating. At first, you need to strictly adhere to the daily five feedings, then gradually reduce their number as the fawn begins to nibble on grass and leaves, and also discovers an interest in the grain food offered. By this time, the nutritional mixture can be given in a feeder, pouring it on top of a slice of wheat bread. The fawn will start by sucking the milk mixture from the bread and will then get used to eating any food this way.

From a cluster of flies better protection are bamboo curtains that darken a certain place where deer hide from annoying insects. You can lubricate the animal with a special protective solution, but you must first consult a specialist. Fawns are incredibly attached to people and will follow you around like dogs. They love treats - carrots, apples, groundnuts, marshmallow root. Further fate An animal will do well if it is raised in the area where it was picked up and where its relatives are found. Then, by the time of release, the deer will be sufficiently acclimatized. If there are other deer in the area, he will definitely find them. Sometimes young deer experience diarrhea as a consequence of poor diet. “¦Do not try to treat animals yourself with home-grown remedies, do not give medicines at random. It is better to contact a veterinarian, he will prescribe the right remedy.

Hickman M., Guy M. Caring for wild birds and fur-bearing animals. - M.: Lesn. industry - 87 p.

Diet reindeer.

The food of deer depends on the time of year. In the summer they feed on grass, cereals and... mice - yes, yes! It’s not that they hunt them on purpose, but if some frivolous mouse gapes on a hummock, the deer will chew it up along with the grass and won’t even notice. Mushrooms are also a tasty food for them. The peoples of the North do not eat mushrooms precisely because deer eat them.

So the Sami thinks: Why am I, a man, going to eat reindeer food? I'm not a deer! And there are so many mushrooms there that sometimes the entire tundra around seems to be covered with a continuous carpet of bright boletus caps. So the deer will not be left without food in the summer.

But in winter, when there is no grass or mushrooms in the tundra, deer get moss from under the snow. This is the only food available during the winter cold. Reindeer have an excellent sense of smell, and they smell moss even under a meter-long layer of snow, and they know how to get it from this great depth. But what can you do: winter in these parts lasts nine months, so we had to adapt. They dig up the snow with their front legs so deeply that sometimes only the back of a feeding deer is visible.

Resin moss is a lichen.

Previously, the Sami kept their reindeer near their homes in winter - a very small herd of three to five heads. And they prepared moss for them for the winter. In the summer it’s quite simple, since you don’t need to dig the plants out from under the snow - you gather an armful, put them in a shed, and let them dry. Before giving it to the deer, the reindeer moss was soaked in a bucket of water, and it became as if it were fresh. And since deer love salt, salted fish heads were also thrown there. The result was a venison salad - reindeer moss with salted fish. Yummy!

Berry picking in the north.

And deer also love berries that grow in the tundra in swamps: cloudberries, blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries. We humans are also not averse to eating such berries, so I will tell you how they are collected.

For collecting cranberries and lingonberries there are special devices, similar to a ladle with a comb. With these combs, the berries are sort of combed out from the hummocks: once again - and you’ve already collected a whole glass of cranberries! But cloudberries have to be picked by hand, each berry separately - it is very tender. But deer don’t need all these complications and adaptations. After all, unlike humans, they are not afraid of getting stuck in a swamp and calmly walk through it, pinching berries.

Information from a book about reindeer.

Deer grazing

Reindeer grazing.

Reindeer walk on their own in the summer, and no one looks after them at all. This is called free grazing. They wander in small groups of 3-5 individuals along the seashore, where the wind drives away annoying insects. and pluck young grass.

Such reindeer independence is very convenient for humans: there is no need to look after them or feed them. And in the fall, instinct makes them go to more warm places, deep down Kola Peninsula. So they rush to the south on trampled thrones, along their thousand-year-old routes. This is where the shepherds lie in wait for them. They know all these paths well and gradually gather the reindeer into herds, which they drive to winter pastures. Such herds may not be very large, or they may simply be gigantic. And then driving them to pasture is an impressive spectacle.

Imagine: ten thousand deer are walking, they are accompanied on all sides by powerful snowmobiles, and helicopters are flying above. It’s as if a whole army is going on the offensive - with equipment and aviation!

For the winter, deer can be placed in a large enclosure, or you can do without it. Then the reindeer herders constantly drive around the herd and make sure that the reindeer do not wander off. This method of grazing is called guarding. This, of course, is because they are guarding the deer. And the Sami herd their most northern reindeer much easier. Here stands a hut in a pasture in which shepherds live. Nearby, deer calmly graze, getting moss moss from under the snow. And the shepherds only go around the herd from time to time: they look to see if anyone has strayed.

Deer horns

Reset deer horns- food for the inhabitants of the tundra.

Of all the deer in the world, only the males have large, beautiful antlers, and only the reindeer have the females.

But here's the question: if thousands of deer shed their antlers every year, why should the entire tundra be littered with them? But this, of course, is not true. In winter, shed antlers are eaten by all kinds of living creatures in the tundra: mice, arctic foxes. Yes, deer themselves are not averse to chewing on their antlers, sometimes right on each other’s heads! Well, why should I get lost, since they are so useful! And in the summer, tourists come to the tundra and also happily pick up shed antlers. If they bring it home and hang it on the wall, it’s immediately clear that the person has been in the tundra.

Of the representatives of reindeer, six species remain in our time. From the huge elk to the miniature roe deer, representatives of this family have long been transformed from game animals into inhabitants of parks, private animal farms, zoos and estates, so the methods of feeding these animals are widely known. For example, reindeer, fallow deer and roe deer are considered the least demanding animals to keep and feed in captivity.

Representatives of the northern regions of our Russia are very unpretentious in choosing available food, adapt well to captivity, and are kept without any problems. Reindeer in nature feed mainly until the very cold of winter in the tundra. After the snow falls, they use their hooves and horns to pick up the remaining grass and spend the winter like this until spring. Keeping reindeer in captivity does not cause much trouble. IN winter time, they easily tolerate frosts. Enclosures and fences are made for deer at least three meters. The fence bars must be very strong so that deer cannot stick their heads through them or the cubs cannot jump out of the enclosure perimeter.

Spectrum of deer food

When feeding reindeer in the park area, a large variety of trees, shrubs and grass are used, and of course, reindeer moss (Icelandic moss). They eat quite a lot of vegetation and the supply of grass and branches should always be quite large. If there is not enough protein in the grass, reindeer begin to eat various wild mushrooms growing in the perimeter of the park, eggs of ground-nesting birds and small rodents - lemmings. To maintain a special mineral composition reindeer visit places where salt licks come out of the ground. If there are no such places in captivity, then it is necessary to place several containers with rock salt so that the reindeer always correct their composition of minerals in the blood. They also need bone flour and chalk, for the same reason. But the main food of reindeer is reindeer moss.

For reference, the daily diet of reindeer is fifty percent branches, the same amount of hay or meadow grass. Many zoos, in order not to purchase rather expensive hay, use bran, oats, wheat or black bread to feed reindeer. In such cases, as mentioned earlier, it is mandatory to add sea or table salt, chalk and bone meal to the deer’s diet.

Additional "dishes"

Acorns and beech nuts are considered great delicacies for reindeer. If possible, many zoos and farms purchase acorns from the population to add them to their main feed.

Main food for reindeer in winter

But still, the main food for reindeer is reindeer moss. It is moss that is best to feed reindeer. This moss is the main mineral plant food for deer. The minerals contained in moss moss (Icelandic moss) have an exceptionally good effect on the production of offspring in female reindeer. In males, horns grow well from reindeer moss, and for this reason, inflammatory processes are not observed during the growth of horns.

Where to buy reindeer moss in winter in Moscow and the Moscow region?

Photo: moss is of very high quality and good food for reindeer! Especially in winter!

The Lesnoy Dom company invites all interested organizations and individuals to buy reindeer moss for feeding (feeding) reindeer. Resin moss is sold by pre-order from a warehouse in Moscow and the Moscow region. This moss is delivered to nonresident consumers using transport companies.
Contact phone numbers To order moss (Icelandic moss) and clarify the question of where to buy this food for deer, you can look.