Sometimes, nature just has other plans.
Deer are now having young and this tiny day-old roe fawn was our second of the season. Sadly, the first was attacked by a dog, and had passed away on arrival. But “Hershey’s” story was out of everyone’s control.
Our reception team received a call about an adult roe that appeared to be in distress whilst giving birth. Volunteer vet, Matt, and vet nurse, Carina, headed out to assess the situation. Once on the scene, it was evident the mother had been struggling for a long period of time to birth her second fawn, which, heartbreakingly, had already passed away. The risk of infection and level of flystrike to the adult resulted in the difficult decision to humanely euthanise her, to prevent any further suffering.
But, nestled in the undergrowth, was her first-born fawn, weak and cold, the fawn had already gone 24 hours without milk and warmth from her mum. The vet team headed back to the centre, with Hershey in tow.
Over the next 48 hours, she received intensive care, whilst keeping warm, snuggled in blankets, under a heat lamp. IV fluids were administered with additional vitamins and electrolytes to help her body recover. We were over the moon when Carina managed to bottle-feed her some milk replacement and, as they say, the rest is history.
Fully stabilised, Hershey was able to be transferred to specialist deer carers, where we hope she recovers from her difficult start and, one day, is free to roam, back in the wild.
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