Deer are not uncommon out here in our valley. They can be a nuisance. Still, our resident fawn is welcome.
Why are fawns near houses and barns?
There is a small herd of doe deer frequenting the backyard. They tend to have their fawns and keep these little ones on the hillsides close to the yard.
Coyotes live back up the ravines and will attack fawns. These predators tend to stay away from the areas near our house and barn even though we don’t have a dog and don’t shoot them.
The doe deer seem to think their offspring will stay safer near our yard. That might be the reason one doe had her twins out in the small buck pasture.
Left Behind
Fawns get parked for hours at a time. Their mothers come by to feed them now and then, but stay away otherwise. The small buck pasture has tall grass and weeds making it easy to hide small fawns.
One day the fawns got big enough to stay with the doe. One left with her. The other stayed in the pasture to become our resident fawn.
Turning the Fawn Loose
Several times we watched as the doe came back to feed her fawn. Each time it followed along the fence, but wouldn’t try to jump out.
So I locked my herd in the barn lot for the night and left the pasture gate open. The resident fawn seemed to be gone. I even saw it outside the pasture along the creek, at least, I think it was that one.
Watching the Resident Fawn Grow Up
A red pickup stopped, backed up and stopped by the house. “You have a fawn trapped in your pasture!”
Sure, enough, the fawn was out running along the far fence. After reassuring the people we would take care of the matter, they left. And we sat down to watch.
Augustus and the fawn have a relationship going. They aren’t really friends. But the fawn tags along as the two graze in the pasture. Both are happy.
How long will the resident fawn stay? Augustus hopes it will be a long time. We don’t know.
