Almost immediately after Guinevere and her fawn vacated, the doe who was here in 2021 with Pi barreled onto the property with two fawns. I believe she’s Pi’s oldest daughter. This is the one I’m calling the Auntie. She was a little bigger than so-called Guinevere, super confident, and acted immediately at home here. Her 3-member family unit was here consistently and mostly by itself until the end of August, using all the paths, the shelter spots, bulking up on the available feed. Size-wise, it looked like her fawns might have been a little older than Guinevere’s single fawn.
Spring was chaotic, but summer hit an even pace. The deer got into predictable daily routines, making it easy to work around them and observe what they do during the day when they were here. Maybe the second week they were here, one of the fawns had a “sudden” problem with a front leg, it wasn’t using it at all. I couldn’t see an injury or anything specific. A neighbor said the same thing. Then in about a week, it was suddenly using the leg again just fine. Good job little fawn leg. Geezus deer legs are little. See photo above.
At first, the Auntie’s fawns were still learning some of the basics. They weren’t really out alone yet. Mom was very nearby even if not right on top of them. For a while, the mom was still regularly instructing one of the fawns in eating, by which I mean putting her mouth on the ground right with the fawn’s mouth, leading the fawn to scope around in the grass for edibles. And the mom was still stimulating it to defecate when it ate. The other twin would be nearby comfortably browsing on its own.
I lucked into the most clear, extended observation of nursing with the Auntie and her fawns. It was a very relaxed morning here, and I sat on the back deck for about an hour, working, having morning coffee etc. while the Auntie rested on the bank, in view, ruminating (chewing her cud). A deer’s stomach has four chambers, part of which is about two gallons worth of storage for food to digest later. Generally, mulie does nurse for 3 to 4 months, though fawns can ween earlier. The original nursing video is almost a full minute long, but there’s a short snip below. I took it from the end where my favorite part always is, when the doe steps away and the fawns act shocked. In unison.
My grandson got to spend extended time with the Auntie and the fawns one afternoon. The timing was stellar. He got to see the fawns taking a rest in a backyard hidey-hole, eating in the grapes, out in the paddocks, and he got to watch from the windows inside while they were on the patio acting silly. Every time we turned around, they were there. It was like being in a children’s book with him.
I have not fed these deer, but I have taken things they’re already eating (some bunches of grapes, immature apples fallen off a tree) and piled them up near the porch, basically baiting them for photos, but also just to watch up close. Both times I did it were way worth it. In the vid below, the fawn at the end is of interest, too, still sniffing everything in its world to figure out what things are. Sound up.
Summer went on and then, on August 29th… Oh wait!
The rest of Guinevere’s name story…
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