BRC Fallow Deer

We have wrapped up 2023 and are very excited to see what is in store in 2024 for our family and fallow deer farm. It feels like things have finally slowed down and we have a moment to catch our breath. I feel like the end of last year was a giant blur of activity! Let’s take a moment to look back at 2023. What an amazing year it was! So much was accomplished: 

-Wrapped up the finishing touches on the deer barn
-Finished the fencing that divided our deer pen into 5 smaller pens (which allow for deer separation) 
-Weaned our fawns
-Successfully completed our first ever fallow deer artificial insemination (A.I.) breeding
-Completed A.I. breeding for our cattle herd
-Hosted a family Christmas celebration 
-Traveled for other holidays gatherings 
-Brendan spent time hunting for sandhill cranes, duck/geese and whitetail deer, successfully stocking our freezer

I am most excited to talk about working our fallow deer through the deer barn. It is always an amazing feeling being close to our fallow deer. But it is also very humbling when we try to convince them into doing what we want. The first time we put the deer barn to the test was the day we sorted out the fawns and weaned them from their mothers. We quickly realized there were a couple design flaws in our setup but Brendan quickly fixed those. Making sure we were all set up to tackle our first year of A.I. breeding.  

Why do we want to A.I. breed our does? Great question! There are a couple of reasons we want to A.I. breed our fallow deer. A major reason is to incorporate more outcross genetics into our herd. We all know what happens when genetics get a little too close or tight. We would like to avoid a 3 headed fallow deer if possible. Deer naturally take care of this issue in the wild when young bucks move into new areas; but our fallow deer are in a secure pen. We are also part of a program that monitors our deer for TB as well as CWD (but fallow are not suseptible to CWD) and this program does not allow for new deer to be introduced to our herd without starting our certification over again. Therefore we cannot buy nor rent a couple new breeder bucks every year (unless they come from an already CWD/TB certified herd). So artificial insemination is a great option for us. Artificial insemination is a procedure that deposits semen into the reproductive tract of a doe. There are a couple of ways to do this but we chose to do it laparoscopically with the help of an experienced vet crew. Our research has shown that this method, which includes sedation of the deer, is much more successful due to the reduced stress on the deer as well as the accuracy of semen placement. We do everything we can to keep the wellbeing of our animals a top priority. Don’t worry the deer were rewarded with pumpkins and peanuts after A.I. breeding was completed. A.I. breeding was a 3 step process that took about 17 days from start to finish. The first step was to insert a CIDR. A CIDR (controlled internal drug release) is a hormonal implant that makes the doe’s body think she is pregnant thus stopping her cycle. Approximately 14 days later the CIDR is removed with a shot of PMSG. This is done to kick start her cycle again and initiate ovulation. All of this has to be done on an EXACT timetable to ensure the most successful outcome. So exact that there is only a 2 hour breeding window for the best conception rate chances. The goal is a 40-60% conception rate for fallow deer A.I. 

On AI breeding day, as each deer was ushered through the deer barn where she was caught in the papa deer chute. The vet administered the sedating medication. This does not have to be done by a vet but we thought it best for our first year.  Once she was fast asleep she was moved to the procedure cart. We made sure she was properly laid down with her neck straight and her tongue hanging out so she wouldn’t accidentally choke on it. It’s extremely important to constantly monitor all of the sedated deer to ensure they are still breathing and comfortable. Next up was a haircut, to shave back her belly hair and prepare a sanitary incision area. Then she waited in line for her turn with the vet. We chose a very experienced vet with a friendly and knowledgeable crew. They knew exactly what they were doing which was very reassuring to me. They made our first A.I. experience very fun and efficient. After each doe was artificially inseminated, each incision was stapled closed and sprayed with an antibiotic and protectant spray. Finally she was carefully moved outside to her normal pen where she was given a shot of reversal medication to help her wake up. This is important to note as waking up in a familiar environment is much less stressful for fallow deer than continuing to hold them in the deer barn for reversal and wake up. Our goal is to always put our fallow deer wellbeing first and foremost. Even if it means a little extra work on our part, like walking out to the deer pens, after dark, to check on everyone. Now we just have to patiently wait until next summer. Yep! Next summer. We will not have any indication of how many of our fallow does were AI bred until next summer when fawns start dropping and we collect DNA samples. That is the only definitive way to know who the fawn’s sire is and what our AI conception rate was. This is a little different than in the cattle world as there is no pregnancy checking for our fallow does. Research has shown that fallow deer will abort pregnancies if they experience too much stress. So we have been keeping our deer interactions at a minimum. We feed them daily as quietly and chill as possible. We also check their water but never venture too far into the pens. Always trying to give them a strong sense of safety and freedom in the back 3/4th of their pen. I always try to do a quick headcount to make sure everyone is ok but otherwise we have been leaving them alone.   

If you want to see what fallow deer A.I. breeding is like, check out “Final Step” video on our YouTube page when it goes live soon. Hopefully it gives you a birds eye view of working fallow deer.  

A giant piece of the AI puzzle is semen selection. Brendan spent a LOT of time researching, and choosing which semen we wanted to purchase. He bought some through online auctions and others through private fallow breeders. Brendan took point on this side of the operation as he is very passionate about researching fallow deer and pedigrees. He seems to have a knack for aligning what he thinks will be the best genetics to incorporate into our herd, but we will have to wait and see the fawns grow to truly determine Brendan’s semen selection success. I am not going to lie, I enjoy watching my husband talk about the best options out there for our herd and budget. If you want to see what I mean, check out our youtube channel BRC Fallow Deer and click on the “Giant Fallow Bucks Come to BRC Deer Farm. Well….Kind of. Planning for the Future”  video where Brendan unboxes the semen tank delivery.  Brendan talks about the 5 different bucks that we chose to use for AI breeding and why he thinks they were awesome choices.    

I can not close out 2023 without a GIANT Thank you to everyone that helped us this year.  Thank you Dan, Chris and Gordon for helping work the deer, Nana Cathy, Papa Craig, Zoey and Lola for watching the kids as well as everyone else for helping, sharing our social media pages and supporting our family farm. 

So what now? What are our plans for 2024? Well let me tell ya.  Brendan has already started working towards one 2024 goal. Turning our front hay meadow into an alfalfa field. Do you know how much alfalfa the deer eat throughout the year? We feed free choice alfalfa nearly year round. He hit up some local farm auctions and shopped facebook marketplace resulting in acquiring a rake, sickle mower, disc and a baler “that worked the last time I used it” before it was parked for gosh knows how many years. I now get nervous, and run to hide the pocketbook when he says “Guess what I found…..” Can any other farm wives relate??  Or is it just me….. At least he has already proved to me that the disc works, as he disced up our front hay meadow in preparation to planting it to an alfalfa field this spring. It was a long evening of working in the dark to get the 1.5 acre hayfield broken up prior to the snow storm. He has also been out in the shop, using his mechanical magic to get the baler to work better than it did before it was parked…. However many years ago that was. It is exciting to see these projects underway already.   

Brendan isn’t the only one getting back into a routine for BRC Fallow Deer. I have redirected my focus back on blogging, fallow facts, and video editing. I am forging ahead and getting caught up on posting to youtube/facebook and our website.  So many exciting things we accomplished at the end of last year. Subscribe and Fallow us…. Err I mean FOLLOW US to get notified when new content is added. We are looking forward to this year ahead and can’t wait to see what’s in store in 2024. 

~The Deer Wife
BRC Fallow Deer