Fawns in the Spring

I meant to write about the deer earlier, when you could still see a mother with delicate spotted babies in the fields.  Those babies are getting tall and strong now, readying for the coming winter.   But when they're little - oh my! 
Again, my best experiences are from the wildlife rehab center. Getting ready for the fawns would begin in March or April.  Sometimes we would have a very early little one who might have been exposed to the wind and rain, depending on what happened to its mother.  So we needed to be ready.
Getting ready means being sure that the outdoor enclosure is in good repair with no breaks in the wire, no leaks in the overhead shelter.  We look for hazards for small hooves and large eyes, such as loose strands of barbed wire, metal buckets, whatever.  The feeder stand has to be cleaned and ready.  Not sure if I can explain this ingenious setup, but it basically holds baby bottles at just the right height and angle for the fawns to feed.  Of course, the correct milk formula has to be purchased, too.  I didn't realize how many specialty milk mixes exist. 
The circumstances that bring fawns to the wildlife center usually involve the death or disappearance of the mother deer.  Usually it's a car versus deer situation.   The State Police are wonderful about bringing the little ones in, or one of us my need to go rescue it.  The few I've rescued helped me understand why people keep them as pets.  Huge mistake, but more about that later.   The very young ones have no fear of humans.  When picked up, a tiny fawn will snuggle trustingly against you, its firm, intense little body warm and close, racing heartbeat next to your own.  Legs go everywhere, and care must be taken not to snap a delicate bone.   Silky head tips back in curiosity and  bottomless brown eyes study you.  Pretty cute stuff. 
At the center, the fawns are kept together (they like the company) and fed often.  They make a high-pitched squeaking sound, sort of like a squeezy toy.  They can smell the milk formula a mile away and at mealtime, there is much prancing, bucking and squeaking until avid little muzzles fasten on the bottle nipples.  Hang on tight, because part of the fun for the fawn is to butt the bottle several times during a meal.  Eyes half-close in happiness and milk dribbles down chins.  Except for lots of slurping sounds, all is very quiet for a few minutes.  We have to watch that each fawn gets enough to eat, because usually there are fawns whose ages span a  month or so. As with human kids, there can be shy ones, weaker ones, ones to tend to bully and push.  Chins are wiped after the meal - I don't know if the mother deer does this function or not.  Maybe eating from the real source isn't so messy.   With very young fawns, stimulation is needed for their bowels to work efficiently.  A damp warm cloth is used to stroke the lower back and around under the tail.  We try to mimic what mom would do in the wild.  It seems to work just fine.
The very best thing about the fawns is watching them walk on the concrete flooring in the center.  They look just like petite, four-year-old girls trying on mom's high heels.  Little hooves click as they lift their feet high and place them carefully.  They define the word 'prance'.  It's lovely.
Once they're big enough and the weather is reliably warm, they are moved outside to the big shelter.  This is when the feeder stand is used.  It has at least two purposes.  Once its loaded - however many bottles needed are inserted - all the fawns can eat at once.   And, it keeps the fawns from seeing people as the food source.  As soon as they can eat efficiently from the feeder, we're out of the picture.  No petting or naming the deer either.  In the wild, these deer will need to maintain a healthy respect for humans.  Deer hunting is a necessary reality, but I'd hate to have tamed a fawn to the point where it would walk up to an armed hunter.  Also, fully grown deer, especially males, can be dangerous.  Even if they don't mean to be aggressive, their hooves are extremely sharp and can do damage.  It's cute when a tiny fawn puts his feet on someone's shoulders, not so much when it's an adult.
The center sits on well over one hundred acres of wooded land, and so far the deer have been released there, or on neighboring farms. 
It's a great feeling to be driving or walking the access road and see shy deer faces gazing from the deep woods. 

"...Far off from here the slender
Flocks of the mountain forest
Move among stems like towers
Of the old redwoods to the stream,
No twig crackling; dip shy
Wild muzzles into the mountain water
Among the dark ferns..."

from Night
Robinson Jeffers