Deer

thekid

Songster
9 Years
Jan 12, 2011
4,118
18
211
Ford City, Pennsylvania
I heard some people raise deer on here cough cough.. Were do you "purchase" deer at? I know that there are different breeds of deer, what are the kind most people keep? I want a pet deer....
 
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I don't know much about deer. I think it would be neat to have one too. But I think they may be illegal in some states.
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...um...I think most people that buy them get them at exotic animal auctions. I do believe that you have to be certified to legally own a deer but that changes state to state.

Of course, I will warn you, deer do not make the best pets. I have known a hand full of people who have kept abandoned fawns and raised them. Sometimes this works, most of the time it doesn't, and with everybody I've known, the deer ended up living in the wild once it hit sexual maturity. They are just too wild and were not meant to be kept as pets. Now, I am not saying this out of moral philosophy but out of honest truth. Deer are wild animals, very very wild animals, that depend entirely on pure flighty frightened crazy instinct to stay alive. In fact, a lot of people have lost their lives to pet deer! To bucks for the most part, who go crazy, worse than a buck goat, when they go in rut. Just look it up...

If you are fine with all this and feel you are ready to undertake this challenge, here are some things you need to consider. First, you are going to need a large well constructed pen to keep them(deer are the ultimate escape artists) you see, their shoulder bones don't attach and are held in place only by muscle, kinda like a cats, so they can squeeze through or under most fencing, and they jump like 7 or 8 feet straight from the ground. Just something to consider. You will also need the money to meet their very specific dietary requirements, and the realization that once this creature reaches sexual maturity it is not going to have much use for you anymore...

My advice, get a little goat, they are much more fun and are pretty much just miniature domestic deer...of course they aren't as exotic but they will be a lot more fun and a lot less work and worry....plus, you can milk them
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Of course that is just a suggestion, in truth, if you are capable of providing nice, extensive home for your deer, feel free to, its your choice.(Plus it would be really cool if you could
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) These are just things you need to consider first
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In other words a fair warning
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(I thought I'd note, MOST of my experience comes from the White tail deer...I'm not really sure about other species, though I have heard of people keeping fallow deer...perhaps they aren't as flighty? Not really sure though
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If you are permitted to keep one, only consider a doe. Do NOT consider a buck. When they go in rut, they are deadly. Many people have been killed by "pet" bucks. But really....deer make terrible pets. They are never tame. They will stay skittish their whole lives.
 
I know that a lot of people farm deer, but they are livestock, not pets.
They raise them for meat, antlers, and to collect the urine.

http://www.birchcreekdeerfarm.com/ is one that turns up in a quick search and they sell doe fawns. They might at least be knowledgeable on the laws in your state
 
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You can get a permit to own them in PA. There are many breeders in your state as well. We have to wait on our state (WV) to get a grip on itself with the CWD in our states herd, they have closed all permitting.
 
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oh, here is a page that has a FAQ about becoming a deer farmer.

http://www.deer-library.com/artman/publish/article_147.shtml

If you want to keep them as pets, it isn't really a good idea. They are wild animals and don't domesticate well. Plus, lets be honest, your deer hunters aren't going to be expecting the deer to be wearing a collar. Shoot, you have enough hunters that can't tell the difference between a deer and a horse
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Deer are no different from any other animal, you need to respect them and have the knowledge of when you dont want to be in a pen alone with a Buck (rut) Ive had more agressive bulls then bucks.....

All I get to do now is wait out the state....we will eventually move if needed to have our deer farm.

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