Baby fawns have specific dietary needs crucial for their survival. Understanding their natural diet, how it changes, and what foods are harmful is important. This knowledge helps ensure their healthy development.
The Fawn’s Natural Diet
Immediately after birth, a fawn’s diet consists exclusively of its mother’s milk. This milk is nutrient-rich, providing high levels of fat, sugar, and protein essential for rapid growth and development. It also contains vital antibodies that help build the fawn’s immune system. Healthy fawns typically double their birth weight within the first two weeks, sustained entirely by this milk.
Around two weeks of age, fawns begin nibbling on tender vegetation. This early browsing aids in the development of their rumen, a specialized stomach compartment necessary for digesting plant matter. While milk remains their main sustenance, this early introduction to solid foods is an initial step toward their adult diet.
The Dietary Transition
The transition from a milk-exclusive diet to solid vegetation is a gradual and natural weaning process for fawns. As they mature, typically starting around two to three weeks old, they progressively increase their intake of various plant materials. These include tender grasses, leaves, shoots, and forbs like clover and alfalfa found in their habitat.
Fawns become more adept at foraging, and their rumen continues to develop, allowing them to process plant matter more efficiently. While some fawns can be fully weaned from milk as early as 10 weeks of age, many does continue to nurse their fawns for 12 to 16 weeks, or even longer. This extended period of milk consumption alongside increasing solid food intake prepares them for the diverse diet of an adult deer.
What Not to Feed a Fawn
Avoid feeding fawns any human food, pet food, or other non-natural items, as these can be harmful or even fatal. Cow’s milk, for example, has a different nutritional composition than deer milk and is dangerous for fawns. Its proteins and sugars are difficult for a fawn’s digestive system to process, often leading to severe diarrhea, dehydration, and nutrient malabsorption.
Human foods, even seemingly harmless ones like bread or corn, lack the specific nutrients fawns require and can cause nutritional imbalances. Some plants, such as rhubarb, chocolate, onions, and grapes, are toxic to deer and must be avoided.
When a Fawn Needs Specialized Care
Most fawns found alone are not orphaned; their mothers typically leave them hidden while foraging and return periodically to nurse. If a fawn appears to be alone, it is generally best to observe it from a distance and avoid intervention. The mother will not return if people or pets are too close.
If a fawn shows clear signs of injury, persistent crying, or if a deceased mother is nearby, immediate action is necessary. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or animal control. Attempting to feed or care for a fawn without professional guidance can be detrimental to its health and is often illegal. Rehabilitators use specialized fawn milk replacer formulas designed to meet a fawn’s nutritional needs.