RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter | Issue 16 RSPCA-Newsletter-SummerAutumn-2019-online | Page 8

Kids creche
at West Hatch
We are currently caring for ten deer
fawns, nine of these being roe deer kids.
The kids were admitted to us for a variety
of reasons.
One was sadly caught up in a grass fire with
her sibling and ended up severely burned
and four others from different areas were
found calling next to their dead mother.
Some of the kids however were picked up
unnecessarily and were fed an incorrect
diet that has caused complications to their
health, meaning they could no longer
be returned.
We urge people to call for advice before
picking up any fawn, unless the fawn is in
immediate danger. It is normal for young
fawns to lie alone in long grass awaiting their
mothers to return from feeding.
Often fawns will lay still, refuse to move
or refuse to stand when being handled by
people, but this is not a reason for them to
be taken into care and is a natural response
to a threat. Nearly always the mother will
be nearby.
Our fawns will spend at least four months
with us before being released back into the
wild and require a huge amount of care.
Thank you to everyone who donated willow
and rose plants for our paddocks, they are
certainly getting through a lot of browse!
And thank you to the Friends who kindly
supported the purchase of the materials to
construct a play pen, as you can see in this
photo the deer are able to behave naturally
and hide in the long grass.
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