CA POPPY
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
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Joined: 07/07/2003
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Animals can sense a kind heart, even in a strange, two-legged creature. We're lucky if even once in a lifetime, we get to be half of that treasured relationship,
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Joined: 10/29/2004
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magnusfide, there was zero rain all July, so the formerly lush grasses died back or went dormant. But that's so normal here that I'm sure the deer are as adapted to it as the flora. We got a good rain yesterday, and the flora is already greening back up. I'm more concerned that the side oats gramma, KR blue stem, and coastal Bermuda grasses growing in our meadow are fine for cattle, but not so good for deer. We're researching deer appropriate grasses and whether or not we could gradually replace grass without breaking the bank or hurting the wildflowers. Meanwhile, we do feed MDL and Leoghaire a quality deer corn once a day, when we're here. They come up, look in the window, and we bring it out -- no feeder.
I personally do not believe it's the wasting disease, because we are quite a distance from the recorded cases. Also, no other deer are going all skinny like that, and it's quite contagious. I've noticed several times that MDL would have what looked like a pelican pouch under her muzzle, then after a few days, it would be gone. I'm inclined to think that may be part of the problem, whatever it is.
Unlike all the other does, MDL is such a sweet-natured thing that she's been a real joy to watch and interact with. Leoghaire is very bold, but still not inclined to come closer than six feet from us. I don't think she'll be a sweet-natured adult; rather, she'll be pushy and domineering. But as long as she doesn't feel the need to challenge us, we'll get along ok. I hope she'll think of our meadow as a nursery if/when she's old enough to mate. We do like to watch the fawns.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more
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CA POPPY
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
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Joined: 07/07/2003
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A thought, have you ruled out this: Lumpy Jaw Disease
So sad that it would happen to such a special doe.
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KLO
Southern OK
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Joined: 09/17/2003
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Great story, thanks for telling it! Hope she gives you more years of stories to tell us!
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Hmmm, Lumpy Jaw Disease might be the problem. But she's so skinny now that I wonder if putting an equine wormer into her corn would help or hinder. To even get her to eat enough that it might have an effect would probably require a trip to the fruit stand. She'll eat far more fruit or fruit rind than she will corn these days.
Meanwhile, Leoghaire now comes up by herself. She won't eat the corn when we put the pan in MDL's favorite place on the porch, because it's just too close to humans. But sit it on the porch edge, about the same distance from us, and she'll march right up and eat. We figured out MDL liked to eat her corn directly on the porch, where we could sit and talk to her. Leoghaire listens to us, but is still quite skittish -- and that's ok. Small chance of her ever nuzzling the back of my neck when I'm reading...
We had a couple of lovely days in the 80s, before the heat roared back. At 1230 today, it was already 98 in the garden. So the cats are happy to lay on the cool Saltillo tile floor. I'll be traveling back and forth from the swimming pool.
It's way past the cats' lunchtime. Later, y'all.
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CA POPPY
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
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Joined: 07/07/2003
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If it's lumpy jaw, she's starving, poor thing. The local feed store might know more about that disease. I wonder how long she's had it and if that had anything to do with her seeking out human contact? Lion with a thorn in his paw? Could be another interesting turn in your book.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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We've not seen hide or hair of MDL for several days now. That's happened before, but with her current state of health, it's quite worrying.
Leoghaire, meanwhile, has figured out that if she comes to the porch alone, we'll feed her, but if she brings her friends, nope. Our current mini-herd is made up of yearlings and Gimpy. The older does don't come into our meadow much.
What does come into our property is a red fox. I looked up while preparing dinner and it was trotting along the driveway, just outside the south door. Both cats were safe inside, so I went out and yelled at the fox. It hurried through the fence and went on its way. WLToo and the fox have been having marking territory issues, and I'm sure he would have simply shot the fox. But I'm not quite ready to kill it; it's not been interested in Spotacus, and we don't let Alex stay outside unsupervised.
The barn swallows no longer hang out on the porch, but they're still here, at least for a little longer. There's a noticeable change in the atmosphere when they depart. The quiet is disquieting for a time.
WLToo is slowly getting the roof on the shed. He's maneuvering plywood sheets waaaaay up by himself, then sliding it into place before using the nail gun -- in 90 degree weather. Won't be finished anytime soon, but it's getting there. By November, we should have a whole lot of stuff out of the garage and into that shed. The winter project will be revamping the garden, in preparation for spring planting in February. We might get it right eventually...
Time to get the chicken into the Tandoori marinade. Later, y'all.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Joined: 10/30/2009
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Foxes are not our favorites, along with coyotes. Both kill our pets. Hopefully WLToo will kill the fox and eliminate the threat.
"The only time you should fear cast iron is if your wife is fixin' to hit you with it."-Kent Rollins
First law of science: don't spit into the wind.
Magnus
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CA POPPY
Santa Clarita, CA, USA
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Joined: 07/07/2003
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magnusfide wrote:Foxes are not our favorites, along with coyotes. Both kill our pets. Hopefully WLToo will kill the fox and eliminate the threat.
They have their place, though. A relative had fish & game come out and trap the fox in the woods behind his house. Now he's regretting it as the rabbit population has run amuck, making his garden a bunny grocery store.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Joined: 10/30/2009
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CA POPPY wrote:magnusfide wrote:Foxes are not our favorites, along with coyotes. Both kill our pets. Hopefully WLToo will kill the fox and eliminate the threat.
They have their place, though. A relative had fish & game come out and trap the fox in the woods behind his house. Now he's regretting it as the rabbit population has run amuck, making his garden a bunny grocery store.
Rabbits also have other predators in our area; and those rabbit predators don't pull part small dogs and cats while they're still alive and screaming. We have no problems with killing the foxes and coyotes.
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