gossy 3 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 whilst out for a cruise on my quad last night to do a bit of deer spotting i came across a roe doe beside the track that acted abnormally. whereas the deer you get close to freeze and stare right at you and sometimes try to get behind cover this one froze and was looking the opposite direction. i was probably about 10 yards away which is also unusual. i then just knew something wasnt right . i got of the quad and clapped which made her jump and she turned and looked at me i then waved my arms around to see what the reaction would be.(i know exactly what the reaction would be of a normal roe) but this one just started swaying and her head was drifting back. she then moved off slowly into cover staggering and falling over several times. what could this possibly be?? Quote Link to post
tommydeer 2 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 whilst out for a cruise on my quad last night to do a bit of deer spotting i came across a roe doe beside the track that acted abnormally. whereas the deer you get close to freeze and stare right at you and sometimes try to get behind cover this one froze and was looking the opposite direction. i was probably about 10 yards away which is also unusual. i then just knew something wasnt right . i got of the quad and clapped which made her jump and she turned and looked at me i then waved my arms around to see what the reaction would be.(i know exactly what the reaction would be of a normal roe) but this one just started swaying and her head was drifting back. she then moved off slowly into cover staggering and falling over several times. what could this possibly be?? Id say shes had too many shots the night before No seriously, could well be staggers, especially if shes suffering with her vision and losing her legs a little. If its not too severe they can recover otherwise they'll go and roll over somewhere. Quote Link to post
billy badger 0 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Is there any roads near by? If there is it could of been clipped by a car. Ive seen the same behaviour quite a few times with fallow deer after they've had an encounter with a car, you can walk straight up to them. Quote Link to post
JPTfellterrier 65 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 hit by a car maybes Quote Link to post
flytie 1 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Odd, it sounds like rape/kale sickness which makes them unsteady on their legs and can cause deafness and blindness. I have only found them like this in winter though. Grain/cereal/fruit intoxication can cause the staggers, could it have got at a grain feeder? Or of course, blue tongue can cause lameness, high temp, swelling of the head which can affect hearing too. I will be interested to hear what you find out if you follow this up. Atb, ft Quote Link to post
mj robson 8 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 it sounds like rape/kale sickness which makes them unsteady on their legs and can cause deafness and blindness. I have only found them like this in winter though. The blindness that occurs from Rape is only produced when they eat the 00 variety of Rape, which isn't grown in the UK and is limited in continental Europe. Unless things have changed in the last year or two. Perhaps an RTA? This is certainly the most common cause of injuries to Deer. Mark. Quote Link to post
flytie 1 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) The blindness that occurs from Rape is only produced when they eat the 00 variety of Rape, which isn't grown in the UK and is limited in continental Europe. Unless things have changed in the last year or two. Mark. Mark, we came across two this year when we had a lot of snow (for us anyway). Both died and were not put in the food chain. This site might be of interest to you if you doubt that ungulates are affected by other varieties; http://www.qmscotland.co.uk/analysis/downl...Lambs-nadis.pdf Follow the link to page 9 and 10 and you will see that even the varieties of kale and rape that have smaller amounts of the toxin can still cause trouble. ft Edited May 18, 2009 by flytie Quote Link to post
gossy 3 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Is there any roads near by? If there is it could of been clipped by a car. Ive seen the same behaviour quite a few times with fallow deer after they've had an encounter with a car, you can walk straight up to them. this was definately not the cause as there are no roads anywhere near there. Quote Link to post
gossy 3 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Odd, it sounds like rape/kale sickness which makes them unsteady on their legs and can cause deafness and blindness. I have only found them like this in winter though. Grain/cereal/fruit intoxication can cause the staggers, could it have got at a grain feeder? Or of course, blue tongue can cause lameness, high temp, swelling of the head which can affect hearing too. I will be interested to hear what you find out if you follow this up. Atb, ft it could have got to grain earlier on in the year during the shooting season as it is a large commercial pheasant shoot but i emptied all the hoppers for catching up the hens. could wheat eaten as far back as february still count?? Quote Link to post
Jabali 0 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 Considering the time of year I would say 99% staggers or to give it it's proper name Hypomagnesaemia. This occurs when the intake of magnesium is exceeded by its output. The clinical signs can occur very quickly because the animal does not store magnesium, and is thus reliant on its daily dietary intake. Hypomagnesaemia is most commonly a disease of lactating cows at grass, because grass can be very low in magnesium and the output in milk is high. When the losses in the milk exceed the dietary intake, clinical hypomagnesaemia occurs. The increase in disease in spring occurs because rapidly growing grasses, particularly ryegrasses, are very low in magnesium. This low concentration of magnesium can be further reduced by the application of fertiliser, partly because of the increase in growth rate, but also because application of potassium directly inhibits uptake of magnesium by the grass. Slower growing forages, particularly clovers and other broad-leaved plants contain much higher levels of magnesium. Quote Link to post
coursing mad 5 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 sounds like it needed finishing off mate a deer like that is no good to the wild in that state. did you kill it or leave it mate. tom!! Quote Link to post
gossy 3 Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 sounds like it needed finishing off mate a deer like that is no good to the wild in that state. did you kill it or leave it mate. tom!! the thought did cross my mind to go back and get my rifle but it moved off (if you can call it that) Quote Link to post
coursing mad 5 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 ok mate. just out of curiosity why were you stalking without a rifle. Quote Link to post
coursing mad 5 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 ok mate. just out of curiosity why were you stalking without a rifle. sorry didnt read post properly mate. Quote Link to post
flytie 1 Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 could wheat eaten as far back as february still count?? Gossy, I wouldn't think so, too long an interval between ingestion and symptoms. Unless it got blind drunk Having had a read, and talked to some friends, about this I think Jabali must have it right. Staggers is the most likely culprit. ft Quote Link to post
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.