We rarely can cut hay before the middle of June or so. Though I missed 2 early windows last week and the week before.
June especially mid June is fawning season around here so it is a huge problem for me. I know these things happened but it is NEVER easy to deal with when I kill one. Hopefully it is killed and not injured. That is the worst. I caught a fawns hind leg and cut it up pretty good but it looked like we might have been able to save it and take to a wildlife rescue.
I picked it up and carried down to our barn and put it in a stall. Ever carry a young fawn with those big eyes looking at you crying out just like a baby lamb? It was a Sunday afternoon and I called our vet to come over to see if she could do anything or put it down if not. She complained a bit because she was sitting by her pool. Considering she was making $30,000+ a year doing our repro and other work for lots of horses it was a pool we paid for. She didn’t live that far so it wasn’t that much of a hassle. We ended up putting it down. She sent me a bill for almost $400!!! I thought we BOTH were doing “charity” work. I could have killed it for nothing myself. Well, she learned a lesson because I fired her and told her why. She never replaced this account and ended up moving to find work.
Sorry I digress. If this is not a hay field do what Goodhos said, keep it mowed low. Doesn’t have to be 6 inches just low enough that it doesn’t provide cover to nest in. The doe’s will find better places to fawn. Bunnies are a different story they don’t require high grass to hind in. But unless you are mowing real low the chances of hitting baby bunnies which are very small are slim. But the unlucky make get run over by a tractor or equipment tire. There is really nothing you can do about them but hope for the best.
Around here the vultures are happy campers during haying season as are the foxes. The vultures clean up the small unfortunates before we bail. The odd fawn I have killed gets picked up and placed in an area where the vultures can take care of things. The foxes sit on the side lines when I am raking and or bailing. They know when making windrows the mice, moles, bunnies will go scurrying looking for new cover and are easy pickings. Hawks come swooping down also. Had a giant bald eagle pick up dinner right after I went by.
I’ve tried to several things to “clear” make sure there weren’t any fawns in harms way. Time consuming when time is of the essence. Had a friend drive the cart in front of the tractor but as others have said fawns by nature will not move and are extremely difficult to see even when looking down from the height of the tractor seat.
The only thing that does help in locating them if if one is fortunate to see the momma jump up from the nesting spot before she runs off as the tractor is coming at it. But if you don’t see the exact spot it is still VERY difficult to locate the little buggers. I have found the “nest” but they are program to move into deeper unmatted grass. You could be standing inches away from them and not see them nor do they move. I have spent/wasted a lot of valuable hay cutting time trying not to hit one. But having 50-60 acres to cut it can be a bit futile. There are so MANY nests it is a amazing. They don’t use the same one twice.
Wonder if anyone trains dogs to snuff them out, you know Fawn Pointers? Rent them out to us bleeding hearts for first cuttings.
Even though we have an over population of deer around here and I suppose one could look at it as population control. Carrying that injured fawn down to the barn took all the joy out of making hay. Making hay is plenty stressful enough especially when the weather window is crapping out. That 10% chance of a stray thunder storm happening becomes 100% over my hay field.
