FAO ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND HEALTH PAPER   27

Cover
deer farming
guidelines on practical aspects

Table of contents


prepared
by
antoon de vos

for
the wildlife and forest conservation branch
forest resources division

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to express his thanks to the following persons, who have been most helpful in providing the necessary background information for the preparation of this manual:

Dr K.R. Drew, Invermay Agricultural Research Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mosgiel, New Zealand.

Dr P.R. Wilson, Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Dr R.D. Taber, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

Mr H. Fitzi, Auckland, New Zealand.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


M-21
ISBN 92-5-101137-0


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome © FAO 1982


Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. DEER SPECIES STOCKED ON FARMS

2.1 Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

2.2 Wapiti (Cervus canadensis)

2.3 Sika or Japanese Deer (Cervus nippon)

2.4 Rusa Deer (Cervus timorensis)

2.5 Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

2.6 Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

2.7 Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus)

3. DOMESTICATION

4. HERD MANAGEMENT

4.1 Husbandry Problems

4.2 Deer Behaviour as Related to Management

4.3 Reproductive Performance

4.4 Rearing, Weaning and Treatment of Young Deer

4.5 Hybridisation

4.6 Growth and Growth Rates

4.7 Herding and Yarding

4.8 Feeding and Food Utilization

5. RANGE MANAGEMENT

5.1 Range Improvement

5.2 Stocking Rates

6. DISEASES AND PARASITISM

6.1 Bacterial Diseases

6.2 Viral Diseases

6.3 Parasites

6.3.1 Endoparasites

6.3.2 Ectoparasites

6.4 Clinical Signs

6.5 Treatment and Prevention

7. DEER CAPTURE METHODS AND POST-CAPTURE TREATMENT

7.1 Drugs Used in Immobilising and Capturing Deer

8. DEER PRODUCTS

8.1 Venison

8.1.1 Slaughtering

8.2 Other Products

8.3 Preparation of Hides and Skins

8.4 Collection and Preparation of Velvet

9. FARM LAYOUT AND FENCING

9.1 Farm Layout and Design

9.2 Paddock Layout for Red and Fallow Deer

9.2.1 Design

9.2.2 Gate Siting

9.2.3 Paddock Size

9.2.4 Paddock Shape

9.2.5 Fencing

9.3 Deer Yard Design, Requirements and Plans

9.3.1 Siting

9.3.2 Design

10. DISTRIBUTION OF DEER FARMS

11. REFERENCES

Photographs

FAO is grateful to Mr Bernard Pinney, President of the New Zealand Deer Farmers' Association Inc., for providing the photographs used on the cover and inside this publication.