Deer Feeding Gifts: When you send deer feeder as gift you send two gifts: the feeders themselves, and the moment they arrive. There's the knock at the door or the package on the porch. And the next thing that happens is your special someone's heart races with delight as they open a gift they will remember for years to come.Feeder Delivery: Hurley-Byrd does it differently and oversees every part of the process: from the buying of raw materials, to handcrafting the feeder, to the day your purchase arrives at the front door. We send freshly crafted feeders direct and bypass all the middlemen, which means better feeders and a better value. (Don't just take our word for it. Thousands of customers rate Hurley-Byrd "best value.") We trust in complete satisfaction and lasting value, too, which is why we guarantee a perfect feeder for you or your recipient , and also that your feeders will outlast all others available and will be enjoyed from the moment they arrive and for years to come. It's how Hurley-Byrd is changing how America feeds their wildlife.
Hurley-Byrd does it differently: We handcraft every feeder we sell. Beginning with our own designs, buying the finest western red cedar and crafting your feeders
to near perfection with a beautiful penetrating oil finish so they last for years. We take pride in every step of our service, too. From the moment you first interact with us, whether on our website or on the phone, to the delivery of your feeders and gifts and everything in between. We want to make owning and gift giving easy for you. So whether it's a simple thank you, a unique deer feeder or a whole feeding station for yourself, choose Hurley-Byrd and see what a difference our feeders really make.
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The Hurley-Byrd Bird Feeder Co.
Hurley-Byrd, LLC
462 Williams Cross Way
Fairmont, West Virginia 26554
Toll free: 877-363-0199
© 2002 - 2011
Deer Fawns – If You Find a Baby Deer…..
I received a lot of replies to my May 26th article “A Year in the Life of …. White-tailed Deer” with most people giving me great kudos for such an enjoyable and informative newsletter. One of our long term deer feeder customers, Angela from Colorado who has an extremely successful feeding station, also wrote with compliments but added one very important note. Angela suggested I talk about Fawns and how many people find them “abandoned” by the Doe and felt I should address this point. Angela had a great point and I wish to expand on her thought right away.
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VERY, very rarely are deer fawns ever abandoned by the Doe. We receive a lot of calls and emails this time of year (or soon will as fawns are born) from people who have found a fawn with no mother nearby. This happens all the time. Doe deer, very soon after birthing their fawns, will set their babies in a safe place to go forage food for herself. This is a normal practice which has been performed for millennia by bovines and will continue. The Doe has NOT abandoned her fawn. She is out refueling herself so she and her babies can continue to live and thrive. As a young farm boy, WAY back in the day, I remember one of our cows birthing her calf while out to pasture. She hid her calf and would come back to the barn for milking and food. She hid her calf so well it took us three days to find it and only did so by following mom at a great distance. Doe deer typically hide their fawns this well but occasionally, the tired fawn will simply lay down and sleep, just like a human baby. Hence the reason people find fawns in their gardens, lawns on their back stoop, etc…
Why do they do this? Baby deer are no different than any other baby mammal. They are too small, too weak, and too fragile to be moving on their own. Since mom has no ability to hoist her baby into her arms or onto her back, the fawn must be left in a safe location as the Doe feeds. This will only happen for a few weeks as her fawns gain strength and agility. Once the babies can keep up with mom, they will travel together. This is when the Does will begin bringing their babies to your feeders. This also brings up a point. When you see your Does coming back to your feeders yet have no babies in tow, they have tucked their young away and are refueling through your offering. Keep your feeders filled and within a week or two, the babies will arrive also.
What to do when you find an “abandoned” fawn? As mentioned, it is highly unlikely the fawn is actually abandoned, etc… The most likely scenario is the fact noted above. If you stumble upon a fawn, or it stumbles upon you, LEAVE IT ALONE. The fawn is NOT lost, the doe has NOT abandoned her offspring and it is NOT very probable the doe has died. Enjoy the beauty of the fawn as the gift you have received and depart quickly leaving as little scent as possible in the area. DO NOT handle the newborn as it is like any other mammalian baby with low defenses to deseases, germs, etc… More importantly, a newborn fawn has little to no natural scent as a protective measure from predators. Handle the baby and your scent is now an attractant. Secondly, depart the area quickly to gain good distance from the baby. The Doe’s protective instinct is a very formidable defense mechanism and she WILL ATTACT YOU if she feels her baby is in danger. You may not see her nearby but the chances are great she is within earshot or eyesight of her young. If you begin messing with her baby, the chances of you getting hurt or worse escalate tremendously. If you disturb her young enough to make it cry out in fear, be very weary of a charging mother as she WILL NOT hesitate to attack and she WILL hurt you or worse.
With all that said. Keep in mind the near future of Does bringing their Fawns to your deer feeders. Keep the feeders at the back part of your property, enjoy the babies at a distance and DO NOT try to go play with them, DO NOT try to pet them, DO NOT try to interact in any way. The idea of feeding deer, or any other wild creature, is to offer them food in exchange for the VIEW, not the interaction. Mother deer are protective, just like us humans. If someone were to endanger my children, I will beat them a pulp….. and so would you and so will any other wild animal. Enjoy the view of your baby deer from a distance, watch the Does and others in an effort to learn more about our ever-loved nature guests and be completely satisfied with the blessings you have received. When done correctly and safely, feeding wildlife is a meaningful hobby filled with joy, wonder and enrichment to our own lives.
I Wish You a Great Day and Good Birding,
Peter Hurley
Owner: Hurley-Byrd
