Sisterhood of the Traveling Hooves

We took our first outing with the fawns last Saturday. The girls enjoyed their freedom and finished the day by entering the pen to eat some feed and fresh browse we cut for them. While they were eating, we shut them in for the night and, due to snowy weather, waited another day before allowing them out again. Monday brought a pretty day for a walk and, like the outing before, the girls returned to the pen to feed and settle down, and we once again shut the gates to keep them safe for the night.

The next day, a little more snow fell, making the deer pen a mucky mess. It was too cold and blustery for me to let them out for another walk and we would be gone most of the following day for appointments in Oklahoma City. The girls would just have to wait until Thursday for another outing. But, when we returned from our trip to OKC around 8:30 Wednesday evening, we found that Scout and Gracie had jumped the fence, but appeared to have stayed near the pen. With Scout and Gracie out, Ruthie and Penelope had paced a muddy rut along the fence border, apparently hoping to join their sisters.

Given the situation, the decision before us was apparent, we needed to release them all for good. Normally, we would do this in the morning, but it seemed right to just open the gates that night and allow the girls their freedom together. Later, when I took our little dogs out to do their business for the last time that night, my flashlight spotted four sets of eyes a short distance away. The girls had bedded down together not far from the house.

I won’t continue to feed the girls root vegetables and fruits for much longer. Penelope was never fond of them and Scout isn’t as interested as she used to be. Soon, spring will bring all sorts of interesting eats for them!

The sisterhood sets out to forage grasses and browse in the yard and pasture.

I often find the girls bedded down in the woods just below the slope. All of our other deer chose the same place to rest and ruminate when they were first released.

Heading to the woods and orchard in the early morning sun!

The willows area is heavily traveled by the local deer. The girls find all sorts of interesting smells and buck rubs along many of the deer paths.

Penelope stops to watch distant traffic on Park road.

The orchard offers good eats, interesting scents, and good cover for the girls to investigate!

Exploring requires noses to the air and the ground.

Ruthie takes a moment to look back while doing some self-grooming. The distant view shows the massive damage from the October ice storm this year.

As with all of our other fawns, the girls enjoy time at the slough.

Scout (already on the distant bank) leads the foursome to the east side of the slough.

The next morning, I fed the fawns their usual root vegetables and fruits, and checked the feed in their pen. They had eaten a lot of deer feed in the night, so I knew they had returned to their pen for food and water. They kept close to the house most of the day, and ventured down below the slope in the afternoon. When I went to walk them a while later, I found them bedded down and chewing their cuds not far off in the woods. From there, we managed a two-hour walk together in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

Over the last two days, both Forrest and I have managed short walks with the girls in the woods, through the orchard, and along the slough. Scout is often the leader of the group, following animal trails through the tall grasses, with her nose to the ground. Ruthie is a forager and often lingers in a spot to check out all of the eats available. Penelope is generally on high alert and quite cautious. She is very independent, often on her own path, but not far from the others. She is also a good forager. Gracie usually lags far behind the others. She is easily spooked, and keeps a safe distance from danger, yet stays close enough to the others for safety. Gracie is the nurturer of the group, and the first to initiate mutual grooming with her sisters. She and Penelope often stick together.

We will keep the deer pen open through the spring and summer months, with feed available until we can see they no longer need it at this location. Normally, they begin to eat at the feeders down below, when they are more comfortable in the woodlands.

Unfortunately, the girls seem drawn to the city side of life. Ninth street runs in front of the rock house, and the girls attract passersby on foot or by vehicle. We try to lure them back around to the woods when we find them getting curious.

After a long day exploring, the sisterhood beds down in the downed limbs of the elm grove area in the pasture most every night. This is another benefit our October ice storm provided – bedding shelter for the girls. Here, they have a view of our home, their old pen, the rock house and ninth street, and the woodlands from here. All of our other orphaned fawns have found comfort and safety in this same location.

As the morning sun rises and I sit in the warmth of the house writing this at my work area, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Hooves just blazed by the window heading west to the slope. Another day of adventure and discovery awaits them, and the crisp, frosty air has them giddy and kicking up their hooves. For me, I will wait until the sun warms the earth a little bit more, but won’t likely be kicking up my heels or even trotting along when I venture outside. I will join the traveling sisterhood for a leisurely walk later, but plan to enjoy a slower, Sunday pace.

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