DE E R
COMMONLY USED TERMS For deer there are a few different terms that are commonly used. Stag/Buck/Bull – male deer (Bull generally used for Wapiti, Stag used for Red Deer and Buck used for Fallow deer). Hind/Doe/Cow – female deer (Hind generally used for Red and Fallow Deer, Cow used for Wapiti). Fawn/Calf – young deer (fawn generally used for Red and Fallow Deer, Calf used for Wapiti). Spiker – 1 year old stag. Cricket – 2 year old fallow spiker. Weaner – 4-6 month old deer. The rut – breeding season, also known as ‘the roar’.
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A male deers antlers can reach a very impressive size.
SYSTEM OPTIONS There are three main commercial reasons why deer are farmed: meat, antler velvet and trophy stags. Meat from deer is called venison – it is very lean and is prized for its finer texture compared to beef. Velvet antler is the bony outgrowth of the skull in stags. Velvet antler grows annually at an extraordinarily rapid pace (up to 2cm per day at peak growth). There are two stages to the growth – first the ‘velvet antler’ growth period, which is fully intact skin with a covering of soft fine hair. The second growth stage is the hard antler phase – this is when the antler calcifies and loses blood supply. In early spring the antlers fall off and then regrow again the following year. In nature the antlers exist for some specific functions including defence, maintaining social order and attracting hinds. When cut at the velvet stage, deer velvet is
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Farmlands Lifestyle Guide
thought to have medicinal properties when consumed and is in high demand for inclusion in supplements for health and vitality in humans. There is also a market for trophy stags in New Zealand – stags that have particularly impressive antlers. People pay to go hunting in enclosed territory where trophy stags inhabit, with the guarantee they will shoot an impressive stag. Lifestyle blocks do not tend to keep deer for commercial reasons however and you may want to keep a few deer purely for their attractive looks. Stags do not make great pets due to their unpredictable nature. Hinds and wethered stags can make good pets (wethered stags generally do not grow velvet). Hand reared deer can have little respect for humans and hand reared stags can be particularly dangerous during the rut stage, as they can become very aggressive. For this reason deer should always be handled with caution, even if kept as pets.
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