Deer (Fallow) - Fallow Deer Habits

Daily Life: Wild fallow deer usually live in small herds. Park herds are often larger, numbering 70 animals or more. Outside the mating season, bucks (males) roam around in their own herds separately from the does (females) and their young. Dawn and dusk are the most likely times to spot deer feeding, although they may feed at any time. They prefer an open clearing with plenty of grass and other ground plants. During the day, the deer usually rest and ruminate (chew the cud) in undergrowth. Fallow deer rarely drink and appear to get all the water they need from dew and moisture in plants. In summer, the deer feed mainly on grasses and herbs, but also browse on the foliage of trees and bushes. The trees in deer parks often have a 'browse line' about 1.5 - 2m above the ground which marks the limit to which the deer can reach. In autumn and winter, the deer may eat nuts, berries, strips of bark, dead leaves, holly and fungi.

Antlers: bucks begin to show the first sign of antler growth after two years and from then on, each year in April, the antlers are shed and regrow a little larger and more elaborate every year. As the bony antlers grow, they are covered by a hairy skin called velvet. Blood vessels in the velvet supply food and oxygen to the growing bone. When the antler is fully grown, by late August, the velvet is shed and rubbed off and the antler dies, although it stays on the deer's head for several months.