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The Deer

History

The deer were first re-introduced onto the farm in 1987 by my parents, having not been on the farm since medieval times when it was a deer park, used by the king for hunting. The old park pales that kept the deer in can still be seen on the farm although these days we use 7ft high stock fences.

In 1987 corn prices were low and cattle prices expected to drop so my parents decided to diversify into red deer. They visited three well known deer farms and chose 15 in- calf hinds of Woburn/ Warnham origin and a young Swedish stag (Stefan) with a wonderful temperament and body. By retaining the best of their own calves and selective buying, they built the herd to a nucleus of about 100 hinds and 3 stags. One of the stags came from JCB and was aptly named Digger. Samson, currently our main stag  is Stefan’s grandson. The result of this careful breeding policy was becoming Reserve Champion at Smithfield.

Today

We have about 240 red deer on the farm, which consists of:

The deer live outside all the time, with each stag presiding over his harem of hinds. During the spring, summer and autumn they live off the abundant grass and only receive grass silage and some corn during the cold winter months. Most of the two year olds are sold as prime venison through Venico (see links ).

Venison is a healthy meat, being low in fat, low in cholesterol, high in protein and high in omega -3 fatty acids. As the venison is farmed, it is of the highest quality and is young and tender.

A Year in the Life of a Deer

The year starts with the rut in early September. During this period the stags can be seen keeping their hinds under control and their presence can be heard by their very deep roar. The stags are particularly dangerous at this time of year as they are very possessive of their hinds and they have a full set of antlers (A).

During the winter, when the grass does not grow they are fed silage and some corn (B). In early spring the stags lose their antlers as a new set begin to grow (C).

The deer calve from mid May until mid June (D). During the summer the young deer grow fast on the lush green grass and clover. The young deer are sold for venison in the autumn (E).

Then the rut begins again…