Birth/Congenital defects in Fallow Deer.

[Enigma41a]

Could schmallenberg cause this.

Must google

 

[Enigma41a]

Iv'e had one or two Reds some years back with twisted nose, and once on a Sika. Not had it in any other species. I seem to remember that there was a whole article written on this deformation in the BDS deer magazine a few years back.

Interesting.. I contacted the BDS before posting here but they offered nothing. The two representatives that responded (one a vet) showed no interest nor knowledge. I was surprised and a bit disappointed

 

[Enigma41a]

Google "wry nose deer" and you'll see a few examples come up (though mostly whitetail).
Also, there's a few pics on Instagram of wry nosed sika shot in the UK.

VSS .. thank you so much. I will do. So it does have a name

 

[Enigma41a]

Slightly different from facial deformities, the young fallow in the picks came limping on to a ride with a broken rear leg and missing a front leg, but it was still feeding. Back at the larder I skinned the animal and found a “miniature” front leg under the skin.View attachment 415800

Thank you for sharing. They are mind-blowingly resilient. I have a few tales I could share about resilience on another day, a different thread

 

[Enigma41a]

Also in the same county and fallow again

I am sure I was reading about something resembling this the other day. Isn't it called Polydactyly? Not seen it myself... yet

 

[Enigma41a]

Slightly different from facial deformities, the young fallow in the picks came limping on to a ride with a broken rear leg and missing a front leg, but it was still feeding. Back at the larder I skinned the animal and found a “miniature” front leg under the skin.View attachment 415800

I've just looked closely at the front leg.. it's actually there isn't it!! You can see it clearly under the skin

 

[VSS]

I am sure I was reading about something resembling this the other day. Isn't it called Polydactyly? Not seen it myself... yet

Yes, I saw an article about it a few days ago too. Can't think where it was now

 

[Enigma41a]

Yes, I saw an article about it a few days ago too. Can't think where it was now

I think it was a post by the BDS

 

[TringSaint]

Interesting. I'd wonder if she's been hit by a car to cause damage on head and leg. A deformity like that can be due to damage at the embryo stage and "fluffy" suggests other things wrong too. I'd love to see the head/leg and I doubt she'll be able to eat enough to carry a calf, but beasts do amazing things!

Schmallenberg??

 

[Buchan]

Schmallenberg??

Now this crossed my mind when I saw it, and if the lameness is a "fixed" or twisted joint it makes it even more interesting. A 2020 study showed a 13% seroprevalence of 87 culled deer samples from N England and E Anglia so the virus is circulating in deer. However, I'm not aware of any affected lambs or calves surviving.

 

[Enigma41a]

Now this crossed my mind when I saw it, and if the lameness is a "fixed" or twisted joint it makes it even more interesting. A 2020 study showed a 13% seroprevalence of 87 culled deer samples from N England and E Anglia so the virus is circulating in deer. However, I'm not aware of any affected lambs or calves surviving.

Interesting. Is there any info on whether that 13% were just carriers or showing symptoms? Would you agree that it would be useful to have a place to record sightings of defects/syndromes/disfigurements in our wild deer population ?

 

[Buchan]

Interesting. Is there any info on whether that 13% were just carriers or showing symptoms? Would you agree that it would be useful to have a place to record sightings of defects/syndromes/disfigurements in our wild deer population ?

It was just blood, so no clinical signs. You'd have to be lucky to find an affected calf/fawn/kid as they'd be scavenged and the really distorted ones would possibly kill the dam.

 

[TringSaint]

Now this crossed my mind when I saw it, and if the lameness is a "fixed" or twisted joint it makes it even more interesting. A 2020 study showed a 13% seroprevalence of 87 culled deer samples from N England and E Anglia so the virus is circulating in deer. However, I'm not aware of any affected lambs or calves surviving.

It was the age of the animal that got me. I know that there was a lot of schmallenberg around here in spring 24 lambs, so those came from ewes tupped in autumn 23 which is when this deer foetus would have been created, so timing works in that respect. So it could be that the virus has a reduced affect on deer, but an affect nonetheless.

 

[S2sosmart]

I am sure I was reading about something resembling this the other day. Isn't it called Polydactyly? Not seen it myself... yet

Polydactyl.
Extra digits and it’s genetic apparently. Had a brother and sister cat who both had thumbs which were fully useable.

Some animals have one extra but some have double or more. Google it. Some truly weird examples out there.

 

[Enigma41a]

Amazing.. sibling cats with it I have read quite a lot about it since this post went up I wish there was as much info to refer to regarding the doe fawn's facial deformity I posted about.. I'm sure it's conndcted to a hip anomaly she has too so maybe some kind of 'syndrome'