Observations on the hiding behaviour of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) calves

To increase our knowledge of the environmental needs of neonatal red deer (Cervus elaphus) calves on farms we observed calving hinds (n = 50) and their new-born calves (0-3-day old) in paddocks that had either a short or long pasture cover, and with artificial hides made of cut pine branches scattered throughout the paddocks. Calves in the paddocks with short pasture were much more likely to hide in alternative cover to grass, specifically the pine branches (P < 0.001), and ditches or hollows (P < 0.01) than were calves in paddocks with long pasture. Calves in the short pasture were more likely to re-use the same hiding site, while calves in long pasture showed a spatial trend for hiding at the more elevated ends of the paddocks, which was not shown by calves in short pasture. Calves attempting to push through the fence were seen in 14.6% (S.E.M. 2.3) of hiding observations overall, with no significant difference between treatments. In both pasture treatments, interactions with hinds other than the calves' own mothers were common; calves approached or followed, were sniffed, licked or kicked by another hind in 25, 34, 5 and 14% of observations, respectively. We conclude that cover such as long grass should be provided in calving paddocks, but when long grass is not available other hiding sites should be provided. A need to provide opportunities for hinds to isolate themselves from other deer at calving time was also indicated. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.