The Deer Farm
and you
@PlaysWithDeer on Substack and @susanwingate on TikTok
Here at The Deer Farm, we have a vibrant black-tailed deer community and we’re asking for your support.
We live on San Juan Island in Washington State on a five-acre parcel. The property is heavily wooded and speckled with several small ponds and one 10-acre pond that sits out back about 300 feet from our home.
We have allowed our land to naturalize. The naturalization allows coverage for wildlife. Not only do we have loads of deer but we also have raccoon, fox, otters, eagles, ravens, mink, woodpeckers, hawks, songbirds, seasonal birds, and many other types of wildlife.
In 1997, I moved from Phoenix, where I was a wildlife rehabber, and came to the island. There have been many times that I have had to use my rehab knowledge whether to usher injured or sick animals back to health or onto their next plane of existence. For me, it’s an honor to help a sick or injured animal. I feel as though it is my calling to care for animals whether companion animals or wildlife.
So, here’s the ask: Will you help me feed a buck, a doe, a fawn, a family of deer, or the entire herd?
The cost of deer food for a two-week period is approximately $950 (or $1,900 per month).
And these deer are some of the most beautiful deer on the island. They’re healthy, happy, and safe. The food we give them is a mixture of pelleted deer feed and a corn and barley scratch blend.
When you donate to The Deer Farm, you will get a photo of the deer you support whether a buck, a doe, a fawn, or the herd!
The deer and I SO appreciate you. ~Susan Wingate
Feed A Buck for only $1/month
Our bucks come out first thing in the morning to eat. They are first to show up and we sometimes don’t see them again until the next morning.
Feed A Doe for only $1/month
Does seem to follow after the bucks after feeding time in the morning and they sometimes show up with last year’s yearlings or this year’s fawns.
Feed A Fawn for only $1/month
The fawns are usually accompanied by the does but are often babysat by the bucks and the previous year’s yearlings. And, oh, are they ever precious.
Feed a Family for a 3-for-2 discount at only $2/month
Our deer show up in segregate families but they also herd in multiple families. They are social animals and herd because it is safer. I think they consider me one of their own because they allow me to walk among them. It’s an honor that humbles me and fills me with awe.
Feed the Herd! for only $5/month
Your contribution will be well spent on our herd of nearly 40 black-tailed deer. They get super busy during late spring and summer when their babies start showing up.
Thank you for all your help and support! I thank you, my husband thanks you, and the deer thank you!
~God bless you all, Susan.
Psalm 42:1 "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after thee, O God"
Song of Solomon 2:8 "Behold he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills... my beloved is like a roe or a young hart"