DEER

The Common Fallow deer is a species of mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.
They were introduced into South Africa many years ago and are thriving off the climate,
vegetation and terrain.

Additional information

Mount Type

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Facts

• Male: 46 – 80 kg
• Scientific name: Dama Dama
• Gestation period: 230 days

Taxidermy

Thorough preparation is the key factor to ensuring a high-quality final product. All hides are tanned and oiled using the world’s very best available chemicals and processes to ensure permanence and longevity.Forms are selected to ensure the best fit and posture will be altered to suit you, the client’s preference without additional cost. Natural habitat bases are custom-made for full mount trophies without additional cost.Only the finest materials and 40 years of professional experience are used in defining your trophies in a whole new way. The final trophies are almost Life-Formed. When the restoration is required, every effort is made to repair cuts and abrasions, and to minimise bullet damage. Natural scarring is kept unless otherwise requested.

Habitat

Fallow deer prefer mixed woodland with large clearings, typically living in small
herds. They eat a variety of grasses, and will browse young, broadleaf trees.

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Professional Fallow Deer Taxidermy

The Fallow Deer is a European import from the early days of European colonization in South Africa. The Fallow Deer is a grazer that can easily adjust to new environments thanks to its ruminant status. It lives in the bushveld, plains, and mountains.

The provinces of Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern, Western, and Northern Cape are hotspots for hunting this specie. Each year around November, male deer species lose their antlers, and it takes them around four months to grow them again.

The Fallow Deer has a white belly and a coat that is a bright fawn hue with white markings that becomes more prominent in the summer. After mating is complete in March and April (the rut), the stags will depart the herd to form bachelor herds. The gestation period lasts a total of 210 days.

 

Hunting Fallow Deer

You can hunt a fallow deer in the same way that you would a white-tailed deer in North America. The specie is at its most productive in the wee hours of the morning and late in the afternoon. It lies in wait along game paths or close to vegetation where he is likely to be grazing in. These deers are not hard to kill, yet a bullet that fails might mean losing a prized trophy. Binoculars are a necessary tool.

In order to successfully hunt Fallow Deer, any Deer rifle will do. All the way from a .270 to a 30 calibre magnum will do nicely to bring down this gorgeous animal. Use soft-nose expanding bullets of good quality and shoot the target about a third of the way up its body, behind its front leg. You should be able to take down your deer with one shot to the chest, as the bullet will penetrate the heart and lungs. Depending on the type of terrain you’re hunting in, your typical shooting range will be between 100 and 200 yards.

 

The Fallow Deer taxidermy process and method

When you submit your cape to a taxidermist, they will likely re-salt it and dry it completely before storing it. It is far more convenient to store a cape that has been salt-dried for a long period of time than in the freezer, and it will keep for many months. Antlers and capes are also marked or tagged to correspond with the taxidermist’s customer database, and skulls are cleaned further if necessary.

The skin are shaved off at the end of the pickling procedure. After being pickled and shaved, the skin undergoes a pH neutralization process before being dipped into a tanning solution. After the tanning process is complete, the cape is ‘broken in’ by being tumbled in sawdust to soften it.

We utilize only the highest quality materials and over 40 years of knowledge to give your trophies a fresh new look. Every effort is made to patch up scrapes and abrasions while keeping bullet hole damage to a minimum during restoration work.

 

Skin preparation and storage tips for a flawless Fallow Deer trophy

If you want your trophy preserved properly, you should bring it to a taxidermist only after it has been skinned, thoroughly cleaned and dried.

There are a few things you need think about before beginning the caping job, the most crucial of which is the type of mount you want.

The most common mount is the shoulder mount, and the most common way to do this is with a standard cape. Your taxidermist will have enough skin to work with if you give the animal a mid-body and straight cut down the back of the neck.

The heat of the African sun will hasten the process of decomposition, which will begin as soon as your animal has fallen. The skinning of the trophy shouldn’t be delayed for any reason. In the case that you put off taking action until the next day, you run the risk of wasting a valuable skin. Hairslip is most common in smaller antelope and cats that are not skinned right away.

After letting the skin dry for a short time in the shade outside, it is salted. Soak the skin in a salt solution for at least five hours, but ideally overnight. After you salt the cape, let it dry overnight. Hair and ears should be kept in while drying. To prevent insect damage, pesticides must be used on skin and in storage.

 

The Fallow Deer taxidermy process and method

Once the cape has been tanned, precise measurements must be taken and a “form,” sometimes known as a “manikin,” must be custom made. Fallow Deer taxidermist match the measurements from the cape with the customer’s preferred mount type — alert, sneak, left turn, right turn, pedestal, wall pedestal, or full custom — to produce the best possible shape. Even then, it’s common practise to make adjustments; after all, a form is the blueprint. Depending on the animal and the wishes of the client, the taxidermist may have to add to, remove from, alter the angle of, or even cut and fill the form in order to achieve the desired result.

After positioning the eyes and ears, a professional will stitch the skin. We make final modifications after the animal is dried.

 

Taking care of your Fallow Deer trophy

Keep trophies dry and cool. Sunlight fades the trophies, so rather use artificial light. Fresh air and fans can minimise humidity. The air can form moisture beads in high humidity due to salt and tanning residue. Using a water-absorbent tissue to soak up salts is prudent.

Annually, use a soft brush or compressed air to dust the mounts and give the hair a fluffy appearance. Spraying trophies with an aerosol surface insecticide will deter common pests. Mount Medix Africa is a useful product for conserving your trophy. Life-Form Taxidermy stocks this item.

 

Frequently asked questions

 

How much does a Fallow Deer trophy cost?

The pricing of any trophy is subject to the costing stipulated per taxidermy order, quantity of trophies and preferred mounting options, along with additional requirements. Should you wish to receive a quotation prior to the hunt, the taxidermist can generate such for you.

 

How long does a Fallow Deer trophy take?

The time it takes a taxidermist to mount an animal might range from days to weeks, and possibly several months, depending on the quantity of trophies per taxidermy order, the display preferences, and volumes of client trophies to be produced, simultaneously, per production schedule.

Generally, the completion and packing timeframe combined, ranges from 8-12 months. This depends largely on the “what, how, when” factors. A taxidermy order also only becomes available for production scheduling upon receipt of the required deposit and trophy mounting instructions.

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