Baby deer, known as fawns, exclusively consume their mother’s milk in the wild. Baby deer consume solid plant foods like grass, leaves, and fruits as they get older.

A nursing baby deer can be bottle-fed with a milk substitute if it loses its mother. Both goat milk and cow milk are suitable substitutes, however goat milk is advised. Some stores offer fawn-appropriate goat milk or a generic wildlife substitute milk. In addition to the formula, older deer require solid food and can handle additives like bananas and baby rice cereal. The deer eventually completely weans off milk and solely consumes plant materials.