A fawn peers through the brush at Fantasy Whitetails in Venango Township. The farm, with 30 acres devoted to deer pens, has 23 fawns.

VENANGO TWP — After a lifetime of avid hunting, it seemed natural for Rocco Sloboda to raise whitetail deer instead of cows or horses as a retirement project.

"I'm like, fourth generation hunter — so hunting to me has always been second nature," said the 60-year-old Sloboda. "I thought maybe raising a few deer would be cool. I thought this would make us better hunters."

Sloboda began with four deer. Four years later, his 7-year-old grandchildren, Cole and Claudia Sloboda, bottle-feed a stall full of delicate fawns, which nuzzle the children's legs and lick their hands.

"My favorite ones are Vader and Sampson and Jackson," said Cole, whose father, Aaron, partners in the breeding operation off Route 38.

Vader and Sampson are among the 23 fawns on the family's 400-acre Fantasy Whitetails farm, 30 acres of which are devoted to deer pens. Jackson is one of 50 mature animals the Slobodas hope will result in prized genetics for breeding.

Toward that goal, the father-son team relies largely on artificial insemination to impregnate the adult does.

With the help of a veterinarian, the does are selectively bred with semen from renown bucks like Maxbo, Crab Claw and Rolex.

With an antler score of 427 inches, Sloboda said Rolex holds the current world record. Rolex stands at Waldvogel Whitetails in London, Ohio. A straw of his semen, which would impregnate two to three does, cost $8,500 before he achieved that status.

Most of the does are inseminated via conventional AI or laparoscopic incision, which costs more but results in a higher success rate, Sloboda said.

The breeding is done after does are funneled through the handling facility into a pinch stall, where the floor is lowered to leave the deer's legs dangling as it rests in a padded support.

Traditional AI is done while does remain in the support. For laparoscopic incision, the does are sedated and moved.

Since the Slobodas began, close to 40 does have been bred. Bucks born as a result are evaluated for their breeding potential beginning at age 2."He has to show the potential of being a 200-inch buck," Sloboda said. Those achieving that minimum size can be used or marketed for breeding. Those falling short can be sold to hunting ranches."Your shooter bucks are a byproduct," Sloboda said.This year is the first time the Slobodas have shooter bucks mature enough to sell.Although not large enough to market for breeding, most are older and larger than those in the wild."In the wild, it's hard to find a 3-year-old buck," Sloboda noted. "If you're shooting a buck in Pennsylvania that's a 120- or a 125-inch buck, that's a pretty good buck," he said.Along with selective breeding and raising bucks to full maturity, deer farmers rely on diet and supplements to produce record-sized animals.Richard Huff, treasurer of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association, said the pelletized feed is usually made at local mills from ingredients like corn, soybeans and oats. Protein ranges between 16 and 23 percent, Huff said.Currently, the Slobodas are feeding 23 percent protein to promote maximum body and horn growth.Deer also feed on hay and pasture, much like cows, sheep and other farmed ruminants. Also like domestic livestock, farm deer are regulated by the state Department of Agriculture in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture."The rules are a lot more stringent than in the past," said Huff, who has raised whitetails for about seven years on a 20-acre spread near Harrisburg.

Huff said although some members of the association have farmed whitetails for 30 years, the vocation "burst onto the national scene" about 10 years ago."With the growing population, it's become more governed," he said.According to Glenn Dice of Chambersburg, who serves as vice president of the North American Deer Farmers Association, 1,084 deer farms are now operating in Pennsylvania. Sloboda said that number is up from about 800 four years ago."Pennsylvania is the second leading state in the country for deer farming. Texas has the most," said Dice. "The industry on a whole on a national basis has a $3 billion-a-year economic impact on the economy."Dice said deer farmers consist of hobby farmers, genetic farmers like the Slobodas and hunting ranches. A few farmers market processed venison.The animals are usually marketed via video auction that precedes an in-person visit.Despite the growing number of deer farms, Huff said the market, especially for shooter bucks, is yet to be saturated."We're not even close yet," he said."Every year the hunting ranches run out of deer."

While guided hunts on private land might offer sportsmen some advantage, farmers say the bucks remain wild despite being bred in captivity.At Fantasy Whitetails, a few adult does will approach the humans that enter their pens."Three in particular will untie your shoes, pick at your pockets and chew at your shirt," said Sloboda's wife Darlene while visiting a pen with her twin grandchildren.A visit to the buck pens, however, produces a different result.That same day, a group of about 10 such bucks congregated at the farthest point of their 5-acre pen when Sloboda and Aaron entered. With visitors in tow, the bucks ran wildly around, one repeatedly running into the shade cloth that covered part of the fence."You've got to realize that these animals are wild, period," Sloboda said.Although the bucks currently are "in velvet," the antlers will be cut off after they harden to prevent potential goring and fights.As for transport and medical treatment, the animals are first sedated, and 8-foot regulation fences contain them in everyday life.At the Slobodas' farm, 8-foot chain link or woven wire fencing, buried in the soil, is topped by two strands of high-tension wire, strung a foot apart.A recent experiment confirmed the mature bucks will bully their young counterparts, who are penned with the more docile does.In all cases, the animals self-feed from troughs in open sheds, where water also is available.Although the feed and water must be replenished on an ongoing basis, the daily duties are manageable for Aaron, who lives onsite but holds a full-time job. His father, an Armco retiree, lives in Butler but participates in farm life, especially seasonally when duties increase.Those duties include breeding in November, then feeding fawns, usually born between May and July. The fawns are bottle-fed for 81 days, beginning with a schedule of four times daily. The bottle-feedings dwindle to once daily as hard food is introduced.The animals also are vaccinated for EHD, or Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease and tested for chronic wasting disease, TB and brucellosis. Worming also is typical, Huff said.As with any farmed animal, some loss occurs. Reasons range from illness to breech deliveries."Last year we lost our two best yearlings we had," Sloboda said, explaining one died of pneumonia and the other from a broken neck after a neighbor's dog "ran him into the fence."Huff said deer are subject to many of the same diseases as other ruminants including pneumonia and scours.

"E. coli is another one you have to watch for," he said. "You have your basic pneumonia, basic bacterias. It's really, very similar to a cattle farm."In those cases, Huff said any large-animal vet experienced with ruminants can treat whitetails. But specialized vets, usually from out of state, are used for artificial insemination and other more specialized duties."Most vets don't get a chance to go over deer in veterinary school," Huff said, adding the PDFA is working toward a grant program for students interested in deer.According to Dice, the effort wouldn't be wasted."(Despite a poor economy), we've been able to hold our own and gently grow in numbers," he said.As the industry expands, Huff said many farmers are beginning to insure their herds, although for Sloboda the cost is prohibitive.Either way, loss is inevitable. And losing an animal can be hard — financially as well as emotionally.Despite their status as wild, Sloboda said the deer have occupied enough of his time to change how he views his new vocation. Though not treated as pets, the animals all are identified by name in addition to their numbers — diluting their image as meat.Instead, farming has begun to take precedent, a pastime he calls addictive."Frankly," Sloboda said, "My hunting days are just about over."

According to Richard Huff, treasurer of the Pennsylvania Deer Farmers Association, white-tailed deer farmers strive for an array of results when breeding.Farmers take into account body mass, early development genetics and reliability in passing down desired traits to offspring.Breeders also look at antlers, scored mathematically by various methods.Common methods for scoring farm deer include those devised by Safari Club International and the Boone and Crockett Club.Although the systems are similar, farmers like Rocco Sloboda of Fantasy Whitetails in Venango Township say SCI scores range slightly higher, since Boone and Crockett subtracts inches to compensate for "nontypical" and asymmetrical components.In both systems, final tallies combine measurements for:• Points — Projections, usually of a minimum size, that protrude from the beam, or main part of the antler• Inside Spread — The distance between the widest points of the antlers' main beams• Beam Length — The distance from base to tip on both sides of the antlers• Circumference — Distance around four designated places along each of the main beams.Because farm deer are selectively bred, fed high-protein diets and raised to full maturity, their antler scores can range as high as 300 to 400 inches — more than double the score of many whitetails in the wild.<B>SOURCE: www.gamecalls.net, www.biggamehunt.net and www.safariclub.org.</B>

According to a 2007 economic impact study done by departments of Texas A&M and the Texas Cooperative Extension, cervid farming is among the fastest growing industries in rural America.Cervids comprise the cervidae family, which includes white-tailed deer, elk, reindeer and similar animals.The national study surveyed 2,000 industry participants, with a response rate of 14 percent. Findings include:• The cervid farming industry has a direct economic impact of $893.5 million.• The number grows to $2.3 billion when incorporating the indirect expenditures on feed, veterinary supplies, fuel and other purchases.• Hunters, among major customers of the industry, spend an additional $757 million.• The total impact of the industry, combining the farming and hunting components, is $3 billion annually.• Cervid farming supports 29,199 jobs, most of which are in rural America.<B>For more information, go to www.nadefa.org.</B>

Aaron Sloboda moves a fawn at the Fantasy Whitetails deer farm. Aaron and his father, Rocco, partner in the deer raising operation. Deer are bred on the farm in the hopes of coming up with the genetics that produce trophy bucks.

Cole Sloboda, 7, Aaron's son, bottlefeeds a fawn. Rocco Sloboda, an Armco retiree, chose to raise whitetails as a retirement project.

Buck peek out from some trees at Fantasy Whitetail deer farm in Venango Twp.

Aaron Sloboda shows the weapon used on the farm to sedate deer for various procedures as Rocco Sloboda, left, looks on. Pennsylvania is home to 1,084 deer farms. Nationwide, only Texas has more such operations.

Before feeding, the bottles are warmed in a microwave. Fawns are usually born between May and July and are bottlefed for 81 days. Deer farms are regulated by the state and federal departments of agriculture.

Hungry fawns drink from a bottle.