Text and Photos
By Joe Siciliano
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Brandon Fannin, owner of Fannin’s Elk Ridge Farm in Rochester, has always been a big deer hunter. His main passion with deer was their antlers.

“I’ve always been big into deer hunting and I just think the antlers are so unique, Fannin said. “There are no two antlers that are the same.”

Brandon Fannin shows off some of his award-winning elk antlers.

He wanted to do something a little bit different.

“There are a lot of deer farms around here, especially in-and-around Shipshewana” said Fannin. “So I decided to raise elk.”

There are many opportunities to make money raising elk too.

“It’s not just a hobby, there’s a business end to it also,” Fannin explained. “I get to see a lot of antlers and hold them in my hands and see the uniqueness of each one, and I can make some money at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, there are many stressful parts.”

This time of year is particularly stressful because it’s the breeding season.

“When the bulls start growing antlers they change from one week to the next,” he said.
When they shed their velvet and go into hard horn their attitudes change and they can be dangerous.

“The bulls are a little unruly and you worry about fences and stuff like that while we’re (artificially inseminating) our cows,” said Fannin, who noted it can be a dangerous job. “You gotta be super-careful because people can get hurt. If you try to make them do something that they don’t want to do, it’s hard.”

To be certain, the bulls are not to be messed with.

“These bulls weigh 900 to 1,000 pounds and they basically have large knives on their heads,” said Fannin.

Elk are considered an alternative livestock, especially in Indiana where the main livestock consists of cattle, hogs and sheep.

Raising elk is seasonal. The end of May starts the calving season. During the calving season the elk cows are constantly monitored.

“We start watching the udders on the cows and you’ll see them start to fill with milk and that tells us they are ready to give birth, Fannin said “We go out there five or six times a day checking on the moms and when the calves start to drop, we’re still going out there all the time checking on the calves.”

At the same time as the calves are being born, the bulls are growing their antlers and require attention as well.

“We are watching them grow and making sure that they’re not breaking anything as they grow because they’ll bleed pretty bad and the flies will start to get on that and that can cause issues, “ continued Fannin. “The flies will lay their eggs and the larvae will actually travel inside the antler because it’s soft and they can get inside the pedicle part of their forehead.”

If that happens it could impede the growth of the antlers for years. And, for a man who loves antlers the way Fannin does, that would be bad.