Deer Farm in the Village of Iza

One of the most famous tourist attractions in Transcarpathia is the only deer farm in Ukraine for spotted deer between the villages of Iza and Lypcha in the Khust district of Transcarpathia, not far from Khust. Numerous Ukrainian tourists and guests from abroad come to the deer farm (Iza) to admire the graceful beauties that can predict the weather.

Rare deer appeared on the farm back in Soviet times – in 1987. The historical homeland of spotted deer is the Primorsky Krai. They were delivered here by helicopter all the way from the Kaliningrad region. Today, the Khust deer farm has over 300 deer living on 57 hectares of pasture, forest, and 5 artificial ponds. Spotted deer are very cunning animals. When it is cold outside, the deer gather near the gates of the farm, where they can feast on hay from a large pile. When spring comes, they flee to the forest. It is in spring that spotted deer shed their old antlers. In July, new antlers – paddles – grow. By the way, deer do not like to be touched by their antlers. They adore treats like apples and bread. Males boldly take goodies from hands, while females are more cautious. Little fawns appear in the summer months.

Once, the main purpose of breeding these animals was pantocrin – a medicinal substance obtained from antlers. It is used for fatigue, neurasthenia, neuroses, weak heart muscle, hypotension, and to increase performance. At that time, it was an extremely profitable business that brought in a lot of money. Today, Mykhailo Buhash, the owner of the deer farm, breeds deer purely for tourism purposes, as pharmaceutical companies in Ukraine accept deer antlers at extremely unprofitable prices.

"Antlers grow on a deer for only 2.5 months. Moreover, the growth rate depends on the weather and feeding: warm weather and normal feeding – they grow quickly, cold weather – they stop growing at all," noted Mykhailo Buhash. – "They harden very quickly: they can do so in two to three days, and that’s already a defect."

The Deer Farm in the Village of Iza is included in the list of unique farms in Transcarpathia.

Many tourists come to see over 300 spotted animals. There is no special program for tourists here. That is, tourists can only view the deer through a fence; the only thing they can offer is to feed the deer directly from their hands. For this, you can buy crackers, by the way, the animals enjoy this "delicacy". You can see the herd twice a day: in the morning around eight and in the evening around seven.

Outwardly peaceful, they do not like to be petted, touched by the neck, or simply stroked – the instinct of self-preservation, acquired by nature, kicks in. Therefore, the reward for affection can be a good kick with their front legs. The deer caretakers claim – the force of flight from such a blow can reach 15 meters!

Deer also fight among themselves. However, only during the rutting season – in the fall. A stronger male can have five, or even ten to twenty females in his harem. The weaker one remains alone. It’s simple – natural selection.
The female carries the fawn for seven months, and after giving birth, the fawn flees to the forest just three days later. It only comes to its mother to eat and always returns to the same spot. After a few months, it already eats feed, and it becomes fully grown at four years old. In summer, the animals graze, while in winter, the deer are fed grain and hay.

After listening to an interesting tour about these rare animals and feeding them, those interested can try on deer antlers attached to the fence and take a photo for memory.

Visiting hours for the deer farm: Monday – Saturday from 9:00 to 18:00, Sunday - day off. Entrance - 30 UAH for adults, 20 UAH for children, feed - 5 UAH.

By train, bus, or personal car to the district center of Khust, from there, through the village of Iza towards Mizhhirya about 8 kilometers, the farm is located before reaching the village of Lypcha, on the right side of the road, there is a sign. By the way, the route passes through the village of Iza, which is famous for its wickerwork, almost every second resident of the village engages in this craft. If you travel from the SPA complex Velyatino Trembita, it will be about 20 km (Khust-Iza-Deer Farm). The farm is located 50 kilometers from the village of Kolochava.