Rodger Johnson and his wife bought their first 100 acres back in 1990 when they decided to raise cattle, and soon they had a nice herd of noisy, raucous cows roaming their land in East Texas. Unfortunately for Rodger’s wife, who liked to go running and hiking on their land, cows are pretty nosy and social creatures, and she soon found herself with some unwanted jogging partners.

Since there were already plenty of cattle ranches in Texas, the Johnsons decided to do something different. In 1991, they bought 100 deer, mostly just as a hobby. In just a few years, their herd multiplied to over 1,000 deer, and they began selling them to other ranchers and hunting leases in the area. Since then, Bent Tree Ranch has been home to Whitetail, Blackbuck, Sika, and Axis deer—but the Johnsons’ favorite breed has always been their treasured Fallow Deer. Unlike Blackbuck and Axis deer, Fallow Deer aren’t very skittish around people, and the ranch is home to a few who will even eat out of family member’s hands.

Over time, Bent Tree Ranch’s Fallow Deer became part of the Johnson family. The Johnsons’ two children were raised on the ranch, and from the time they were old enough to work the animals, the kids were helping Rodger and his wife bring the deer into the barn, trim their antlers, and help keep them healthy. Today, Rodger’s grandkids often help bottle-feed the fawns that have lost their mothers, and they’ve even claimed one young buck who now follows them around the pasture.