Dead Deer
- Thread starter swat1018
- Start date
Suburbhunter
5 year old buck +
Bummer 
Dukslayr
5 year old buck +
Man I hate to hear that. I have heard reports from NE Missouri getting hit hard this year but so far haven’t heard much about where I’m at in NW Missouri. Hope it doesn’t hit you too hard. My folks lost 50% of their herd several years back and it’s never really fully recovered.
Dukslayr
5 year old buck +
I’m hoping we dodged the bullet...and we have had a lot of rain over the past couple weeks
Dukslayr
5 year old buck +
I know that trepidation. I hope it’s not wide spread.
cavey
5 year old buck +
That is horrible ... there was a lot of talk of it back around 2012 up hear but it doesnt seem to be a big talk item on the radar around my parts of NW Wisconsin lately - I guess that is one good thing about our nasty winters and cold springs.. truly a bummer to see a nice deer like that down that way.
Generally the first sign of EHD is death. Eyes will be blood shot maybe some slobber. Deer may look perfectly healthy other than that.The hooves are called sleigh foot. Too much high protein can cause that especially in hot dry weather. Indicative of rumen problems. They generally can work thru that though it can be fatal also .
Curious...could he have had access to a large amount of corn? If the rumen isn't adapted that can kill them overnight also.
Curious...could he have had access to a large amount of corn? If the rumen isn't adapted that can kill them overnight also.
swat1018
5 year old buck +
Nope. Less corn planted that usual. There is a corn field, like there always is. He was at the other end of the farm from the field, no corn being fed anywhere around.
As you have probably determined, seems EHD most likely. It will be interesting to see if you find other deer with sleigh foot. I see it far more often in the brush country than La. and generally in older bucks...6 or older. These are the ones that can take residence at a feeder cause they are lazy getting significant portion of their diet from pellets. Couple that with extreme heat and dry conditions and thye look like a character from the movie Elf. Usually just sloughs off as conditions improve but as mentioned extreme cases can be fatal.
Which begs the question what the deer may have been eating to cause the rumen issues? And was that contributory in any way to this deers death. Have you found more dead deer?
Which begs the question what the deer may have been eating to cause the rumen issues? And was that contributory in any way to this deers death. Have you found more dead deer?
Mortenson
5 year old buck +
2013 was a nightmare here. They found 40 on the neighboring farm. Most the big bucks gone. That's a big part of what got me into working on habitat stuff.
The past couple weeks the deer here have vanished from sight and cams. Hoping it's just normal seasonal stuff, but there's always that chance.
The past couple weeks the deer here have vanished from sight and cams. Hoping it's just normal seasonal stuff, but there's always that chance.
swat1018
5 year old buck +
The hoofs weren't horribly pronounced, but they weren't normal. I worked at the farm for a 2 day marathon session and had to return home. It's luck that I found this one. I don't wade into much of the farm, and the most likely area for the EHD deer to end up, along the river, I treat as sanctuary. I have heard from the locals that it's been pretty bad. I didn't see/smell any others.
Bill
Administrator
Hopefully that’s a good sign.
I’ve got trail cam pics of a deer choking and dying from apples. It does happen.
