How are the deer doing, what are they eating?

[Natty Bumppo]

We've had deep snow on the ground for the past month or so. Whenever that happens in my neck of the woods the deer all migrate off the high plateau I live on into their deer yards...wherever those are? Hunting has been slow on my land. The random deer that passes through only has low quality browse...spruce, hemlock, the occasional red maple crown that snapped off and lays on the ground. Where they can, I do see them scraping through the snow for moss and ferns.

 

[Livesintrees]

Last winter it snowed twice a week. That snow ranged from an inch of snow to 6” of snow each time. We had three good storms in which I saw 10” 13” and 22” snowfalls. The deer managed to come into spring in good condition. This year it rained constantly. I mean several days a week all summer long. And now that winter is here it does the same. We had one snowfall that topped a foot. Single digits temps persisted for about two weeks and then temps leveled out to around average. This week we have had days ticking 60* and it’s currently snowing now. Supposed to see an inch and then warm back up. The deer have easy access to their natural browse and the temps hanging at or above average have given them a pretty easy winter thus far. If it stays his way, we the deer are going to come into spring fawning and antler growth in above average health I would imagine. I expect next year to be an excellent year for body weights and antler development. Deer are still currently in the hinge cuts. And I have some supplemental feed for them up by the house. I don’t bait nor do I hunt over this feed, but they are in here all the time (dog sits by the window all day watching) and they look healthy as can be. I’ll start changing the feed over slowly in March and transition them back to the mineral sites late March. Going to add a second site as well as sink a livestock tank in the ground atbhe second location to ensure an additional water source other then the vernal pool they use already

 

[bigbuck321]

How’s the cover on your property?

Our cover is good but that doesnt matter. They move out no matter what.

 

[Baker]

I took a look in a field yesterday full of radishes, wheat, clover and chicory. Was surprised to see the chicory getting the most pressure. Generally see the most chicory pressure late summer but they are on it now.

 

[swat1018]

I never said high deer number "caused" cwd, it just spreads easier through high numbers, then it does with low numbers.
Zone 3b, had no doe tags for how many years, and then implemented a minimal antler restriction that just limited the amount of bucks that could be taken as well, you then ended up with very high numbers, even after allowing doe tags, because no one would shoot does. This created high numbers in certain areas, and when CWD was brought in the area from deer farms, it spread easier in the high deer numbers.

Maybe my use of the term horn porn might have offended you, and honestly I didnt use it as an insult, I used it to group horn hunters together, the ones who fought for the APR. My thoughts have always been, not to have the government tell you what you can hunt. If you want to have personal goals of antlers great, but some people dont want them, and are having other peoples goals forced onto them.

I personally have my own goals, and they will change when I see fit, and I dont have the government telling me what I can or cant shoot as far as antler size. I know a lot of hunters, and some hunt for meat, and some for the sport. APR supports one of those groups, and takes away from the other group.

As for hunting in your area, exciting me, I will pass. My thrill comes from what I made on my own property, not from what I could shoot from someone elses property, and what they built. Just like I would never have any thrill from hunting a high fenced area.

Does big antler deer excite me? Sure, but I dont hunt for them. I would much rather have a medium sized deer that will fill my freezer with tasty treats, then hang some antlers on the wall.

I don't think there is any great research on CWD. There are different theories regarding the disease in the scientific community. Many state Game agencies subscribe to that theory and have been trying to kill all the deer before they get CWD, but since they started trying that, it's seemed to spread across the state twice as fast. I think there are more CWD questions, than answers. All of the states are just following the leader...

 

[BuckSutherland]

Currently sitting at 16-20" of snow by the hunting land. Forecast for the next 10-14 days looks favorable. Should reduce the snow pack some and then harden it off. Please lord send that early spring this year.

 

[sandbur]

Currently sitting at 16-20" of snow by the hunting land. Forecast for the next 10-14 days looks favorable. Should reduce the snow pack some and then harden it off. Please lord send that early spring this year.


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View attachment 22154

Wolves will be running on top of the snow. Deer will break through.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JFK52]

The deer will have their trails through the snow well established by this time. This is when you see long single "congo lines" of deer travelling through the country side. Wolves are always a problem but brutal cold weather and deep snow cause the slow demise of deer throughout the winter. This makes them more vulnerable to wolf attacks.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Not exactly thrilled with this weather. We have deep snow and its pretty damn hard now. Hope them mangy bastards from a few miles away didnt move west. Quite a few wolves east of us. Found two kills this year. One in the snow just a few weeks ago. They should mostly be in the cedar swamps and winter yards by now. Hope it warms back up some soon.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Doesnt look good for my area. They are predicting colder than originally thought. Feels like temp closing in on -40 for a couple days next week. This is why I can never justify shooting a doe. Snow is plenty deep and hard now. Hope we get some above normal warm days in late Feb and March.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Winter started easy. Last 6 weeks have been pretty damn rough. Our herd had another 12" of snow dumped on top of the 18" already on they already had to crawl through this week. Supposed to get another 6+ inches next week. After the -60 windchill last week I'm not feeling great about next year. Sure hope to hell it warms up soon and melts some of this white shit.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Ive heard some reports of deer found frozen in their beds.

 

[Mortenson]

Dang, sure hope that's not the case. Deer have it pretty rough in the winter. Yesterday I slipped in to check camera batteries. I spooked up a herd of maybe 12-15 does that were bedded in the hard wind, on a north slope, totally in snow that hadn't yet melted like most the other spots. They were either dumb or not cold at all.

 

[SwampCat]

Dang - our poor deer dont know how good they have it. Supposed to snow a half inch tonight. First snow of the year.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Father in law went to the hunting shack tonight. Said there is an average minimum of 30-36" of snow. He said its nearly impossible to walk in. No deer tracks around and nobody has seen shit for deer. I fear we are ****ed again. It had a chance to be really good next year. Getting sick of eating shit sandwiches.

 

[Telemark]

Father in law went to the hunting shack tonight. Said there is an average minimum of 30-36" of snow. He said its nearly impossible to walk in. No deer tracks around and nobody has seen shit for deer. I fear we are ****ed again. It had a chance to be really good next year. Getting sick of eating shit sandwiches.




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Where I hunt in Canada that hapoens every year. The deer yard up where they feel safe, and they spread out again when the snow melts. It is a literal migration.

In February, I saw dozens of whitetails just hanging out in towns in the middle of the day. I have photos of them standing in people's driveways, 30 feet from me while i snap away. At this time of year there are no deer on my property.

Then the snow melts and the woods green up, and the deer wander out to find a place to call home for the next 8-10 months.

My plan is to provide literally tons of diverse, high-quality food for the deer that stumble across my place. Plus a few convenient watering holes and mineral licks, and eventually good thermal cover.

Will they leave when the snow gets deep? Sure. But they'll be back.

 

[BuckSutherland]

Sure hope your right, cause last time this happened we lost 75% of our herd in 2 years. I will never forget the thin, gaunt and half dead looking deer I saw in spring of 2013 and 2014.

 

[Telemark]

Sure hope your right, cause last time this happened we lost 75% of our herd in 2 years. I will never forget the thin, gaunt and half dead looking deer I saw in spring of 2013 and 2014.

They might not have adequate places to yard up when the snow gets too deep. If you have the apace for it, you could plant some. Otherwise, you could provide them lots of food so they can put on a lot of fat before the winter.

Sounds like you have particularly bad conditions where you are. I looked at a google map of Cass County, but I couldn't find satellite images from winter. It looks like there might be a small area of conifers southwest of Pine Lake, but I had a hard time identifying anything else.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I have a 1/2 acre brassica plot that the deer are finally keying in on after this latest foot of snow. It is Kale, PTT, and Radish. The Kale stalks seem to be what they are mostly hitting at the moment. It seems like the years that the deer actually eat our brassicas it happens within a week of 2/15. Not sure why but that has been my observation.