The snow is so deep, 3' I'd guess, and the temps so cold, -7 last night, that it always makes me worry about the local deer herd. Normally this time of year I'd be out cutting firewood and the deer would be waiting on the edges of the cut for me to leave. :D I can't even get the tractor in the woods at this point though. I'll likely snowshoe in this weekend and cut down a couple of cedar for them to gnaw on. I'm not 'really' worried as I know this may actually cull some of the weaker animals and deer adapt as good or better than any animal out there, but we don't often get this amount of snowfall all at once so it's something I think about.
I'm helping about 15 make it through. ;) A neighbor I saw today only has 5 at his place. I was up to 20 when I first started to feed them. I have kinda pushed some snow to get to woods. but it's too much of a bother really. Most times I can keep a certain area open,but with 2 feet than a few days later another foot,than a few days later 6 inches,it is too much to try to keep a road open. I used the snow blower to get to the edge of the woods up here by the house.
the ones where im working must be mad cause they was not there today I ran on most of the skid trails today to help them out the ash and s maple tops they are chewing down to a dime size they must be hungry they are dragging there belly and going to get more snow Monday poor things at least the coyotes arnt there yet but if they move in they will be coming out on a rope with led in there arss :D hopefully 8)
5 or 6 years ago we got 9 feet of snow over the course of about 6 weeks. I stood in the kitchen window and watched a little doe working up the hill. She would fight her way to the next tree and stand and rest in the clear spots and then move again. Think it took her 45 minutes to reach the thick woods where there was move cover. Often wonder how many of them survive a winter like that.
Here in NY, it's illegal to feed the deer.
Quite a few people still put out hay or corn for them.
Right now, we have a little over 2 feet of snow on average, and more coming daily for the next week or so.
If you can do it add some molasses and oats to the corn. They will start to eat slowly at first but when they get used to it stand back :D :D :D :D I just string the corn out for about 100 feet or so, that way there is less fighting and everyone gets a chance to get some. Just put it in a tire track if you can just so that it isn't under all the snow. Some hay is ok but not too much. Good luck-----Don
Quote from: Chuck White on February 07, 2015, 07:11:24 AM
Here in NY, it's illegal to feed the deer.
Quite a few people still put out hay or corn for them.
Right now, we have a little over 2 feet of snow on average, and more coming daily for the next week or so.
chuck it is legal to feed deer here in Sullivan co ny it was in the paper and I think it was in one of the outdoor news mag last year our judge over turned the band in Sullivan co something to do with the constitution of Sullivan co to feed the wild life in the time of need or something like that ill try and find the info
Looks like our "herd" is making it OK. Friday evening there were 11 in the Cabin back yard and then yesterday the back yard group were there and there were 6 in the front yard. ;D
Quote from: Barney II on February 08, 2015, 10:25:13 AM
If you can do it add some molasses and oats to the corn. They will start to eat slowly at first but when they get used to it stand back :D :D :D :D I just string the corn out for about 100 feet or so, that way there is less fighting and everyone gets a chance to get some. Just put it in a tire track if you can just so that it isn't under all the snow. Some hay is ok but not too much. Good luck-----Don
Back when we used to feed the deer in the backyard (about 5-6 years ago) I made a shallow trough out of a 2x6 using the nose of my chainsaw and I put corn in it and when the deer got used to the trough, I started putting molasses in one end and pretty soon the deer would go for the molasses before they would the corn.
I have an area about 100 feet by 6-8 feet wide. I throw the grain out like I'm feeding a bunch of chickens. Course 14 in the grain of choice at the store. We do stock the special deer corn grain,but the corn is pretty big in that type of grain. Most buy the 14. Bread they like too. I have a few apples to give them tonight. I have to go through the squash too.
Snowshoed out while carrying the chainsaw and small shovel (tried putting them in a sled and of course they fell out before I got out of the driveway :( :-[). Breaking trail in this much snow is a workout
without carrying a chainsaw so I took the snowmobile trail most of the way back. ;D Dropped a couple of dead trees with moss and lichen in them plus a cedar, course the cedar hung up but they can reach half of it at least. Doubt it helps that much but it can't hurt either.
As for feeding them directly, I don't do it but like I said 'normally' I'd be out there this time of year cutting firewood and they'd have plenty of browse. I thought I had heard/read that corn is not that good for deer in the winter as their metabolism can't get the nutrition out of the corn they need and they actually spend more energy digesting the it than what they get out of it. I'm not a 100% on that but worth checking into if you are feeding them corn.
Quote from: Magicman on February 08, 2015, 02:34:39 PM
Looks like our "herd" is making it OK.
Good to know those Mississippi deer are pulling through this winter, MM! ;) ;D :D
that's what they tell me also I feed crack corn wheat and alfalfa
I think deer digest corn the way we do. It goes right straight through. ;D
When we used to feed corn to the deer in our back yard, most times the deer would come in and eat some corn for a few minutes, then they would go out along the hedgerow and browse a little and come back to the corn again later.
Quote from: Chuck White on February 07, 2015, 07:11:24 AM
Here in NY, it's illegal to feed the deer.
Quite a few people still put out hay or corn for them.
Right now, we have a little over 2 feet of snow on average, and more coming daily for the next week or so.
We see them come down to the Horse and Cow's feeder's and even in close to the water by the barn from time to time. They "share" with our live stock when they need to. About the only place I HAVEN"T seem them is in the barn where the cows walk in! But who willing wants to wade thru cow crap..... lol
have to ask you farmers the grass that gets wraped in the white bags will the deer eat it is it ok for them to eat
Quote from: coxy on February 11, 2015, 07:20:56 PM
have to ask you farmers the grass that gets wraped in the white bags will the deer eat it is it ok for them to eat
Lots of people up here will put the wrapped bales out and the deer really go for them.
I have never seen a sick or dead deer in the feeding areas around here.
We went out and cut some White Cedar trees yesterday and dragged them out to where the deer could get to them. We checked today and there wasn't a green twig on any of them.
Going to cut some more tomorrow.
Chunk,I would like to do the cedar thing too. But I have to go through 2 feet of snow to get there and than I would have to walk through 2 feet of snow. Most years we don't get so much so fast and I can manage a little in the woods.
Ray, In most places, the snow was up to our pockets.
Just had to take it easy and not over do it.
Fortunately my brothers tractor has a logging winch on it with 150' of cable. ;D
As far as the deer not being able to digest corn or hay in winter, this is true if the deer aren't used to it as a normal part of their diet. If you traveled out to the swamp mid winter and dump out corn to deer that have never had it, I think biologists will tell you it may do more harm then good, however if your herd eats corn and grain during the warm months and you start feeding as soon as the cold begins it helps them alot. I will try and get a few pictures tonite of the "heifers" that eat behind the house. :)
I know things are way different up north with cold and snow but here in Arkansas I have two tracts that I either own or help take care of that we hunt on and we feed 24/7/365 with protein feeders and plots of standing corn and soy beans
I have one less deer in my herd. I would say coyotes. I was down there cutting some firewood,just behind the house,I would guess 2-300 feet. Brenda saw a bald eagle up in the tree. Than she saw it go down to the ground.
Quote from: thecfarm on March 13, 2015, 06:55:47 PM
I have one less deer in my herd. I would say coyotes. I was down there cutting some firewood,just behind the house,I would guess 2-300 feet. Brenda saw a bald eagle up in the tree. Than she saw it go down to the ground.
Yep, I seem to find a carcase every other year or so. Snowshoed around 'out back' last weekend, cut down a few cedar branches and didn't see any signs of dead deer but I guarantee they're out there. With the warm temps mid week there's a crust on the still deep snow, the deer are a having a rough one this year for sure. And every other animal for that matter, pulled in the drive the other evening and had 5 turkey in the yard/driveway. They 'flushed' and flew into the woods, felt bad for making them expend the energy.
Hi John,you are right about the crust. I had to work down to the edge of the woods to get my tarp that I use to cover the wood pile with. The wind wrapped it around a tree. I walked on top of the snow most of the way. But I started to break through. The walk down the hill was not bad,the walk up was not so easy. I found 2 piles of hair I think last year. But those was not within sight of the house.
My herd has packed up and left me. :D They just started to cut above me. This is the first night that I went out to feed them and none was there. But I betcha they will show up in the night and the food will be gone in the morning. And the loggers are cutting some cedar for the deer too.
Ray, you must have a little bare ground showing, or they'd be there to be fed!
We don't see as many here either, they're finding a little grass at the base of the trees and along side the buildings!
A little bare ground?? Yep,about 3 feet square and that is in the driveway. :D They are cutting wood just up the road,I suspect they are up there in the skidder trails having a feast. I still have about 2 feet of snow. They showed up in the night sometime.
I just came in from the nightly feeding. The deer are back.
over the past week iv found 9 dead deer think they starved or froze to death poor things made it this long to die at the end the coyotes are going to have a field day now with the crust deer still cant walk on it but they can
Quote from: JohnM on February 08, 2015, 06:03:43 PM
I thought I had heard/read that corn is not that good for deer in the winter as their metabolism can't get the nutrition out of the corn they need and they actually spend more energy digesting the it than what they get out of it. I'm not a 100% on that but worth checking into if you are feeding them corn.
Really, the only thing you should be feeding them (if you are feeding them at all) is the stuff that they would normally be eating at this time of year anyway - so dropping a tree for them to munch on, or clearing/packing down some paths through the snow for easy access to brush and saplings can help them. Feeding corn or even hay can be a problem for them. Their digestive systems have adapted for wintertime feeding, and just can't handle it (unless they've somehow been getting access to it throughout the year). It's not just a matter of them not being able to get the nutrients out of it, feeding them the wrong diet than what they are adapted for can kill them.
Here's an article about a dozen deer which were killed recently by supplemental feeding in New Hampshire:
12 Deer Killed by Winter Feeding (http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/2015/deer-deaths-032315.html)
Here's a link to a brochure from the state of NH about how feeding deer can often do More Harm Than Good (http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_PDFs/More_harm_deer_brochure.pdf)
most people don't know you cant feed them feed with copper in it that will kill them to
well after the snow and ice I thing they ate up my feed and went somewhere else to feed. I haven't been up to my place in the mountains since the middle of february and I filled them then and pulled my cameras to check them over and clean them then placed them back out last weekend and after seven days ......nothing but squrriels and birds on camera, Hoping that changes as I have the feeders back up and running , well their pellets feeders so they work off gravity .
I know people like to feed deer but around here it's like putting cheese out in your house to attract mice. Around here they have become so abundant they are a destructive nuance. Not only to crops and yards but being hit on the highway. Cronic waisting and blue tongue has thinned them down in some areas but they bounce right back.
Bibby,
Reminds me of the TV show "Chasing Tail" where the bowhunters in Connecticut were shooting suburban deer in peoples yards, golf courses and such. Invariably the deer would run die in the backyard of the one person in the neighborhood who was most vehemently opposed to hunting and they'd have to sneak around somehow and recover it.
We raised a fawn from a car killed doe several years ago. Spot loved fortune cookies. Her best friend was Morris, the orange tom cat we had. Morris would lick the milk off her face and they became friends from the start. It was a hoot to watch Morris stalk and mock charge her like a leopard after an antelope. She was free to come and go and would go play with her wild friends then come home for a bottle then go back. She would lick the salt off the kids faces like she was kissing them and made great photo ops. During antlerless season I walked up in the pasture and shot a small deer only to have Spot jump up about 30 yards away where I had not seen her. I felt real bad about shooting her friend in front of her but did not seem to bother her. She followed me home and got her treat. I kept an orange collar on her so people could see she was a pet. She stayed around about a year then disappeared. I don't know if coyotes or wild dogs killed or if a disgruntled neighbor shot her as was not hunting season. She was a neat pet especially since she was free to come and go at will.
I have seen 20 deer here at night when I am feeding them. Most times only 10-14. I have no idea where they are come June. I see a few,but only 3-4-5 at one time. Come hunting season they are no wheres to be found around here. The step son has been trying for 4-5 years. Has not even shot at one yet. Has seen some,and heard some.One time he came up here with a new fallen snow of about 2 inches. He went all over the hill one morning. He came back and told me,I know where they ain't no deer. He did not find a track.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/wsantler20100406.JPG)
Local farmers drive over all their pastures and hay fields each spring looking for sheds. And not for the sport or trophy but to save their tires,
The last three deer I've killed were all within 50 yards of the sawmill. I say killed because there was now hunting to it. Two were shot from the mill. The last one I didn't make it to the mill. I was walking out to the mill when a doe stepped out just past the mill.
I found one that way once >:(. I've also found them walking trees while checking cattle, I prefer that a lot more.
Our herd of Blacktails is doing fine; we lost one runt-fawn to pneumonia (my guess) back in a December cold-spell.
At the end of the hunting season last year, we counted the 4 resident does, 1 yearling doe, 2 fawn does, 2 button-bucks, 2 spikes, 2 forkies, a 3-pointer and a 4 pointer (we only count one side of the antlers on the Left Coast).
The bucks disappear after the dating games are over.... but of course.
I like feeding the deer natural food much better than feeding the cows/steers; the steers would somehow know where the tree was going to fall and go stand there and wait like they were playing that baseball game..."3 flies and your out".
The deer patiently wait for the tree to fall and the saw to stop before they come in for the lichen and other "groceries".
The does now are pushing their young bucks away from the herd; they are lethargic and almost ready to give birth. We usually have new life around Mother's day.
Not really hunting here here in the woodlot either; more like a safe, nutritious, and healthy archery-harvest.
I do my hunting elsewhere.
I went out this morning and the food is still there. My "herd" no longer needs my hand out. This is normal. Each year they just stop coming.The turkeys have shown up in the last two weeks,they will clean it up. It's been a fun year watching the deer.
When the ground bares up a little, the deer don't need or want suplementary handouts!
They really like the green grass.
They are starting to shed their winter coats in this area, they're starting to look pretty ragged.
I feel it's kinda early for them to stop coming. I walked around the fields the other day,and I am out in the woods and not much green where I am. I did see 2 deer there yesterday morning,but none so far this morning. Last week the ground was covered with snow in the woods here. Now it is just batches of snow.
Quote from: thecfarm on April 18, 2015, 07:05:26 AM
Last week the ground was covered with snow in the woods here. Now it is just batches of snow.
Wife and I took a walk in the woods last evening and we were both amazed at how much and how fast the snow has receded. Been seeing lots of deer around and had 5 turkeys (two really nice toms) in the yard earlier in the week. I think the animals adapt better to the snow and cold than I do! :-\ ;D
Quote from: Bibbyman on March 29, 2015, 02:59:43 AM
I know people like to feed deer but around here it's like putting cheese out in your house to attract mice. Around here they have become so abundant they are a destructive nuance. Not only to crops and yards but being hit on the highway. Cronic waisting and blue tongue has thinned them down in some areas but they bounce right back.
Im with you Bibbyman. I call them long legged rodents there are so many.