Did You know - outdoor edition

[Ianab]

One of our road trips we stopped at a small zoo like that, with some walk in aviaries. 

One had a large parrot (cockatoo I think), that would sit by the entrance and climb on any friendly looking visitor. Lady in front of us had a kid in a pushchair, and the parrot jumped onto the push handle of the chair and was just sitting there. Lady didn't really seem to be a fan of birds and didn't know what to do. Lil stepped up and offered the bird her arm, which it hopped on, climbed to her shoulder and then rode through the aviary to the exit. Once there it hopped off and flew back to the entrance to find a new ride. 

That seemed to be how it filled in it's day.  :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know that there is a species of freshwater snapping turtle native to Australia that can breathe through its anus? Now that's different!

Critically Endangered Snapping Turtles Found in New Australian Habitat

[Chuck White]

"Down Under", go figure!     ;D   :D

[barbender]

Now what an ability to have. Well actually I don't know, there are large groups of people I suspect use the same breathing apparatus. A very large percentage of those in the U.S. Congress seem to have the gift. 

[WV Sawmiller]

     Did you know castrating a male deer will affect it's antler growth in several ways depending upon the age of the deer at the time and whether he had antlers and at what stage they were at. Here is info from a Virginia.gov site:

"Because the testosterone plays such an important part of the antler cycle, castration in deer can have a profound effect on antlers. If a male fawn is castrated early, he will never grow pedicels or antlers. If a deer is in hard antler and is castrated, he will lose his antlers normally and grow a new set, which will never shed their velvet. If a deer is in velvet and is castrated, he will never shed his velvet or lose his antlers."

      This is also an explanation of some very strange non-typical bucks people have seen or harvested. If the buck was neutered through an accident his subsequent antler growth will be affected  depending on what stage of antler growth he was at the time of the accident.

https://dwr.virginia.gov/blog/all-about-antlers/#:~:text=If%20a%20male%20fawn%20is,velvet%20or%20lose%20his%20antlers.

[barbender]

 On my Uncle's ranch in NE Wyoming, he pointed out to me what he referred to as "stags", bucks that had somehow lost their testicles and grew antlers that they never lost, and stayed in velvet. 

 I was struck by the fact that there were a few of them around- they aren't as rare as you would think. It also added another reason to never try out for that, "Naked and Afraid" show. It's a dangerous world out there, fellas😁

[WV Sawmiller]

   Yeah, just ask EJ Synder about his experiences in the Amazon.

BB,

   I guess jumping barbed wire fences at your uncle's ranch in Wyoming is riskier than one would think too.  :

[barbender]

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe that's why the pronghorns crawl underneath, instead😁

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know one often used technique to harvest a crop from a large field is to drive to the center of the field and start harvesting in circles progressively from the center to the outer edges? This may be cutting and baling hay, combining wheat, etc. The rationale for this practice is it helps protect any wildlife (usually small animals like skunks, possums, groundhogs, rabbits, etc.) that may be hiding in the field. If harvesting from outside in the animals are driven to the center where they are often hurt or killed by the farm equipment. Starting in the middle and working your way outward helps drive the animals out of the field into the adjacent better covered areas where they can escape.

[beenthere]

Hadn't heard anything like that before, and never witnessed a crop being harvested "inside-out".  Back in the day when harvesting crops, never witnessed a concentration of critters and such in the center. 
Seems one would be driving over the crops getting to the middle and driving out with the yield, losing (or loosing as some like to spell it) a lot of money. 
But we hear about different things like this here on the FF.  :  8)

[WV Sawmiller]

    As I recall the process is to drive to the center while harvesting then start the outward concentric circles. It is easy when cutting hay or any crop where a wagon is towed directly behind the tractor/combine.

   A friend from Minnesota said he only ate whole kernel corn and never cream style corn. He said when they harvested in concentric circles to the middle the critters got trapped in the middle and the ones that got caught in the equipment and that corn was used to make the cream style corn.

   Now I admit I was not there at the corn harvest or processing center and people have lied to me in the past but I have no reason to doubt the veracity of his tale. ;)

[beenthere]

Maybe another WV-Sawmiller-ism ??   :D :D ;D

[chet]

Cream style Possum anyone?     :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know early season hay cutting is a greater risk to the fawn crop than later cutting? Very young fawns are often parked in the tall grass by their mothers and they will hold tight until they are killed or injured by the tractors and haying equipment. A few weeks later they will be older and will be much more likely to jump up and run when such equipment get s close.

   I have a neighbor who often has someone ride an ATV in front to the tractor doing the mowing. On the front of the ATV he has a long piece of PVC pipe with short pieces of chain dangling down toughing/dragging the ground. As the ATV rides through the tall grass any fawn "tickled" by the chains will jump up and run which gets them out of the path of the mower and protects them.

   I almost any large hayfield in my area if you drive by shortly after the hay has been cut and while it is drying you will see buzzards and crows circling the fields. They are feeding on fawns and snakes and such killed by the mowers.

[KEC]

The mowing machine is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it maintains grassland habitat for critters and birds. On the other hand it is rough on birds and critters that are too small to get out of the path of the mower. Many birds nests get destroyed.  The lucky birds manage to raise young before mowing. Many conservationists  want the farmers to delay mowing 'till later in the summer but by then the hay is no good. Many farmers would like to not mow the critters, but there is no way to do it and harvest quality, high protein and palatable hay and get a second cutting. If someone has a field and just wants to mow it and leave the cut grass to keep it from growing into brush, then late mowing would be great.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Mowing from the center outward and using lead tickler vehicles/equipment can help but stationary bird nests, slow moving turtles and snakes and such are still going to be toast.  No conscientious farmer wants to hurt them and doing so can harm the equipment and quality of the hay but they have to remain profitable. As mentioned above the farmers are creating and maintaining this habitat but it does come at a price.

[JD Guy]

Yes, I've had the misfortune of hitting a fawn or two while cutting hay and it is something that truly bothers me. You can be super watchful and still have it happen. Agee thought that if you wait for the fawns to be more mobile you have missed the opportunity for premium hay. 

I have some pastures to cut (not haying) just to keep them healthy and weed free but have the luxury of waiting until later in the month so it will be less likely to hit one.

I've never tried cutting fields from the inside out but I can confirm that when working outside in the last few passes will congregate an awful lot of field mice  :D

[KEC]

Yes, the avian and terrestrial predators eat well when the Meadow Voles are deprived of their protective cover when you take the hay off the fields. When I was a kid we were collecting the bales of hay and loading them on wagons when one of my brothers rolled over a bale to pick it up by the twine and there was a vole under it. Deprived of a place to hide the vole ran up his pantleg whereupon a new dance jig was invented. Next thing he did was to drop his pants, then his underwear, at which point the vole leaped out. You guys are all now sworn to secrecy not to repeat this story as my brother has never been able to see the humor in it. And I'm to keep on good terms with family.

[Chuck White]

  Did you know early season hay cutting is a greater risk to the fawn crop than later cutting? Very young fawns are often parked in the tall grass by their mothers and they will hold tight until they are killed or injured by the tractors and haying equipment. A few weeks later they will be older and will be much more likely to jump up and run when such equipment get s close.  

yes it is!
One of my brothers leases his fields to a local farmer, and after seeing a couple of fawns mangled by their disc mowers has laid down the law to them.
If you can't cut before the 15th of May, you will have to wait until after the 4th of July!
This gives the fawns a little time to mature, and so far it has been working well!

[WV Sawmiller]

   I can relate to the vole story from a couple of incidents.

    My older helper and I were finishing up work on a monument job in a local cemetery and were loading our tools. I was standing beside our running Chevy p/u and noticed something running up my britches leg. I'd vigorously shake my leg but noting fell out. I'd put my leg down and see the rippling motion going up again. Finally we realized I was standing next to the muffler and the Put Put Put was shaking my jeans legs. :

    More appropriate was the time my wife stepped out on the porch and when she opened the screen door she hit Ugly, our old Tortoise shell cat, who was walking by with a live/lively fresh caught chipmunk in her mouth. It startled her and she dropped Alvin who immediately took cover in the dark opening of my wife's pants legs. She was doing a war dance out there while I was envisioning Ray Stevens Mississippi Squirrel Revival. Anyway the chipmunk finally fell out and she accidentally stepped on him causing the poor rodents early departure from planet Earth. :(

[TroyC]

Fawns at my place in central Georgia were born a couple days ago. Moms are still coming to the feeder but are not pregnant anymore. They are leaving fawns in the woods for now. In  a week or two mom will bring them to the feeder and introduce them. I have a group I've been watching for at least 3 years, Grandma, 2 daughters, 2 granddaughters. The grandma and daughters were the pregnant ones so I'm looking forward to 4-5 offspring. Graandma was big, she had twins last 2 years.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know watching animals is a good way to spot other animals? It is common when watching an old doe or fawn feeding around your stand to see them suddenly raise their head and stare at something in the distance. If you look where they are you may see another deer (Hopefully a big buck), a turkey or even a squirrel. If the animal does not perceive a threat it will go back to feeding but if it is a predator or competition it may keep watching or react in other ways. We have talked before how squirrels and other small game will often alert you to other animals int he area. Even farm animals will tell you when something is moving. I've had cows point out rabbit to me and my horse and mule used to identify deer or such in the pasture or wood line. 

   I read recently where a criminal running from the police, I think it was in NC, and the man abandoned the get-away car and ran into a nearby pasture but the cows all ran towards him and the police saw and captured him. For all we know the cows might have thought it was the farmer bringing them more feed. :D

[Don P]

That was on the facebook of the local feed mill here, those cows got sweet feed that night  :D

[Ianab]

I read recently where a criminal running from the police, I think it was in NC, and the man abandoned the get-away car and ran into a nearby pasture but the cows all ran towards him and the police saw and captured him. For all we know the cows might have thought it was the farmer bringing them more fee

I did see that on the news. Cows do act like that for sure. If something strange (but not threatening) comes into (or even near) their paddock, they will all wander over the see what the heck is going on. If it's a mob of 18 month heifers, they are even more curious. 

It can be hilarious if you take someone that doesn't know cattle through a paddock of them. By the time you get to the gate on the other side, you have a semicircle of cows looking at you from about 10ft away. :D

I can just imagine the guy trying to hide in a ditch and 100 heifers gathering around. Whispering "Shhoo.. Shoo.... you're going to blow my cover...." That would just attract more of them. :D

[K-Guy]

A friend from Minnesota said he only ate whole kernel corn and never cream style corn. He said when they harvested in concentric circles to the middle the critters got trapped in the middle and the ones that got caught in the equipment and that corn was used to make the cream style corn.

Extra Protein!!! Yum  smiley_jester