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Deer Yards, Inadequate Hunts, Deep Snows, Certain Starvation

By
Real Estate Agent with Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

Deer Yards, Inadequate Hunts, Deep Snows, Certain Starvationdeer yard

This is a picture of a Deer Yard, notice the well pruned trees up as high as a deer can reach and lack of young seedlings.  Generally when the snows get too deep for deer to travel they will yard up in a place like this.

The canopy of the Hemlocks in this photo create what we call thermal cover which is generally 10-20 degrees warmer than in the open or in a hardwood forest.

young seedling under the snowUnfortunately unless there is a clear cut right next to one of these deer yards, the meager vegetation within the yard will be exhausted quickly and the deer will be forced to choose between standing for several months trying to conserve the fat that they accumulated in the fall or spend precious calories fighting through the deep snow to seek possible food elsewhere.

Notice the seedling to the left here, was chewed clean of all buds and small twigs about the time the snow was 1 foot deep, and all the smaller seedlings in the background will likely never get past the height of the snow either.

As tempting as it is to go out to this site now to get a few shots in the winter, as a Wildlife Biologist, I know that everytime that someone happens upon one of these death camps, it further stresses the occupants further and leads to fewer of the residents surviving the cold winter.

There are a few solutions to this horrible problem that the deer encounter every winter.

  1. Monitor and control Population Dynamics, in lay terms that means, less deer in the fall means more food remaining per deer to last the winter.
  2. Encourage more hunting, pruning half the herd with hunters is infinitely more humane than watching 3/4 of the herd die of starvation and disease.
  3. Don't feed hay to starving deer, they will eat it but they cannot digest it this time of year, it may make them feel full but they will still die.aspen and thermal cover
  4. Create more clearcuts, especially next to conifer stands.  Clearcuts produce dense twigs and branches that are perfect winter food for deer.  Deer need easily accessible food, they cannot afford to climb through a half mile of deep snow to get the calories that they need to survive.

 

Pictures

Woodland Management Service

  • Deer yard in Waupaca County
  • Deer browsed seedling Waupaca County
  • Aspen Clearcut next to Red Pine Stand, Oneida County.

 

 

 

 

Comments (15)

Scott Larson
BHHS/Utah Properties - Park City, UT
Park City, Utah Real Estate News

Hi Bob, this is a pretty sobering post but the reality is no one wants to see large scale starvation of any animal.  Wise choice to stay away this winter and hopefully smart policy will lead to more deer surviving this year and in the future.

Feb 17, 2014 02:40 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Thanks, Bob, for this lesson on deer management. I wonder how long deer can live without food.

Feb 17, 2014 03:05 AM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Thanks for stopping by Scott and Roy, I generally don't put a lot of scientific posts out there, but it is a tough winter and I thought this was important info for people to know, especially the folks who think that they are doing the animals a favor by discouraging hunting.

As far as how long they can survive, I am not sure, the DNR does have a winter survival index based on the number of days with snow deeper than 18 inches and days below 0 degrees.  Yet this index is corrupted every time humans or predators disturb the yard and cause more stress.

Feb 17, 2014 03:43 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Hi Bob, this is a great post and I do agree with you that there is a need to control the deer population. We have many deer in our community, but they have been staying in the lot below our house as their seems to be more vegetation food for them.  At times we see 10-12 at a time roaming around.

Feb 17, 2014 04:45 AM
Connie Harvey
Pilkerton Realtors - Brentwood, TN
Realtor - Nashville TN Real Estate

Bob, I  just learned a lot about deer and the winter. I don't know what I thought they did for food and shelter!

Feb 17, 2014 06:03 AM
John Meussner
Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IN, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI - Fair Oaks, CA
#MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852

Another informational and very interesting post, Bob.  I had no idea that deer faced these types of issues in the winter.  I thought their only worry was slipping on ice.  Shows just how tough survival can be for many species.

Feb 17, 2014 07:18 AM
Beth and Richard Witt
New York, NY
The best Retired Brokers !!!!

Very informative post Bob... From reading your comments I believe I'm safe in saying most folks have no clue what winter means to the deer...

Love the photos and your presentation... Thanks!

Feb 17, 2014 08:02 AM
John G. Johnston
John G. Johnston & Associates, LLC - Westcliffe, CO
An Exclusive Buyer's Agent ~ Westcliffe, CO

Bob  I just learned you are a Wildlife Biologist!  I always enjoy your expertise and thanks for sharing it with us.

 

Feb 17, 2014 08:02 AM
Noah Seidenberg
Coldwell Banker - Evanston, IL
Chicagoland and Suburbs (800) 858-7917

Bob all I can say is that a deer ran into my brand new Ford Explorer about 2 months ago and it had 500 miles on it. He (horns that's how I know) was running head down and slammed into my rear passenger door while I was going about 30.

This was a residential area too.

Anyway, I have nothing against Deer he was hurting worse than me and your post is very interesting.

Feb 17, 2014 08:54 AM
William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

Here in Minnesota we are having some of the same issues.  The DNR is looking at a possible limited feeding strategy, but it needs to be done with other futurre habitat improvement.

Feb 17, 2014 10:00 AM
Jennifer Fivelsdal
JFIVE Home Realty LLC | 845-758-6842|162 Deer Run Rd Red Hook NY 12571 - Rhinebeck, NY
Mid Hudson Valley real estate connection

Bob I hate to think what my trees and shrubs will look like in the spring.  The deer are so hungry they are eating everything in sight.

 

Feb 17, 2014 11:14 AM
Kristin Hamilton CA REALTOR
Berkshire Hathaway California Realty - Beaumont, CA
(909) 557-6966- Specialize 55+ Communties Banning

Hi Bob,

Very interesting article and it is sad that the deer are probably starving. I have read that they hire sharpshooter to kill off some of the deer because of the starvation problem for the next year. I love animals and it makes me sad but on the other hand I would hate to think of an animal standing there and starving to death. We should be able to come up with better solutions.

Feb 18, 2014 10:29 AM
Michael Delaware
North Sky Realty LLC - Battle Creek, MI
REALTOR®, CRS, GRI

You really have such a great resource up there for wildlife and the great outdoors!  Such great blog posts!

Feb 19, 2014 01:43 PM
Lisa Friedman
Great American Dream Realty - Essex, VT
35 Years of Real Estate Experience!

I echo Kristin's sentiments. While I hate killing, a bullet is much more humane than the pain of starvation.

Feb 21, 2014 06:02 AM
Nicholas Crane
Woodland Companies - Cadott, WI
Managing & Appraising Forest Land

Thanks for sharing these reports, our clients gain value from of this type of information.

 

Apr 09, 2020 11:09 PM