Deer and winter

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bearkilr

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So now that we're near the end of March, how do things look in your area? I'm in MB and there are no signs of winter loosening its grip. It's getting to the point where I curse this place on a daily basis.........-29C this morning........March 23rd........disgusting. I've found my share of winter kill and I'm dreading the next few weeks. How's things across the rest of Canada?
 
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Been above 0 a few days over the last couple of weeks in NS. It only got really cold once or twice over the winter dipping to about -27 with wind chill for perhaps 48 hrs on occasion. No signs of winter kill here as far as I can tell.
 
I live in North East Ontario and the snow and cold has been brutal on the deer. I have seen a few that are starving so I have been feeding and will not stop till the snow melts. Man life is tough in the woods this year for everything. I have heard we may lose anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of our heard this year alone. MNR refuses to feed now.
 
Muskyhunter1 said:
I live in North East Ontario and the snow and cold has been brutal on the deer. I have seen a few that are starving so I have been feeding and will not stop till the snow melts. Man life is tough in the woods this year for everything. I have heard we may lose anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of our heard this year alone. MNR refuses to feed now.
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ive been tossing out cracked corn and scratch mix, also put out about 3 salt blocks. The MNR has a fund specifically for this situation do they not? i dont mind tosing out the feed, but not sure i can feed the entire forrest.....
 
It's been a difficult winter for the deer, on South shore of Lake Nippissing. long, Cold, lots of snow, lots of coyotes, and wolves. I'm feeding Alfalfa and Grain, but that seems to set things up for the wolves. The population will decrease this year.
 
Lots of snow here in central ON, all winter. There has been talk in the local media about emergency feeding. I've been feeding a small herd since December. Just fed them half an hour ago. They are becoming quite tame. Five stood ten feet from me while I poured feed into their trough. My cedars have really suffered this winter. These deer are looking good. Does and fawns. Saw one post shed buck once.
 
Muskyhunter1 said:
I live in North East Ontario and the snow and cold has been brutal on the deer. I have seen a few that are starving so I have been feeding and will not stop till the snow melts. Man life is tough in the woods this year for everything. I have heard we may lose anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of our heard this year alone. MNR refuses to feed now.
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We work in the bush and in places the skidders are having trouble and no sign of spring yet, it is also -28 here again this morning. Some days we see 30 to 40 deer eating tops etc. some of them are having a hard time of it, coyotes are having their way with the deer as well. God I hope spring starts to come soon.

Cheers Bill
 
Eastern Ontario winter has been brutal... I have been feeding and all of my apple trees are missing the ends of their low hanging bracnhes and the cedars have all been stripped bare to about 6 feet up.... The deer are skinnier than usual and any does that are pregnant are really showing.... even the turkeys that have survived are about 2/3 the normal size
 
rsp1761 said:
There will not be a deer season in Manitoba 2014....
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^ I can believe that! We groom snowmobile trails here in SE MB and see the poor deer in the bush, man the snow is so deep that they can barely move! Quite often we have to remove a partially eaten deer carcuss from the trail. The wolves and yotes are eating them alive, constantly! I feel so sorry for them. Love the snow for snowmobiling, but for the deer's sake I wish it would all melt overnight! It's been such a long cold winter, enough!
 
SeamusMac said:
Been above 0 a few days over the last couple of weeks in NS. It only got really cold once or twice over the winter dipping to about -27 with wind chill for perhaps 48 hrs on occasion. No signs of winter kill here as far as I can tell.
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Is That NS Nova Scotia??? If so the eastern end has probally been the toughest winter we have seen in 20 years. Counted 14 bodies alone last weekend and wasn't even looking for them
Had 8 regulars behind the house at the start and now down to two.
My apple trees are just like Superbrads chewed beyond anything I have ever seen in the 12 years they have been there
 
Lots of hard crusty snow here. I'm been shooting coyotes as much as possible. Tossed out a few alphalpa bails and they would be gone by the next day. I bet I find more winter kills than sheds this spring.
 
Muskyhunter1 said:
MNR refuses to feed now.
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If the MNR is refusing to feed the deer that means nobody should be feeding them, unless they call their local wildlife agency and ask how, where, and what they should be feeding the deer. Many people who have good intentions are actually causing more harm by feeding the deer because they're feeding the wrong food, making it easier for predators to pick them off, and unnaturally congregating animals which aids in spreading disease. Eating twigs and sticks happens every winter and if the deer are starving it's likely because there are too many deer for the area to support.

It's far more complicated than "those deer look hungry, I think I should feed them" or finding a few winter kills and assuming that feeding is required. Winter kills are a normal and good thing because it eliminates the sick critters and excess animals that the area and it's food sources cannot support.


I'm not sure about other parts of the country or even Ontario, but around here there are simply too many deer and we need a good winter kill to get both the deer and coyote populations in check.


A good read:

http://www.manitoulinsteward.org/Resources/Guidelines for Feeding of Deer in Ontario.pdf
 
bearkilr said:
So now that we're near the end of March, how do things look in your area? I'm in central MB and there are no signs of winter loosening its grip. It's getting to the point where I curse this place on a daily basis.........-29C this morning........March 23rd........disgusting. I've found my share of winter kill and I'm dreading the next few weeks. How's things across the rest of Canada?
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about the same here as there but I missed that last snow wpg got...went by south of me...just.
 
Big game animals in Southern Alberta had done quite well this winter. I have travelled to Medicine Hat and Lethbridge recently and viewed many animals. Someone from Northern Alberta may want to step-in and give a report; I however, would suspect that there was winter-kill in spotty areas.
 
Deer around the farm are in great shape, if you know what I mean...We had a few days over 40 degrees last week but now with this cold, the snow that is left is as hard as a bullet...The weak deer out in the wilderness are being cleaned up by the predators...The deer that have been cared for through this brutal winter are more then a match for the mangy vermin...What happened to the good old days when the province would kick in with a feeding program to help get the herd through?
 
track said:
Someone from Northern Alberta may want to step-in and give a report; I however, would suspect that there was winter-kill in spotty areas.
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Pretty hard to kill off a lot of deer up here this year, there's none left from the last few winters so the majority of the bush is empty. Other than in town I have not seen a deer in the bush country for 2 months, almost no tracks either, but it was like that last year to. The farm land and bush within 5 miles of farm fields still has quite a few deer. We didn't get to many -40 stretches this year which was good, just lots of -20 to -30 stuff and more snow than normal.
 
Northern Alberta is a total write off...central Alberta got hit pretty hard and southern deer are fairing pretty well.
 
On a side note, I am working with 1/2 a dozen Americans from Texas and Louisiana. You should have seen their hearts sink after they asked why they haven't seen any game in the past 2 months and I had to tell them the bush was empty. Then I told them how bad the fishing was and how we can't keep many fish. They almost cried. Their 25 fish a day per species limits and multiple deer tags are looking pretty good right now.
 
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