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2021- the BIZARRE Year!!!!

If you guys are trying to blame your lack of deer sightings on COVID, where are all the dead deer carcasses? Why isn't COVID rampant in cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, cats, dogs, or any other animal that humans live with or come into a lot closer contact with than any wild deer?
 
jlwdvm said:
If you guys are trying to blame your lack of deer sightings on COVID, where are all the dead deer carcasses? Why isn't COVID rampant in cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, cats, dogs, or any other animal that humans live with or come into a lot closer contact with than any wild deer?
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It's my wild theory but there could certainly be something to it. Obviously it doesn't kill them, but what if they feel sick, lay low, and don't move much? I don't think that is all that unrealistic.
 
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crietveld said:
...This past spring I found 8 dead, all little bucks or button bucks, not EHD deaths that I could tell. Several were fresh in February and March. ...

I think the brutal cold and snow last February stressed the deer pretty bad. There seem to be more does than usual with no fawns or only one this year, and all the bucks I had on camera had shed by the first week of march. Another thought, as combines have gotten more efficient there is less waste grain for the wildlife. The neighbors field behind my house is 160 acres, was corn last year. There wasn't a single spot were the deer pawed through the snow looking for corn. I feed corn on the back of my farm in the winter and there was a beat trail from the timber a half mile south across that corn field to my corn pile, then they would cross the road by my house to the neighbors alfalfa field.
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I think your thoughts above are telling. We too found several dead deer last spring, presumably as a result of the tough winter. I also agree that "normal" cornfields yield much less waste grain than in days gone by.

Otherwise, our season was "meh". No real big giants to chase and what is normally the best time of the year to see solid action was limited, Nov. 5-15, or so. Our overall numbers are OK though, but that is probably a result of us, and several neighbors, having good to very good food plots, so the herd has some local grocery options beyond scavenging a conventional farm field.

I don't have a sense of any large scale die off or anything right around our place...but deer numbers "around" seem to be lower. I haven't seen nearly the number of deer while driving around and to and from our farm.
 
jlwdvm said:
If you guys are trying to blame your lack of deer sightings on COVID, where are all the dead deer carcasses? Why isn't COVID rampant in cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, cats, dogs, or any other animal that humans live with or come into a lot closer contact with than any wild deer?
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Well considering covid doesnt kill us humans at a very high rate why would it kill the deer....think about it, 99% survival rate, so 1 deer out of every 100 die....Well my farm doesnt have 100 deer on it, so does that mean I would not find any?
I am in by no means being a smart @ss at all, those were serious questions....

As others have mentioned, I am not saying Covid has anything to do with it but I am also not saying it doesnt.....
 
jlwdvm said:
If you guys are trying to blame your lack of deer sightings on COVID, where are all the dead deer carcasses? Why isn't COVID rampant in cattle, pigs, sheep, horses, cats, dogs, or any other animal that humans live with or come into a lot closer contact with than any wild deer?
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As IBH1983 said, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s killed a bunch of them. I’d also add that at least for me on my 270 acre farm that I could easily have a bunch (2-5 of my better bucks being a bunch) of deer laying around dead and until I go in this early spring to shed hunt I’d never know. Have a ton of ground that’s thick crp type ground that we hunt the perimeter of but from early August through mid February never step foot in. So maybe I will or maybe I won’t find some dead ones. Hope not!!
 
If it's not one thing...it's another :)....multiple guys down here are now seeing bucks that have started shedding. Which, we'll always have 1 here or there this early. But, we usually don't start seeing this until a month from now or so. Anyone up there seeing shed bucks?
 
Tmayer13 said:
Well considering covid doesnt kill us humans at a very high rate why would it kill the deer....think about it, 99% survival rate, so 1 deer out of every 100 die....Well my farm doesnt have 100 deer on it, so does that mean I would not find any?
I am in by no means being a smart @ss at all, those were serious questions....

As others have mentioned, I am not saying Covid has anything to do with it but I am also not saying it doesnt.....
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A much greater ratio are shot due to hunting or predation. So, I'd say deer have more serious "concerns" to deal with.. ;)
 
hesseu said:
If it's not one thing...it's another :)....multiple guys down here are now seeing bucks that have started shedding. Which, we'll always have 1 here or there this early. But, we usually don't start seeing this until a month from now or so. Anyone up there seeing shed bucks?
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Just got a pic from neighbor showing a pretty mature buck with only 1 antler. I can't say for sure it shed, but it might have.
 
hesseu said:
If it's not one thing...it's another :)....multiple guys down here are now seeing bucks that have started shedding. Which, we'll always have 1 here or there this early. But, we usually don't start seeing this until a month from now or so. Anyone up there seeing shed bucks?
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I got a pic on Saturday. 2 bucks midday, one had shed both sides. Definitely the earliest I have ever received a pic of one. He appeared to be completely healthy in the photo
 
November 12 this year. 100% shed and not broken. Nothing appears wrong with the deer. Healthy appearance and seen him couple different days. Even appeared to be chasing does one evening. I’ve never seen anything like this year. By far the strangest year to date
 

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Muddyrem said:
November 12 this year. 100% shed and not broken. Nothing appears wrong with the deer. Healthy appearance and seen him couple different days. Even appeared to be chasing does one evening. I’ve never seen anything like this year. By far the strangest year to date
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Wow! Peak rut and no headgear. That's insane.
 
I saw two different buck doe pairs today, bucks hanging tight by their side. One pair at 1 pm, the other at 4 pm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I had the same thing going on. I have a lot of cams out. Only 2 different 3 year olds that frequented my place. Neighbors confirmed the same with the same deer. Last year I had 4 mature bucks and a handful of 3 year olds. Nothing in the neighborhood really changed for pressure. We were all kind of scratching our heads. Neighbor ended up killing a really good 6 year old cruiser that no one had seen, but that was it. Hoping next season turns around some. Still had fun getting out there though.
 
On Tapatalk, you can change year at the top. I’ve also done it in my laptop to get historical data.

I’m guessing we don’t break 100K this year.


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