Brutal Weather in Sask

[Buckscrape]

I know it's still early but if the current pattern keeps up we're going to have a significant herd reduction in Saskatchewan. We've got a good 20 inches of snow on the level and getting more as I post this. Our temperatures since the week before Christmas are having a hard time getting above -20 Celsius. What the deer around here have going for them is the annual crops had quite a bit of second growth after harvest but they're digging deep for it. What worries me is later when it warms up and the snow crusts over they're going to have a hard time with predators and lots of guys are backing off on the coyote harvest because prices are dropping like a rock. I know when it warms up a bit I'm going to be throwing lead at those buggers - need to thin em out and help the deer as much as I can.

Temp here yesterday morning.

 

[203ntyp]

That's brutal! The coldest I experienced outdoors was -23 F. That year was hard on the deer heard, mainly due to the depth of snow and ice on top and the ground under the snow. I was putting some feed out and all around the pile there was blood here and there from the ice cutting their lower legs. When the snow melted enough there was a couple inches of ice and plenty of acorns under it that they couldn't get to. Found around 10 deer dead that spring but many survived. I found two yarding areas on south facing slopes that had thermal cover (pines) and the one looked like a barnyard, ground solid with droppings and all the browse 50 to 60 yards around was stripped clean. That was 1994. Stay warm up there!

 

[Central Iowa]

That’s tough weather for anything!