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Tough Winter

jjohnson

jjohnson

Well-Known Member
Went out on my first shed outing of the year. Still too much snow here but supposed to be nice all week so hopefully we'll catch a break.

Found five dead does in 2 1/2 hrs. Some had been dead awhile and a few were pretty fresh. I think this nasty winter took it's toll on the young ones. It was funny, most of the deer I jumped would move 20yds and stop. Then move a little farther and I could just walk right by them.

Took this pic. Looks like the warm weather is coming just in time for her. Saw several deer that looked like this.

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The wife and I were looking at some does last night through the spotting scope and I commented how skinny they look. Hope the weather does what they are saying.
 
Warmer weather will help but the next 30 days will be rough. Even with greenup not much protein for awhile. Might even affect the fawn crop.
 
I went out today and was expecting to find a few. Needless to say I was really heartbroken to find 6 dead deer within the first 2 hours of walking. This was on 140 acres in Clayton county. I also found 2 dead turkeys...but I'm not sure how long they were gone. I'm sure once all the snow goes down...these nunbers will go up.It's tough to see as I try to feed them pretty much year round. This rough winter was the last we,they, needed. I'm really fearful of the affect this winter will have on the turkey population. I now expect to find many dead ones once the snow leaves. Sad.
 
The areas and environment the deer live in obviously mean alot about how they survive the harsh winters. Ive seen quiet a few deer lately and they have all looked pretty healthy. Im in Southeast Iowa. Were the skinny and dead deer that you guys found in Northern Iowa?
 
Clayton county is in the NE corner and has suffered a very harsh winter. It all started with the ice storm on Dec.1 that covered everything.55+ inches of snow (with even more ice thrown in) certainly hasn't helped.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: captain</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Clayton county is in the NE corner and has suffered a very harsh winter. It all started with the ice storm on Dec.1 that covered everything.55+ inches of snow (with even more ice thrown in) certainly hasn't helped.</div></div>

I was only a few miles north of Clayton. Yeah that ice from the first of December is still on the ground up here. Add to that a pile of snow and a few more ice storms. A lot of people were feeding the deer, turkeys, and pheasants. We'd have seen a lot more dead if they were'nt getting fed. Probably evened out the number of kills the DNR needed to make up.
 
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