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Winter Kill

NWBuck

NWBuck

PMA Member
I've been out a couple of times in the last few days, and what I'm watching our deer herd go through out there is something I've not seen in my years of hunting. These deer are struggling simply to get from point A to point B. Every step through a ditch or even a field puts them up beyond their bellies, and you can watch deer from a short distance and they won't move...probably because it's just so difficult to do so.

This doesn't even mention the issue of finding food, which unless they're on one of the few farms with corn food plots, is all buried under nearly 3 feet of snow. So I'm wondering if perhaps winter kill is going to be an issue for those of us in the areas with highest snowfall amounts? How much can these deer take before we start to lose some? Especially with bitter cold in the forecast for the next week or so. Maybe Saskguy can lend some insight to this, because it's not something we deal with normally.

NWBuck
 
Wow! It's not nearly that bad in eastern IA where I am. Deer are pretty tough and eat a lot more than just IA farm crops. Browsing makes up a big part of their diet (many say the majority of their diet, even here in IA). It's without a doubt tough on your deer and you might lose some of the youngsters and maybe even some rut stressed bucks but you probably won't be seeing many of the healthy ones having much trouble for a while.
 
NW buck: I think you are correct, this looks like a winter kill year in some parts. I am from MN, and this is exactly what you do not want to see. Deep snow with cold weather behind it. If there is a nice thaw, things may change, but I would guess if you have 2-3 feet of snow like we do, then some deer will die. It seems like fawns and older bucks tend to fare the worst.
 
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If things are that bad then you'll surely have some winterkill. I suspect just due to geographic location that it won't be "that bad". You're in farm country so they'll find food. They may have to travel and really yard up to find it but they will, trust me.

Predators have an easier time in conditions as described so they'll take more weak than in an avg. yr. It's far too early to see what the effects will be. How long they have to endure those conditions is the measuring stick as to how much of the population will die. We had similar conditions the past 3 yrs for almost 5 months, that is indeed not good.
 
I am not seeing deer in their normal late-season spots. They are yarding up like crazy. They adapt very well, but I'm sure if it's that bad you'll have some kill.
 
Where I come from, N-MI, we had some cold,deep snow winters. The key up there was how long it lasts. March there was just another winter month. First half of april, quite nasty too. May was considered finally spring. I doubt down here in Iowa, the cold and snow will last that long. Of coarse the weather has been strange? Deer are tough and can live off their fat a long time. Not moving much conserves energy.
 
Expect to see low fawn numbers next spring!!!

We had a heck of a winter here last year, and I saw a lot of does without fawns and very few sets of twins. In a normal year it is hard to find a doe without a fawn or two.

Also, Doe numbers in general seem down after the bad winter.
 
There was a group of deer in the alfalfa by my driveway when I got home. It was dark, but I could see them against the snow. It looked very odd as they ran back towards the trees. I kept thinking they were slowing to stop . but in reality they were just not able to move fast as they fought to wade through the snow.As a side note, I find it interesting that they are still digging for the alfalfa when I have standing corn in the same field. Better nutrition maybe?
 
I hunted today with a group of four and we had a heck of a time. I must say thanks to Marco and Brownie for wading thru the snow today with my brother and I. We had no luck today but it was still a great day to be out hunting. The deer did not show that they had near as much issues as you would think. However I must say I do agree with everything stated above that this will be a year for the record books with winter kill in iowa. I always hope for some snow for muzzy season but this is extreme...
 
This years fawns will be the first to succumb as their bodies were programmed to grow rather than add fat stores. They will run out of gas first.

Then, you will maybe see some rut weary bucks fall victim.

Next spring, you might see fewer sets of twins.

All part of Mother Natures plan, she's a B$#@h.
 
I went hunting in NW IA and the snow was waste deep- it was almost pointless and so hard to walk through it was almost unbearable (I went to my girlfriend's farm for Christmas and i had to get some outdoor time in no matter what!!!). I come back to SE IA and the snow is a piece of cake- especially compared to NW IA.

I think healthy deer should be ok, especially if there's crops to eat & it doesn't freeze. Even though it's deep, they can paw through reasonably easy.

The real test will OBVIOUSLY come over the next couple months when we see if the winter eases up or gets nasty & stays that way. This weather LONG TERM would be a bummer.
 
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JNRBRONC said:
This years fawns will be the first to succumb as their bodies were programmed to grow rather than add fat stores. They will run out of gas first.
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Last night my good friend and myself went out to fill a few late muzzy doe tags. I shot a big doe and he shot a yearling doe. When we skinned them out the little doe that he shot had a very little amount of fat on it while the doe I shot had a thick layer of fat.
 
quote: "Last night my good friend and myself went out to fill a few late muzzy doe tags. I shot a big doe and he shot a yearling doe. When we skinned them out the little doe that he shot had a very little amount of fat on it while the doe I shot had a thick layer of fat."

When you say "yearling doe" do you mean 6 months old or 1 1/2 years old? We call 1 1/2 year old deer yearlings but I've also heard people call 6-7 month old fawns yearlings as well. Reason I ask is, it would not surprise me to see a 6 month old (doe fawn) that has little or no fat reserves because as already mentioned, they go into winter just trying to grow in body size and don't have much of a chance to put on large fat reverse like an adult deer. The smaller body size of fawns means they lose body heat faster than larger bodied deer. Also, they don't have the ability to reach as much food or move as easily through deep snow, like older deer. These are just a few reasons why fawns will be the first to die in harsh winters. Older bucks that have been worn out from the rut are next to go.

The big thing for you will be how long these conditions last. If it warms up and the snow melts down on south facing slopes to 10" or less by mid February, most of the deer should be OK. Deer can take a lot of that and survive OK but if you have a lot of cold days like this week, and your deep snow lasts until late February or March, I'm sure there would be fawns that die and some does that will not give birth next spring. Two winters ago (2007-2008) we had a brutal winter here in SW Wisconsin and a lot of fawns died. Also, lot and lots of turkeys died. I found lots of dead fawns and turkeys while shed hunting that winter/spring. We got our first snow storm that year on December 1st and on top of that (later that same day) we got a 1" to 1 1/2" layer of sleet and ice that was so hard you couldn't hardly chip through it with a steel spade shovel. And we got tons more snow (shattered the all time record for our area with a little over 100" of snow that Dec.-March) all winter after that and lots of cold temperatures. I started finding dead fawns that winter during the second week of February, and the deep snow conditions lasted until mid March. The solid layer of ice that winter was a huge factor in the amount of stress on wildlife, also, there were no acorns that year. This year, at least around here, there were tons of acorns and the deer stored up a lot more fat than in years with no acorns.

Also, this year in NW Iowa, you didn't have a lot of deep snow until the blizzard around Christmas, did you? If that's the case, you had 3 extra weeks of less stressful conditons compared to what we had here back in '07-'08.

I wish the best for you and the wildlife in NW Iowa and other areas that got blasted by that very deep snowfall.
 
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Also, in NW Iowa you didn't have a lot of deep snow until the blizzard around Christmas, did you? If that's the case, you had 3 extra weeks of less stressful conditons compared to what we had here back in '07-'08.
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We didn't have much til the storm
 
With the stressful conditions in the outdoors, I feel sorry for the wildlife out there. I know nature is tough,but I still pity them. I always wonder how the tiny birds, survive the long brutal nights? I know many of them don't make the winter. Personally,,,I am glad I got all my deer hunting done in Nov. I would not feel right harrassing the deer, now. They have enough, just trying to survive. Just my opinion.
 
They have enough, just trying to survive. Just my opinion.
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I've honestly always wondered why other areas of the world that can experience adverse winter conditions didn't start their season earlier and end earlier.
 
Where I live and where I hunt we deal with this stuff almost every year. Some years are better then others but all winters get thier victims. Contrary to whats been posted, the hard rutting bucks are the first ones to go. They are the last ones on the prime food soarces and they also get the marginal bedding area's. Winters hit them hard. Next will be fawns. These two age groups usually make up most all winter kill. Does that have been bred may abort fetuses if things get to bad to early. The big trouble right now will be predators. Coyotes will take any animal they can single out, whether injured, sick, or healthy, it wont matter. If they want it they'll get it. The last thing people should be doing right now and thru the rest of the winter is to put any kind of pressure on the deer, including shed hunting. Save it till spring or stick to the feeding area's only. I'm betting that places in Iowa will see far fewer deer next year. But dont panic, it happens every year in one place or another, and theres always deer left when its all over.
 
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