Thursday, January 12, 2006
Warm Weather A Midwinter Blessing
Deer were moving well today as the temperature soared to nearly 50 degrees under sunny skies. Everything about winter whitetails are a bit different here on my private ranch than on most private and public lands.
My deer are fed daily and I watch over them like a mother hen. Elsewhere, deer can find themselves in severe trouble whenever winter weather turns sour. Anything the opposite of today can bring bad luck to wintering whitetails.
If deep snow falls or an ice storm lays a thick mantel of ice over the snow, deer must struggle to move around to feed. An icy crust on top of snow can and will cut deer legs, and with the scent of blood in the air, the coyotes will come.
Deer are saved by midwinter thaws like what we?ve experienced since before Christmas. They can still move freely, browse wherever they wish, and find plenty of food to help them stay fat. Big bucks that have been breeding does through December and early January have a great opportunity to fatten up a bit before the heavy snow storms come blasting through.
The worst winters of all are those that have continuous snow and cold weather conditions from late October through early November, and steady snowfalls and brutally cold weather after that. Couple deep snow with high browse lines in yarding areas, cold temperatures, poor thermal cover for the animals, and an ice storm, and all the ingredients are present for a massive winter deer die-off.
Some deer will always die in the winter, but healthy adult deer have received a gift so far this winter. They can feed whenever and wherever they wish, and even the snows of late November and early December weren?t severe enough to cause serious problems.
The deer in the northern Lower Peninsula and throughout the Upper Peninsula are coasting right now. Each warm day that passes is a midwinter blessing, and it ensures survival of most of the deer that managed to make it through the various deer hunting seasons.
If this mild winter continues, it?s expected that deer mortality will be minimal. Some old bucks will die, and some of the young button-bucks and doe fawns will die, but nature will take care of most of its larger deer. They will make it through with few problems..
Deer eat a bushel or more of browse daily, and it?s this mix of wild food that is needed for the animals to make it through a long winter. It?s when deep snow covers the browse, and deer must try to move through deep snow, that trouble comes early.
Should the weather change, and it will one of these days, people are urged to not allow their pet dogs to roam free at night. Most of the problems deer face from free-running dogs are the result of pets that form loose packs.
The animals start chasing deer, and the most vulnerable are fawns. However, deer of all ages and sizes are at risk when farm dogs start preying on them. Killing becomes natural to free-roaming dogs as killing birds is to free-roaming cats.
The deer so far this winter have been given a new lease on life. The weather could turn bad at any time, but the warm spell with minimal snow has given state deer a much-needed break.
And, based on what I hear from people who hunt federal, private and state lands, any help from the weather will make it easier for deer to survive. It?s something we hope happens. ? The Whitetail Wizard