Hail, deer, cat in the snow

Buster on the cedar rail fences, covered in hail! Bambi stand in front of the feeder, showing hubby where to put the food.
 Yes, we feed them a small amount. No, they don't fight much. They all have their own spots! It's a hierarchy, with one deer whacking another as they see fit. They understand this!

It smells wonderful!

Bambi watches the cat, who ignores her!

They only get a mouthful of food, with 12 deer in the yard. They use our property as a winter yard. We back onto about 100 acres of wetland.
We have a wolf, a she-bear, and coyotes in our forest! The wolf  hauled away a roadkill deer last year. Her carcass was 3 days old! The coyotes helped in the clean-up.

She gives the yearling a whack.
They know their place in the clan!

We buy quality MNR-recipe deer food from Dodds & Irwin.
We have a bad corner on our highway for roadkill. I don't know why the animals all cross here. We've lost porcupine, raccoons, a beaver, many snakes and turtles, and a barred owl, as well as deer. The drivers all speed up as they round the turn. The critters seem to think it is a place to cross. Most of the roadkill occurs in the summer.

Lovely way to start the day! Rain, snow, sleet hail - often on the same day!

The MNR tells us not to feed deer. Nancy, my friend at Bondi Resort, writes about the cautions around feeding deer.
Their metabolic rates slow down naturally in winter. They need less food as they store fat in summer, and feeding may imbalance their systems. There are times when it is prudent to feed the deer. We've had winters with an abundance of snow, with tender shoots covered up. Last year the drought was terrible, and we lost many small bushes and trees in the wetland.


Deer in the yard from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Also,
1. The wrong feed can be bad for their digestion.
2. The habitat may not be able to support the increased population.
3. Deer may lose their feer of humans.
4. A concentration around artificial feeding situations can tempt predators like wolves.
5. Concentrating deer increases the risk of disease.
6. Deer may end up as roadkill, if they cross streets to get to the food sources.
7. Deer may end up fighting with one another.


Hail, hail from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Resources
Deer Conservation in Winter, A question of food, fat and habitat. This publication is 

CC #255

available free of charge from local Ministry of Natural Resources offices.
[PDF] 

Habitat and Behavior of Wintering Deer

[PDF] 

Forest Management Guidelines for the Provision of White-tail