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Small Cabin Forum / Nature / Winter kill?
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ClimberKev
Member
# Posted: 17 Feb 2016 17:21
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I came across this mystery at the cabin last weekend. Seemed to be healthy doe. No sign of bullet holes or arrows. Nearest heavily traveled road is several miles away.
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creeky
Member
# Posted: 17 Feb 2016 18:13
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Might be the cold. She looks pretty thin?

I know I hit a buck pretty good once. Stopped the car. Got out. Could hear thrashing in the long grass. Dang thing got up, leapt a fence and ran. Doubt it got too far. But. A couple of miles? Maybe.

pizzadude
Member
# Posted: 17 Feb 2016 23:06
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She looks healthy.
Could be a heart attack. Known to occur in the animal world, but pretty rare..
Might want to have her tested for any diseases that may have crept into your area just to be safe.

Jebediah
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 06:45 - Edited by: Jebediah
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It s hard to make a call on this just from a picture....Only a small percentage of deer die from disease. This deer looks relatively healthy if it was infected with one of the numerous diseases out there it "should" look more gaunt, back bone and ribs showing from the lack of eating.
There are many way to check for signs of possible infections, color of deer's gums, swollen septic ear canal, discoloration in the eyes, mucus blocking nasal canal and a build up od crust on its lips, if the deer has feces(diarrhea) stuck to it rear and urine stain on its underside as many will urinate or defecate on themselves as they struggle to get up and won't clean themselves. Diarrhea is a sign of improper diet more in winter than summer. I would take it in to get it looked at as there are disease that can be transmitted deer to deer and deer to soil etc.
If it was struck by a vehicle with no noticeable injuries most deer will have blood in their nose/mouth with no other external signs. in the winter you could look at its tracks to see if it had been walking correctly.

turkeyhunter
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 06:54
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http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/big-buck-zone/whitetail-deer-winter-feeding-kills-12 -deer-new-hampshire

ClimberKev
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 07:08
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She's lying on an icy spot. Is it possible she went down and simply couldn't get back up. Looks like she trashed around quite a bit. No signs of disease and other than the bird feeder I don't put out feed.

Nate R
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 13:07
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I'm thinking turkeyhunter might be on to something if nothing else is obvious.

Jebediah
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 14:56
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Quoting: ClimberKev
She's lying on an icy spot
Now that you mention the icy spot its possible the deer slipped and broke its back.

mossberg fan
Member
# Posted: 18 Feb 2016 15:42
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deers legs do not go sideways,they can break their pelvis if their back legs splay out, like slipping on ice. i found one dead in a creek bottom, on ice, in just this condition, whenever i find dead animals without an obvious cause, i like to try to "CSI" my way to the answer, if you were REAL curious you could do an autopsy..when field dressing deer i often look over the deer with the hide off, you can usually tell what killed it then. deer can live for days after being hit by a car or shot

Jebediah
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 07:16
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Quoting: mossberg fan
deers legs do not go sideways


If that is in response to my post; Four legged animals can slip and fall on their sides. Usually when an animal is walking, running and hits a patch of ice one or both of their back legs will go out from under them first, its called folding(just watch a dog when he's running and slipping, more observable than a deer).
The torqueing of the spine from the legs folding in one direction causes the momentum to be transferred to the front legs ultimately bringing the animal down on its side. That torqueing is what also causes the injury to the back especially in older animals. With a long legged animal that torque will be more severe.

mossberg fan
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 07:32
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jebediah, sorry you misunderstood my post. i was referring to when you do a "split", one leg goes one way, the other leg goes the opposite. when deer on ice do a "split", sometimes they can crack or break their pelvis and die. i also agree with your statements about torque. have a great day, supposed to be 50 degrees here in ny today!

Jebediah
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 07:43
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No problems , I'm half French lol language is an issue at times...

mossberg fan
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 07:49
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i agree sometimes when i type, i'll reread it and it sounds rude, or mean, even though i had no bad intent.

old243
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 14:51
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As stated by the article on winter feeding of deer. They will naturally start to change their diet from grasses etc to woody brouse. Our hunt camp is in a yarding area ,all the small twigs get eaten off as food. They seem to like maple , oak, cedar. I understand that poplar brouse hasn't enough nourishment to sustain a deer. Probably you could open the paunch up and see what its diet is . Looks like it was threshing its legs and couldn't get up.

It is also possible it had been chased by dogs or coyotes , took refuge in your yard , and collapsed. old243

KinAlberta
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 17:24 - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Any chance it's due to some kind of poisoning?


"Super-toxic" rat poisons kill owls, other wildlife — Environmental Health News

...
Studies in Canada, the United States and Europe show that this newer generation of rat poisons is killing a variety of wild animals, including mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, skunks, deer, squirrels, possums and raccoons, along with bald eagles, golden eagles, owls, hawks and vultures. ...

...How are these rat poisons getting into plant eaters low on the food chain? There is no sure answer for now. Scientists wonder, though, if ..."




..., said Golden, the Fish and Wildlife Service toxicologist, ...

Golden predicted that poisoning of wild animals will continue.

"I wouldn't use anticoagulants in my back yard," said Golden. "These things are pervasive and are turning up in places we did not expect. . . . They're certainly not contained where we think they are."


http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/rodenticides-kill-wildlife


neb
Member
# Posted: 20 Feb 2016 17:50
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It is hard to tell it really could be anyone one of the things mentioned here. The deer looks very good shape and yes poisoning can do it.

It wasn't hit by a car so something like that. I have seen them hit but not busted up or bleeding when bumped or hit. The animal is hurt inside and has a broken hip etc. They will wonder off not to far and die.

I also have seen when there is very hard winters they die just like that. Not many years ago ranchers in my area picked up pickup loads of dead deer after hard winters. From the picture I wouldn't think that would be the case here. Not near enough snow there to cause that problem

I always have a hard time seen this kind of thing.

ClimberKev
Member
# Posted: 22 Feb 2016 18:01
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At least she won't go to waste...
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upndown
Member
# Posted: 22 Feb 2016 19:04
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They never do. Nature is awesome!

neb
Member
# Posted: 22 Feb 2016 19:47
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Yes nature takes care of these things.

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