Ran over deer with mower....ugh.

[Sprinkler Fitter]

When the heart stops.

So some of these deer must still have a beating heart when I see 30 feet of highway covered in blood

 

[japody]

I would move the carcass out of the field. Those bones will flatten a tire. Ask me how I know.

 

[Jstpssng]

So some of these deer must still have a beating heart when I see 30 feet of highway covered in blood

The blood doesn't just disappear. Gravity will make it run, but only downhill. Cuts on a dead animal won't be bleeding, the heart isn't pumping the blood.

It's similar to the hydraulic fluid in your tractor. If the engine isn't running and you unhook a hose from the top of the machine the fluid wouldn't flow. Pull the drain plug and it will run out.

 

[oosik]

What is done - is done. No fault of yours and nothing to correct. Just leave it - the coyotes will clean it up.

 

[Torvy]

Sounds like it was dead or mostly dead. Unless it is too close to the house, I'd leave it for nature.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

The blood doesn't just disappear. Gravity will make it run, but only downhill. Cuts on a dead animal won't be bleeding, the heart isn't pumping the blood.

It's similar to the hydraulic fluid in your tractor. If the engine isn't running and you unhook a hose from the top of the machine the fluid wouldn't flow. Pull the drain plug and it will run out.

I get it but I’ve seen lots of blood from animals on the road and one time on the fire department we had a truck roll about 4 times and come to rest upside down, I had to run to the auto parts store and get a 50lb bag of floor dry for the blood on the road. I’m guessing gravity played a big part on that one.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Likely dead before you hit it but no way now to be sure. Leave it lay, it will quickly disappear.

Last year, a buck fell through the thin ice of my neighbors pond and drowned. I dragged the carcass over to the edge of my pasture and it was gone in two days. Nothing is wasted in nature.

 

[ruffdog]

I normally get the carcass moved to an out-of-the-way location just to be tidy. No bones to deal with and when near the road, it gets the clean up crew (predators) away from cars.

 

[MossRoad]

One wing of my 15' mower ran over it. Hard to tell if it was sick. It was beyond injured. Rather than emaciated, it had a mangled and diced look about it. Was unfortunate to see. one of those things I'd be ok if I could 'un-see' it.



This is what I'm thinking (hoping). Would have been a horrible way to go if the blades did it.

Again, it looked like it had antlers. If that's accurate (I didn't dismount to look) then would a buck tend to stay still? Blades cut to 4'ish inch height. difficult for me to believe it quietly held its position til its demise. It was not a little deer (newborn or 'teenager')

Guess if I get out there next weekend or so.... most if it will likely still be there so I can bury it and look a bit closer (to see if antlers were indeed present)

I'd think if the blades hit it while it was alive, and the damage that you saw done to it, there's no way it suffered for more than a millisecond. So rest assured it did not suffer on account of your actions.

Fawns sometimes do not move. I've known many people and heard from many more about running over fawns with mowers. However, you said it had antlers, so not a fawn.

As for why it didn't move... it was either already dead or incapacitated.
So, IF by chance it was alive, most likely....
Could have been sick.
Could have been injured.
As to what made it sick or injured, who knows? Disease, old age, wounded by hunter. Wounded by another buck (it's probably the rutting season there as I recall). Could have been hit by a car and run there. All kinds of stuff.

Anyhow, just shows you have a concern for critters and a natural curiosity.

 

[MossRoad]

So some of these deer must still have a beating heart when I see 30 feet of highway covered in blood

I saw plenty of those over the last 2 days. Probably 25+ dead deer between Grand Rapids, MI and the Indiana border. Most were just laying on the side, but several had been smeared for dozens of yards. Looked like a 5 gallon bucket of red paint dumped on the road ending in a pile of furry hamburger.

I guess I'd just say, don't confuse a live body actively bleeding with a dead body leaking or smooshed across all the lanes of traffic. Worst one I saw yesterday was in 2 lanes between concrete barriers with no shoulders. Probably 75 yards of gore.