Rough times for whitetails?

[QRTRHRS]

Other than the recent remnants of Hurricane Helene, it's the toasty dry here all summer. (No damage, no power loss for us) Our property is on a ridge. Ours and our neighbors land are laid out like a hand with gullys and ridges. The gulllys are heavily wooded and surround about 3/4 of our property so we always have deer in our yard.

I don't bother them so they just stay put when I am out and about. I noticed that they seem a bit skinny? Wormy maybe? I think it is a lack of nutrition. The grass is dry as are the leaves. No acorns on two trees that hover over my one pasture and make a lot of work for me to clean up.

They are around off and on all day long, looking to clean up the birdseed that I put on trays on the ground for the ground feeding birds. They had it good while my apple, peach and pear trees were dropping fruit. Yesterday, they were right by my deck eating this one varigated bush down to the "nubbins". There are also corn fields close by that have not yet been harvested. I would think that they would be decimating those crops.

Anyway, if indeed they are having to forage more for food then I would expect them to be getting hit and killed more than usual in the fall.

 

[Runner]

I think they would go extinct in my area if not for my apples, shrubs and bird bath.

 

[EddieWalker]

Deer populations tend to increase over time, until there are too many deer for the land to support. Then Mother Nature kills off most of them with starvation and disease. An area in South East Idaho that was famous for it's huge mule deer had this happen one year and 90% of the deer died over the winter.

 

[Hay Dude]

We have so many deer. Come take some of ours. They are a nuisance

 

[Racer4]

We have so many deer. Come take some of ours. They are a nuisance

Same here.

I had an apple tree fall over. Mind you, I have 3 1/2 acres surrounded by woods. Should be plenty of food out there. Acorns are dropping everywhere. 9 deer were in the backyard eating the leaves off the apple tree. 7 were bucks! Everything from a spike buck to a 6 and an 8 pointer. Tree was stripped of leaves in 12 hours.

 

[ArlyA]

To many here. Can we send you some??

 

[DarkBlack]

Plenty here too.

 

[kenmbz]

We have so many deer that it is hard not to see them every day.
Worried that one hard winter and I will find carcasses everywhere.
Already finding some deer parts, like part of a leg in the shared road btw neighbor and my house.
We have 4-5 new bucks born last year from stubby to 4 and 5 points.
Lots of fawns born on our property and our neighbors. Maybe 10 or so.
Have to drive slow as they wander in the road a lot.

 

[bdhsfz6]

If you run low, come up to PA and help yourself.

PA is #4 in the US for road kill. I can't drive anywhere around here without seeing a carcass on the side of the road.

 

[CalG]

Local white tails are looking very healthy in my area. At least the many that I have seen.
They should! They have eaten every leaf off of every Hosta plant for a radius of about 5 miles. I don't keep track out further ;-)