A deer pic or two and a concern
susie
Member Posts: 7,310 ✭✭✭✭
We finally got some rain last night after 5 weeks with none. We got about two inches but it still wasn't enough to close the cracks in the ground. Persimmon trees are dropping unripe fruit, possibly to save the trees. I'm not seeing any acorns on the oaks. Pasture grass is dead or dying. Blackberries are tiny and if they do ripen they will be very small. Corn and bean crops are sparse as far as the amount of kernels per cob and bean per plant. Winter is going to be rough on the wildlife.
There are does with babies hanging out in the woods around here, one with twins. Pics show them looking haggard. I'm heading out today to supplement their forage. I have kept mineral, salt and protein blocks out for them. I'm hoping this little bit of rain will slow the early drop of persimmons and encourage the blackberries to mature with more substance. Hayfield should sprout some green if the excessive heat doesn't cook it.
On another note, I'm anxiously waiting to see what this guy will look like out of velvet. He's a 10-pointer which you can't tell from this angle. (Ignore the date stamp). Camera needs a reset.
Here's another ten hanging out. Got a bumper crop of bucks this year.
Comments
Lookin good. And there's still greenery in the background.
Let them go. Nature has a way of thinning the herd and making everything work out......................until people start screwing it up.
It's hard to do, but often the right thing.
Our blackberries were small. We need a good soaking rain in late June to make good size berries. The red oaks are loaded with acorns, but if we don't get a good rain or two, they will fall off early.
The big rack makes that buck's body look small.
We were without deer around the farm for years. Predators had decimated the population. They are just now starting to come back strong. Although I post pics of racks, I can't eat an antler. I hunt for meat and not trophies.
We get two regular tags and a farm tag during modern firearms season and one for bow season as well. I would like to fill my tags. If they don't make it through the drought and they become coyote meat I will be highly ticked off. Coyotes are the enemy around here. Just in the past year or so we are finally seeing turkey on the farm.
If I can keep from feeding the coyotes we might see a resurgence of quail as well.
Susie, you need to pick off a few of the coyotes!
Susie, what focal length lens is on the game camera ??
I agree with this. I shoot yotes when ever I see them and have a safe, ethical shot. Since I started doing this, we are seeing turkey, quail and more deer on our place. 10 years ago, before we got the place, I never saw anything but yotes and deer...
And great pics Susie, thanks for sharing
I would be hunting coyotes............seriously and without prejudice.
Haven't a clue. Lol. Bought a two pack at Orshelns for $85. Nothing fancy. Just put batteries in it, strap it to a tree and turn it on.
Never hunted yotes. I know the basic principles of it. Neighbor on farm just east of me is working on eradicating them.
Might try my hand at it this winter. No desire to be in the woods in warm weather at night. Ticks, chiggers, cotton mouths, rattlesnakes and copperheads are distinct possibilities. Even the thought of a black bear coming through gives me the willies.
Maybe you can bait and poison them? I don't know if it's legal in your area. Or bait and trap then dispatch..............
Do you live in Missouri? If so, check the bunny cop regulations before placing your 'bait'/supplemental feeding spots.
Hunting coyotes is not an effective way of reducing the numbers. To have any sort of positive effect, you need to remove 75% of the total population yearly for several years. I've spent 40 years trying this and it doesn't work.
Very cool pics....I've been thinking about getting a mineral block for our back yard....but I know it will make our dogs go NUTS so I haven't yet.