Feeding deer

[Deermanagement]

I though about feeding to entice deer from a block of woodland I couldn't shoot winter time, but having read up, I decided against on the grounds it encouraged gathering where TB could more easily be transmitted. If that did happen and I started to find TB in the Sika, there'd be a call to hugely reduce the numbers, so be careful what you encourage

 

[Deermanagement]

And btw ref TB. One of my areas had a continued TB issue for many years, possible the last two decades until the badger cull was implemented. After a 5 year cull, all the area are TB free so if any reactors pop up, who get the blame, badgers or deer? I've seen a lot more badger activity this last year since the cull period ended, so badger numbers are obviously on the rise again and I hope that if TB cases start to rise, the licence will be reintroduced for a period.

Having read some research a few years ago, it summarised that although deer can obviously carry TB, they were not a viable source to transmit to cattle, but try explaining that to farmers under TB lockdown when you are shooting a number of infected deer?

 

[StephenToast]

The person who owns the land likes his deer and, due to stopping Pheasant shooting, there is no longer a supplemental food supply, so he is wanting to add additional feed to support the population.
It's his land, his choice, and the benefits of diversionary feeding of Haylage, Fodder Beet, Wheat etc may prevent damage to cash crops, it will help keep the herd healthy, and in turn the quality of harvested carcases should be better, and there is active deer management taking place to control numbers
To start calling folk idiots because they give a Sh1t about the animals that live on their land is crass, why let deer die from starvation when it has been caused by taking away an unnatural source of food and it can be avoided?
Yes we have a deer problem, this may be due to the fact that we have no apex predators, and a lot of land is stalked by people who shoot a very occasional deer for the freezer and don't put in the hard yards to manage the population, but that doesn't mean we have to all be hard hearted killers that don't give a toss about animal welfare in bad weather.
Disappointed by some responses on this thread, it stinks of "if it's Brown it's Down", or "If it's Red it's Dead".
If we don't respect our quarry then deer stalking for anyone other than paid professionals is doomed.

Nonsense.


It's got nothing to do with "respecting quarry." Which indcidentally seems to be an easy way for lazy deer managers to hide the fact that they either can't be arsed or don't have the knowledge or skills to manage their deer properly. Or they are too blinkered by the desire to have lots of deer to play with every so often they can't see that they are having a massive impact on the land they are supposed to be managing.

If deer are dying from starvation you've made a pretty incredible **** up! How is that "respecting your quarry?" Utterly ridiculous!

If you are so desperate to "see deer" to the point you allow their numbers to build up to the point that they are starving put a bloody fence around them, create a deer park and be done with it!

feeding deer encourages an unnaturally high population. If the deer can't manage through the winter by themselves there are too many! You need to cull more - it's in their interest, and the interest of the land they are living in where they are being fed and the land surrounding for miles especially in the case of fallow.

Clearly in this case "we cull a lot" isn't enough. Shoot more deer, the ones that remain will have more food because they won't have totally stripped the woodlands, crops and hedgerows bare.

You admit we have a deer problem and then go on to say it's okay to have numbers so high they are starving and so you need to supplementary feed but "if it's brown it's down" as you put it, or actually... Just culling deer etc isn't okay? - Can you not see how utterly stupid that is?

The animal welfare went out the window when you failed to recognise that the population had risen to a level that was detrimental to it's own health, and then failed to cull enough deer to reduce that population so you had to feed them all together so that the problem can continue, and not only that they can all get together and share food in a small space and spread diseases between one another. Well done!!

 

[25 Sharps]

Have you actually got anything to add to this discussion or. as usual, are you just being an argumentative @rse?

Well, I’m in a TB hotspot so concentrating deer at a feed station, particularly if it’s one that will also attract badgers, is a very bad idea.

I can’t see the point in artificially supporting a population that the localised ecosystem can’t support as it will be disastrous if the supplementary feeding is stopped.

I am interested in what constitutes quality though. Is it just for big palmated bucks? Is it for big bodied strong animals for venison? Is it a particular coat variation ?


Either way unless it’s a massive area which the transient fallow are not going to wander out of it’s probably a little futile.

 

[25 Sharps]

Nonsense.


It's got nothing to do with "respecting quarry." Which indcidentally seems to be an easy way for lazy deer managers to hide the fact that they either can't be arsed or don't have the knowledge or skills to manage their deer properly. Or they are too blinkered by the desire to have lots of deer to play with every so often they can't see that they are having a massive impact on the land they are supposed to be managing.

If deer are dying from starvation you've made a pretty incredible **** up! How is that "respecting your quarry?" Utterly ridiculous!

If you are so desperate to "see deer" to the point you allow their numbers to build up to the point that they are starving put a bloody fence around them, create a deer park and be done with it!

feeding deer encourages an unnaturally high population. If the deer can't manage through the winter by themselves there are too many! You need to cull more - it's in their interest, and the interest of the land they are living in where they are being fed and the land surrounding for miles especially in the case of fallow.

Clearly in this case "we cull a lot" isn't enough. Shoot more deer, the ones that remain will have more food because they won't have totally stripped the woodlands, crops and hedgerows bare.

You admit we have a deer problem and then go on to say it's okay to have numbers so high they are starving and so you need to supplementary feed but "if it's brown it's down" as you put it, or actually... Just culling deer etc isn't okay? - Can you not see how utterly stupid that is?

The animal welfare went out the window when you failed to recognise that the population had risen to a level that was detrimental to it's own health, and then failed to cull enough deer to reduce that population so you had to feed them all together so that the problem can continue, and not only that they can all get together and share food in a small space and spread diseases between one another. Well done!!

Not very often I agree with you, but on this one I do.

 

[25 Sharps]

The person who owns the land likes his deer and, due to stopping Pheasant shooting, there is no longer a supplemental food supply, so he is wanting to add additional feed to support the population.
It's his land, his choice, and the benefits of diversionary feeding of Haylage, Fodder Beet, Wheat etc may prevent damage to cash crops, it will help keep the herd healthy, and in turn the quality of harvested carcases should be better, and there is active deer management taking place to control numbers
To start calling folk idiots because they give a Sh1t about the animals that live on their land is crass, why let deer die from starvation when it has been caused by taking away an unnatural source of food and it can be avoided?
Yes we have a deer problem, this may be due to the fact that we have no apex predators, and a lot of land is stalked by people who shoot a very occasional deer for the freezer and don't put in the hard yards to manage the population, but that doesn't mean we have to all be hard hearted killers that don't give a toss about animal welfare in bad weather.
Disappointed by some responses on this thread, it stinks of "if it's Brown it's Down", or "If it's Red it's Dead".
If we don't respect our quarry then deer stalking for anyone other than paid professionals is doomed.

You don’t have to let them die of starvation, you can cull them to a number the ground can naturally support!

 

[StephenToast]

Not very often I agree with you, but on this one I do.

Haha. Don't worry. I'm sure I'll write something you disagree with again soon.

 

[cutty sark]

All in favour of mineral blocks, they make a difference, but how do you selectively feed females in a wild herd?

Only feeding red hinds mineral blocks or trying to, yes a few stags would appear, but as our hinds generally wintered away from the males then this was doable, yes would not be so easy with lowland mixed species.

 

[25 Sharps]

Haha. Don't worry. I'm sure I'll write something you disagree with again soon.

And vice versa!

 

[VSS]

Have you actually got anything to add to this discussion or. as usual, are you just being an argumentative @rse?

I think @25 Sharps asked a valid question there. What do you define as quality?
For me, quality = body length (ie, 5 packs of 2x loin steaks per fallow pricket instead of 4), carcass weight and high overall lean meat yield %.
Early maturity is important to me too, but whether or not they've got much in the way of antler is irrelevant.

What's your selection criteria?

 

[BenBhoy]

Do you get out much? As you can probably see from the sensible and constructive comments from others this was a valid question that prompted discussion. Cheers for the input.

I've got a number for wheat & beet on notts leics border pm me if you want

 

[VSS]

One that comes to mind is the layby on the main road (A496) up to Blaenau Ffestiniog, just off the A470. Biggest pile of mangelwurzels you ever did see. Used to be there every new year. Haven't been up there for a few years mind.

I'll have to check that out. I could do with a load
There is a haulier up that way who carts fodder beet from England. Could be something to do with him, although I would have thought his yard was big enough to tip a load without having to use the laybys.

 

[nun_hunter]

Now in the first few decades of a new millennium, it seems as if even some stalkers are treating them as though they are a huge

Walking cashpoint.

 

[Bo Diddley]

Walking cashpoint.

A few of those types around me

 

[JTO]

Supplementary feeding, or bait?

 

[Bavarianbrit]

In my area the hunters put feed out just to keep the roe on their 350-500 Ha ground rather than let them naturally find food perhaps in the neighbours area (the - you have shot my roe syndrome) they all do it.

 

[Stevie/P]

The OP has asked the question what should the est be feeding their deer the only sensible answer has come from John gryphon #16

 

[StephenToast]

The OP has asked the question what should the est be feeding their deer the only sensible answer has come from John gryphon #16

You shouldn't be feeding wild deer is the only sensibke answer.

 

[Stevie/P]

You shouldn't be feeding wild deer is the only sensibke answer.

Precisely post #16

 

[StephenToast]

Precisely post #16

Indeed.