#3042067 - 11/20/12 12:09 PM
Re: BSK - Deer & Weather -
[Re: ferg]
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bowriter
Non-Typical
Registered: 08/31/02
Posts: 40303
Loc: Lebanon,TN USA
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It correlates directly to lots of mast more than the weather. Think of it this way.No how bad the winter is going get, deer can't get fat without a food source. The last two I killed were like that. It makes a great dressing for your boots. Just take a chunk of it and rub the outside of leather boots.
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Constipation has ruined many a good day. Not as many as stupidity, though.
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#3042157 - 11/20/12 01:09 PM
Re: BSK - Deer & Weather -
[Re: bowriter]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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What Bowriter said.
Fat deposition in fall is manditory in deer, in that their bodies are genetically driven to do so. And they will often layer on fat in fall even at the expense of other bodily needs. That is why acorns are such a critical food source for "big woods" deer. Acorns are high in fat, and may be the only high-quality food source available to big woods deer at that time of year.
Fat deposition, or actually the lack of it, is an excellent indicator of herd health. having thick fat deposits pre-rut doesn't mean much, as deer are forced to do so genetically. But NOT having fat deposits pre-rut is the tell-tale sign of a deer herd in trouble, especially if acorn production was good that year. But even a lack of fat deposits pre-rut in a bad acorn year tells you those deer are going to struggle during the winter, and will not maximize their growth the following spring, as most of the spring food resources they consume will be used to replace lost resources during the previous winter instead of going to further body and antler growth.
A lack of fat deposits on older bucks post-rut is fairly normal. The rut is incredibly stressful on older bucks, and they can literally lose 30% of their entire body weight (including all of their fat reserves) during the rut month. In my personal opinion, that is why big woods bucks have such limited life-spans. The burn away all of their fat reserves plus some muscle during the rut, and in a poor acorn year (or at least a poor red oak acorn year), they have nothing to rebuild those fat reserves from, hence experience very high mortality rates at advanced maturity age (6 1/2+).
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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