Deer facts and tips
And info on attracting and repelling these beautiful creatures
One of the joys of country living is the ability to see deer in their natural habitat. My first exposure to deer watching was when my parents took an early retirement to an old stone home on 150 acres (many years ago). They loved to sit in their kitchen and watch the deer.
When I first came out to look at our lodge property in 2003, I saw a majestic deer with spectacular antlers standing on the point overlooking the valley (not sure how the real estate agent arranged that but it worked!).
We don't see the deer on our property as much as we'd like because we have large dogs, but we know they're out there! There are deer tracks and droppings all over the heavily wooded 12 acres.
Deer facts
Deer can be found in all continents except Antarctica and Australia. While often associated with forests, many deer live in areas between forests (for cover) and open spaces.
Generally a male deer is called a buck and the female is called a doe. For medium-sized varieties of deer the male is a stag and the female a hind. The same names are used for large varieties of deer as for cattle: bull and cow. Most young deer are called fawns, that of the larger species called calf, and the young of the smallest kinds may be called a kid. A group of deer of any kind is called a herd.
A doe generally has one or two fawns at a time (triplets, while not unknown, are uncommon). Most fawns are born with white spots on the fur on their torsos, and lose the spots once they get older. The fawn begins to take its first steps in the first twenty minutes of life.
Deer have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs. They are excellent jumpers and swimmers. We've seen them effortlessly hop over fences with ease and grace.
Deer are cud-chewers, more properly termed ruminants, and have a four-chambered stomach. The teeth of deer are well-adapted to feeding on vegetation, and like other ruminants, they lack upper incisors.
Male (and a few female) deer of all species (except the Chinese Water deer who only have short tusks) grow and shed new antlers each year – in this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope. More deer facts.
Attracting deer
Many people are interested in attracting more deer to their property. One person said "the surest way to attract deer is to plant a garden or drive your new car at night and they will come around for sure."
But seriously, taking measures to attract deer is fairly controversial and you need to but consider the long-term impacts of tinkering with nature.
The best way to attract deer without upsetting the balance of nature is to create an appropriate environment by providing the cover of forest (cedar, spruce, or pine) adjacent to open spaces, a natural source of food & water, and let your acreage return to native scrub land. Then, sit back and enjoy.
One way many people like to attract deer is with food (this is the part that's controversial).
Feeding and attracting wild game is illegal in some jurisdictions, so before you feed the deer, check with your area's wild life offices and see what your regulations are.
If you can legally feed the deer and want to do supplemental feeding over winter, it's important to continue once you've started until the fresh grasses of spring appear.
You can try planting areas of clover or alfalfa, preferably not far from a cover of thick brush. You might even designate an area of corn, planted and left just for them.
You can find feeders made specifically for deer, but you really don't need anything fancy. You can pile cracked corn, apples, oats, or acorns and even put out a salt block (or a chopped salt block), which deer love. We've heard that one of the best supplements is a complete horse, cow, or deer formula pellet.
Be sure to keep deer feeding sites at least 1/2 mile (.8 km) from any road so you don't increase the chances of deer and vehicle accidents.
But when it comes right down to it, our advice is to just enjoy the deer where they are, as the wild creatures they are intended to be. Deer don't need us to supplement their diet or to help out mother nature. If you do choose to feed them for the purpose of attracting them for deer watching, do it responsibly.
Repelling deer
Some people will be scratching their heads reading the preceding section. Attracting deer? For many the issue is the opposite - how to control the deer and keep them from eating their perennials, vegetables, and shrubs!
Here are some suggestions we've come across:
- Grate Ivory soap or Irish Spring around the items you need to protect. It's good to do this before the deer establish their trails in the very early spring.
- Mark your territory with human urine. Get the males in your family to create a perimeter!(I suspect this would have to repeated over the season) One person suggested soaking rags in urine and burying them on the outside rim of your garden.
- Mix one slightly beaten egg with 1 quart of water and spray onto anything that the deer eat. You have to re-apply this about every 4-5 days or after a rain.
- Sprinkle plants with lots of black and red pepper, garlic, and curry powder! Spray with a little water first so it sticks to the leaves. Redo it after a rain.
- Human hair clippings from your local beauty shop sprinkled around the plants.
- Line your garden beds with chives.
- Use a deer repellent such as Deer-off. It is completely organic and is comprised of eggs,pepper,and garlic. It is sprayed on the plants and lasts up to 3 months depending on rain and growth rate of the plants.
- Hang small drawstring bags made of a loosely woven material filled with Milorganite (a fertilizer with an odor that repels deer) on the bushes and shrubs that the deer love to munch!
- Cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil
NOTE: I have not tried these solutions personally so I can't vouch for their effectiveness - let us know what has worked for you!
| Deer resistant annuals | Deer resistant perennials |
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A great resource is Deer in My Garden Volumes 1 & 2 (Yucky Flower Series)
If you are planting trees on your land and you have deer, you'll need to protect your saplings. A few years ago I planted spruce saplings. Some of them were close to the deer paths and the deer have munched on them. They haven't killed them but these little trees now have very odd shapes!
Deer proof trees and bushes are hard to come by. Any fruit plant such as an apple tree, cherry tree, or berry bush will be enjoyed by the deer.
Our property is abundant with berries. I enjoy picking as many as I can but I'm also happy knowing the deer will enjoy the berries too.
Hunting deer
We're not hunters, although many people do hunt in our area. I have no moral issue with hunting deer for the meat. I do have issues with hunting just for sport. We simply prefer to shoot deer with a camera.
Hope these deer facts and tips are helpful. Send us your deer stories and photos!
