As we all know this year is going to tough on all the game animals this year. Was wondering what everyone's thought's are on setting up feed stations for the animals, or do we just let mother nature take its course?
This is a pic of my yard. About 3 weeks ago the deer basically quite going out into the fields and moved into my yard. There doing a real number on my bales. Most I've counted was 45.
I'm feeding 20-30 deer right now also.They can use all the help they can during a winter like this. The winters of 06-07 and 07-08 did a pretty good number on the deer around here.
Someone gets charged we should all be together and write to Knight to have the charges stayed. Years like this we all lose big time when no-one steps in.
I'm in South Sask. on private property you can do as you please. Chased a herd of antelope off the road this morning (after they ran into the front of my truck! I was stopped!) watched them walk out in the field ONTOP of the snow. Say goodbye to antelope hunting for a few years!
Several years back when I lived in Manitoba, we had a winter much like this, lots of snow, weeks of -30 to -50 temps and the deer herd was in big trouble. Alot of farmers and ranchers took it upon themselves to help out. Even the Provincial Goverment helped out by paying for and supplying thousands of bags of alfalfa pellets. Also paying for square bales of alfalfa. Any landowner that had deer on their property could go into a storage depot that had these supplies (certain farmers had the bales) ( Conservation Offices had the bags of pellets). Sign for what you took, went home and fed the deer and kept as many alive as you could. Granted lots died, but lots survived due to being fed.
It was done around here in 1985...I think that's the right year. After a lot of snow and then a rain which made it impossible for the deer to paw to the ground. Feeders were built/bought and the local F&g Club enlisted to haul out the feeders and look after the feed. The feeders and feed was done at provincial expense and the whole program was conducted by them.
Kinda ironic that 25 years later they are slaughtering them from helicopters....
I don't think it's really as bad, as we think, around here. Lots of deep snow, but most of that was blown there, by the wind. Still fields where it's about stubble height and the deer are taking advantage of that. Murph didn't get his bales out of the field, so the elk are congregating there. Of course, he doesn't allow hunting at his place.
Grizz
__________________
"Indeed, no human being has yet lived under conditions which, considering the prevailing climates of the past, can be regarded as normal."
John E. Pfeiffer The Emergence of Man
written in 1969
Down here in the southern part of Sask. there's alot of seed crops and when the farmers combine they stagger the height of the swaths catching the snow, I would have to say 2 ft deep on average and its hard very hard. Like I said before if the antelope can walk on top thats going to create issues. There's only so many hill tops they can feed on, thats IF they can get to them. Sounds like Swift Current Wildlife Federation are going to start coordinating something with the land owners to help out.
Feeding Stations?
Linear Mode
