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EHD ?

Knothead

Knothead

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Do y'all think this is just an OLD deer, or does it look like EHD to you?
This land hasn't been hunted in 10-12 years if that sways your guess?
I'm leaning toward old age. She's there every single day and there's no water within 1/2 mile or more, maybe even a mile. When they have EHD they typically hang out around water, not salt.
C9A2D64A-D9F9-4CFB-9DF6-5756A20FC63A.jpeg
 
Knothead said:
Do y'all think this is just an OLD deer, or does it look like EHD to you?
This land hasn't been hunted in 10-12 years if that sways your guess?
I'm leaning toward old age. She's there every single day and there's no water within 1/2 mile or more, maybe even a mile. When they have EHD they typically hang out around water, not salt.
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What county?
 
Hawk103161 said:
@120 lbs that's a lot of weight to loose...i've seen some Bucks after the rut that were pretty raged too...I believe it for sure...
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Mature bucks can lose 30% of their body weight during the 6 weeks of peak breeding. That's a 200 lb live weight buck falling to 140 lbs in 6 weeks. I can show plenty of examples of absolute toad mature bucks on trail-cam in mid-October ending up only shells of themselves when killed late in December. And THAT is why - outside of big agriculture areas - so few bucks live beyond 5-6 years old. Their bodies can't take the ravages of the rut anymore.
 
BSK said:
Mature bucks can lose 30% of their body weight during the 6 weeks of peak breeding. That's a 200 lb live weight buck falling to 140 lbs in 6 weeks. I can show plenty of examples of absolute toad mature bucks on trail-cam in mid-October ending up only shells of themselves when killed late in December. And THAT is why - outside of big agriculture areas - so few bucks live beyond 5-6 years old. Their bodies can't take the ravages of the rut anymore.
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Yep. Amazing the transformation a bucks body goes through over a couple months time.
 
Hawk 103161,

You got me curious and I went and looked at a couple of big harvest databases I have from hunting clubs in the Southeast. By deer season, does that successfully raised fawns have recovered, but not all the way. For does 2 1/2 and older, ones that successfully raised fawns (were still lactating) averaged 12% lighter in body weight than does that had not successfully raised fawns.
 
BSK said:
Hawk 103161,

You got me curious and I went and looked at a couple of big harvest databases I have from hunting clubs in the Southeast. By deer season, does that successfully raised fawns have recovered, but not all the way. For does 2 1/2 and older, ones that successfully raised fawns (were still lactating) averaged 12% lighter in body weight than does that had not successfully raised fawns.
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That's interesting data @BSK . I shot my PB Doe last Archery Season at 128 Lbs. field dressed. She was a lone traveler and when I retrieved her she was lactating. I saw her drop and expire at about 70 yards. No other deer were around... now that's not saying she didn't have one or 2 bedded somewhere close. Nor did I see any young ones wondering around later on. ( I hunt there often). The Data you share is always exhaustive, interesting, and informative....
 
Hawk103161 said:
That's interesting data @BSK . I shot my PB Doe last Archery Season at 128 Lbs. field dressed. She was a lone traveler and when I retrieved her she was lactating. I saw her drop and expire at about 70 yards. No other deer were around... now that's not saying she didn't have one or 2 bedded somewhere close. Nor did I see any young ones wondering around later on. ( I hunt there often). The Data you share is always exhaustive, interesting, and informative....
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Generally speaking, a doe that successfully raised fawns should still have her fawn(s) travelling with her during deer season. However, that is not always a given, but it is the norm. If her fawn died/was killed very close to season, I suspect she would still be lactating. I don't know why this is, but data on how long a doe will stay lactating after weening her fawns is hard to come by. No one has published any research on that topic. From what I've seen, if a doe successfully raises a fawn into September, she will continue to have milk in her udder through November, but after that, it gets iffy. If her fawn(s) is/are still alive, even after weening, they instinctively keep nuzzling their mom's udder long after, which keeps milk flowing, and a doe that still has fawns with her will usually still be lactating into at least mid-December.
 
Knothead said:
she's still actively nursing. Lots of pictures of this.
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Just remember fawns will attempt to nurse - as a social cue - long, long after they are weened. I've seen yearlings still nudging their mother's udders a year after they are weened. It is a display of subordination to their mother which kindles familial relationships.
 

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