Blue Pee in snow??
03-03-2008, 06:48 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Northwest suburbs, Illinois
Posts: 2,075
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
Not sure if true or not but I've heard it's from them eating buckthorn when their food supply is low.
Their are alot of species of berries that whitetail do not normally eat. But during winter months with less food available deer are apt to eat many berry species including the buckthorne. Many of the berry species are not eaten during times where alternative food is plentiful because these berry species cause irregular bowl movements and/or diarhea in deer.
Now.. whitetail will still forage on the Buckthorn and some of the other species of berry even in times of plentiful alternative food sources (not nearly as often). But without the snow.. simply put.. its ALOT harder to identify their pee color.
03-03-2008, 07:54 AM
#14
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: S. Illinois
Posts: 1,325
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
There was an episode of Deer and Deer Hunting that I saw one time that said it was berries....cant remember what kind of berries, but it is caused by what they eat...this time of year they are not so picky!
03-03-2008, 08:27 AM
#16
Site Buck Guru
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Racine, Wisconsin
Posts: 5,922
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
One thing I have noticed over the last couple of weeks is that we had a big rain storm that turned to ice and snow. This coated the NE side of the trees with a layer of ice. In the afternoons when the sun was in the SW, it warmed up the trees on that side and caused them to expand. The other side of the tree with the ice coating contracted causing the trees to bow to the ground and in some cases, freeze to the ground. This event has caused a mass browsing frenzy in the woods. The deer are gorging themselves on never before reachable browse. This includes berries that are still attached to the now reachable limbs. The deers droppings look just like porcupine droppings, compressed saw dust. Once the snow depth decreases and the trees return to normal upright positions the deer should resume eating and foraging in the picked crop fields. For the last few weeks it has been easier for the deer to eat browse for food, most likely causing this change in the color of their urine.
03-03-2008, 08:37 AM
#17
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location:
Posts: 854
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
Those that have said buckthorn are correct. European Buckthorn is an exotic species from Europe brought to the US as decorative/ornamaental shrubs. As is with most exotic species, they usually thrive in their new home which is what Buckthorn has done in the US. Where I work, we work hard to control it with cutting and chemicals because it will literally take over a stand of timber shading out oak, hickory, walnut seedlings. It really does ruin a landscape. Unfortunately because deer WILL eat it (not preferred) and turkeys also eat the berries, it is virtually impossible to control the spread. Those of you in the northern climates, when you go out in November and there is one green tree left in the woods holding its leaves, thats buckthorn.
03-03-2008, 09:10 AM
#18
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: IL
Posts: 1,269
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
Thanks for the high resolution photos.....[8D]
[&:]Blue pee = sweet
I guess I have to add that to my list of colored snow not to be eaten. I was really looking forward to that Blue Raspberry Sno-Cone.
[&:]Blue pee = sweet
I guess I have to add that to my list of colored snow not to be eaten. I was really looking forward to that Blue Raspberry Sno-Cone.
03-03-2008, 09:20 AM
#19
Site Buck Guru
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Racine, Wisconsin
Posts: 5,922
RE: Blue Pee in snow??
ORIGINAL: MNpurple
Those that have said buckthorn are correct. European Buckthorn is an exotic species from Europe brought to the US as decorative/ornamaental shrubs. As is with most exotic species, they usually thrive in their new home which is what Buckthorn has done in the US. Where I work, we work hard to control it with cutting and chemicals because it will literally take over a stand of timber shading out oak, hickory, walnut seedlings. It really does ruin a landscape. Unfortunately because deer WILL eat it (not preferred) and turkeys also eat the berries, it is virtually impossible to control the spread. Those of you in the northern climates, when you go out in November and there is one green tree left in the woods holding its leaves, thats buckthorn.
Those that have said buckthorn are correct. European Buckthorn is an exotic species from Europe brought to the US as decorative/ornamaental shrubs. As is with most exotic species, they usually thrive in their new home which is what Buckthorn has done in the US. Where I work, we work hard to control it with cutting and chemicals because it will literally take over a stand of timber shading out oak, hickory, walnut seedlings. It really does ruin a landscape. Unfortunately because deer WILL eat it (not preferred) and turkeys also eat the berries, it is virtually impossible to control the spread. Those of you in the northern climates, when you go out in November and there is one green tree left in the woods holding its leaves, thats buckthorn.
