Snow beds.
 

I find a lot of deer beds in the snow, and a bed is a bed is a bed, right? Or is it? You find big ones, small ones, clusters, singles... But is there more to the story? I always look for that little extra clue, whether it be a reclusive single, a family unit, deer bedding near certain types of feed... You know, the how and why of what's happening.

Last year, I noticed something:You'll walkthe hillsand find a couple dozen deer beds. All are pretty much the same, with one weird exception: Whydo some deer insist on kicking most ofthe snow out of the bed before lying down in it (exposing the bare dirt), while others are content to lie down right in the snowpack?

Is it a time thing? Is it a ground heat thing? Does it have anything to do with the underlying ground moisture (trying to keep a dry belly)? Could it be related to the way they each individually position their feet while bedding (lying down on all fours vs. laying more on their side/belly)?

Weird question, but my buddy and I were arguing about it last night while we were doing some work on his roof. He says it's totally random. I say there's probably a reason.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I'd guess they're doing a little nibbling before they go down.IMO.I always check wind directions and stuff when I find a bed to see why they picked this location.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I have never seen a deer scrape the snow away. Measure the bed. big bucks make big beds. Check for tarsal stains. check for horn imprints. a bed with a stain and a bed w/o. could mean a buck w/a doe. might be worth a track job. Big bucks tend to sprawl out making a bigger bed. Check the age of the bed. are there older ones the same size?- maybe a clue of a big bucks prefered bedding area.

RE: Snow beds.
 

Me neither Magic. My guess is that your seeing snow kicked out and scattered like a buck makes a scrape is what your saying and reffering to? Are you sure its not from the body heat of the deer melting the snow instead of them pawing away the snow?

RE: Snow beds.
 

what is this snow that you speak of??

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: Snow beds.
 

I ran into a few beds this year, where the deer had deliberately pawed through the snow down to the bare dirt. Not necessarily clearing out the whole bed, but obviously pawing some of the snow and leaves awaybefore laying down in it. I'd never really noticed this before.

One in particular was a big bed in a fairlydense grapevine/greenbriar thicket, and he (presuming that it was a buck) was flinging dirt and debris for a solid 5-10 feet - just throwing it out behind him. Very similar to a buck cleaning a scrape. From the tracks, it was evident that he only spent a few seconds clearing it out, b/c there weren't too many tracks where he was standing to clear it.

He then laid down right in the middle of the dirt spot and stayed there long enough to melt through most of the remaining snow pack that he didn't paw out, until I came around the ridge and bumped him out.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I saw you say this somewhere else, MM....and I have to ask....

Do they really lay with their antlers to the side? I've only been fortunate enough to see one buck bed down near me. He stayed 14yds away for 3:40 minutes, though. I saw him groom himself like a house cat would several times. What I also thought was interesting is.....he would tuck his snout inside his back hip when he would sleep....and that position had his antlers stuck straight down his back.....sort of streamlined.

If there had been snow on the gorund....there's no way he would have given away he was a buck just by judging his bed (and looking for antler imprints).

Just my (admittedly) single observation.

RE: Snow beds.
 

Ive watched bucks bed near my stand that would have made horn imprints. They laid there head out in front of them, sort of like a dog, and then tilted to the side. The antlers rested right on the ground.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I would assume that if it was snowing the buck would lay like Jeff said, to keep his face and ears out of the cold snow. I have bever seen antler imprints in the snow.

RE: Snow beds.
 

They don't normally lay with their horns laid out but sometimes they will tip their head or rest it for a bit and leave a mark. You won't find it in every bed. But it's something to look for. If they do you can get a good idea how big they are of maybe how many points

RE: Snow beds.
 

Quick I have seen both dug out to the dirt beds and then deer that lay right on top...same ridges same day of scouting, I have a bunch of photos of this at home I will dig through them and post some tonight when I get home from work.

To answer your question I dont think it random, some dogs just like to lay in the dirt while others are content to lay in the grass, I think deer are the same, some like to dig down to the dirt while others are content with layingon top of the snow.

Btw, how deep was the snow you were seeing this in.. ? I notice the mix of dirt beds to snow beds to be about the same when the snow is between 3-8 inches deep..

If you want to know if its a buck or a doe, smell it. ;)Especially from Late Oct to late Dec

RE: Snow beds.
 

I haveread different opinions on this. I can say for a fact that some deer paw the snow away before laying down, because I watchedthe buck I killed in Alberta do just that! I'll include a pic of it that I took.
I think they do this soit puts them deeper into the snow for better insulating purposes. I watched my buck walk in my direction, and when he was about 60yrds out, he stopped and started pawing the snow, which wasclose toa foot deep. I thought he was making a scrape, until he layed down in it.:DHe stayed there for about 10-15 mins. I think he was just resting from the rigors of the rut. He got up, came towards me, and the rest is history.;)

RE: Snow beds.
 

You might have something there Early! I could see them doing it for that reason.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I also think how much snow is excavated by deer from their beds is all about insulation. I have found when there is snow on the ground, and the ground is not frozen, deer paw through most of the snow so they can lay on the relatively warm ground. When the ground is frozen and it is very cold deer do not want to lie on the ground as a layer of snow under them insulates better, but they do want to sort of burrow down a bit into the snow for the same purpose. When the air temp is warmer they try to just lie on top of it all.

RE: Snow beds.
 

Quick i cant answer your question about the snow thingy cause we just dont get enough around here for long periods :DBut i can tell you something i have seen quite a few times in buck beds. I have found quite a few buck beds where there are very small saplings around the bed, and have all been rubbed on either while buck is bedded or before bedding. just adding this to ponder on.

RE: Snow beds.
 

You got it. They wont dig to the ground because it has 0 insulation when its frozen. Maybe it was a younger deer or like you said, it wasnt all that cold yet.

RE: Snow beds.
 

few pix

RE: Snow beds.
 

I have seen them do this also.I think they dig for insulating around there bodies and maybe to help hide the contrast of there dark coat on the white snow.I usually see beds like this inwoods that are very easy to see through when there is snow on the ground.So maybe its a camo thing.If the snow is deep I usually dont see dug outbeds.If the snow is only a couple of inchs I think they try to build it up around them.I dont know for sure good question.

RE: Snow beds.
 

I don't know about all this "snow" you talk about. We got 4" this past winter and all hell broke loose. You can tell you live in the south when your town gets 4" of snow and the next morning there are 55 wrecks in 2 hours.[&:]People...

For the pawing to the dirt, it seems simple to me.Bucks have testicles, as do most of us. I'm not a betting kind of guy, but if I was, I'd bet a shiney new penny that 90% of you wouldn't strip down butt naked and lay face down in the snow.
.
.
.
.
They would get cold.....really cold. Wouldn't you rather keep em away from snow too?;)[8D]

RE: Snow beds.
 

LOL :D

RE: Snow beds.
 

I believe just using the bed longer or more often then the other beds are being used.