ducks n bucks

im with kyle the first thing that i really think of is yea put it down..but i say give it a little bit more and if u dont see improvement then u gotta put it out of its misery

jimpok61

[8D] I'm a harmless little fuzzball but when it comes to wounded and starving game I take action. A nice clean kill and leave it for the other hungry critters. JMO

PAhunterJEN

Well, limpy leg is still stumbling around. It's hard to believe. He is bedding about 100 to 150 feet from our house. Sometimes there are other deer with him. All the deer have stripped this downed pine tree bare - needles, twigs and bark. They all still look pretty healthy and one doe has a big belly - must be pregnant. I have been watching the deer eat out of the bucket of cracked corn. It seems they take a munch or two and then move on. I haven't seen limpy leg even go near the bucket. He seems to prefer the pine twigs and bark. He also comes down to the mineral lick now and then. Taking your advice I'm not going to put any more corn out and I'm hoping that the snow melts soon. If limpy leg gets to the point where he is skin and bones then we'll see what happens....

ducks n bucks

is he looking any better than before?? any improvements?

osiris

YOU CANT TAKE AWAY THE CORN NOW!!!!!! Once you start to feed them that stuff you can't take it away. It will take too long for their stomach micro organisms (up to 6 to 8 weeks)to adapt and their metabolisms have adjusted to suit the additional corn in their diets. You have no choice but to feed them from here on out. IMO, you should have never started but it is going to keep them more healthy if you keep going versus stopping now. Hard to explain but once you start to feed you can't stop it will do them more harm than good at this point. Ironically, deer that are fed from corn piles usually come out of winter with lower body weights than those who grazed/ browsed naturally becuase they expend less energy to get to food their metabolism slows significantly. Deer are build to survive very harsh weather and have done so for ages with out human assistance. This seems to be a very common misconception that we are helping them by feeding them through winter but more often than not we are doing more harm than good. TGK

mauser06

let him be.....my dad told me hes seen a bunch of deer with blown off legs make it.....if he makes it a few more weeks he should be fine.....a few days of warmness will probally give him a nice kick start.....but that looks doubtfull.....this week looks really cold......if hes down to skin and bone id drop him and be done with it......no reason for him to suffer and starve.....once he gets so starved he wont even move to go look for food.....he will lay there and die.....and that will probally take a while or he will freeze...but it wont be a quick death.....id have to see the deer to make the call on what id do......but if he seems like hes doing ok id leave him be........i felt bad for a deer i seen one day im ML season.....it had a leg that someone hit low and blew it off...it was dragging behind the deer.....i had a shot at it twice i could dropped it...but my friend was meat hunting with a slug gun(legal here) and i figured hed put it down since i had 2 does in the freezer and was waiting for horns....he shot at it twice.....it was raining and there was no sign of a hit......we kept driving all through the area trying to get it or other deer out.....he never came out....we found him a week later....gutshot from my friend and with the blown off leg....turned out to be a shed antler buck....i feel bad because i know i could had a good shot on it.....twice.....and i didnt do it....yotes got it and took care of it before we found it.....we drove it out so it was trying to run so i cant say if he would lived....looked like he was ahving a rough time...but if you ahd guys behind you screaming and yelling youd run hard too......i dont know what id do.....probally let it go in fear of getting caught.....but if i knew he was dying and could get away with it id drop him.......

beaglefreak

[:'(]Put him down[X(]hate to see suffering.and Then let nature take its course.

SnoBall57

PAhunterJEN, the best feed you can give to the deer in the coldest months of the year is green tree tops and limbs. They survive on the buds and bark of these limbs and twigs. If you own the property, cut shooting lanes from your stands, or do some thinning and selective cutting. That's what they need the most.

jetblast

IF he's really bad off, speed the process up for the yotes. Sometimes you need to do things right. And sometimes, you need to do the right thing.

farm hunter

Old Limpy leg is stronger & smarter than some of you think. How many Zero degree nights have you had? - and he's still showing.

He seems to know the browse is wants needed - not corn or oats. At this point - if he can outlast the coyotes - and get enough browse he could make it. Even if not - Its not your right or place to end this deer's life out of season. If the deer dies a staved death - thats nature.

Let me make it clear to some of you that would "drop it" - Life is creul, especially for the animal kingdom - from top to bottom. Shooting a deer in season is our choice - and given the chance to take a wounded deer in season - I would do it. But out of season - NO WAY.

Look, Don't get caught up in the Bambi Syndrome - too many people try to inject human emotions into the deer's situation. Personally - I feel if the deer has made it this long, there is a real good chance it will survive, and it would be really too bad if someone ended this deer's life - It sounds to me like the deer has "spirit" and a will to live.