Wounded starving deer...
 

Would it be legal to put a wounded starving deer out of its misery?
I first seen this deer just after Christmas. We had just had a snowfall of about 6 inches. I came upon this deer and when I noticed how starved it was (plus the front leg is just hanging there) I was determined to put it out of its misery - it was legal archery season then. As starved as this buttonbuck was I just could not get a clear shot at him as I pursued him for about 1000 feet. He then crossed onto the neighbors property and out of sight. A few minutes later I heard a shot and I figured that someone put him down.
I started seeing this deer again on our hill during this past week. He seemed to be getting along OK just dragging this leg and hopping along. Now the snow is much deeper and well over a foot. Now the little guy is having a lot of difficulty and appears to have lost a lot of weight - a big change since yesterday even. He's been devouring every stick, pine bark etc. but to no good. Today I took a bucket of cracked corn up the hill to where I usually see him. Maybe he will find it and maybe it will help. But I don't think it will do any good with snow this deep. I feel sorry for him and I was just wondering if it would be legal to put him down (or have the game warden put him down) if he gets much worse???

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

put him down ! leave him for the coyotes ,then you can pop a coyote! or call the game warden and ask them what to do they probably will tell you to leave it alone , maybe not

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

I don't think giving him cracked corn right now will help, actually it will do more harm then good.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

I agree w/ Charlie P.

Also - the game commision will NOT permit you to put this deer down. I have seen this topic come up before and their typical response are that "deer are very tough and who are we to say that deer will not recover?"

Not saying if I would or would not put it down - just the PGC stance on it.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

If it were me I would put him down.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

I also agree with Charlie. If he hasn't eaten corn for a while, he wont have the enzimes to digest it, and it will only take up room and time that he could eat something else.

I dought the PGC will let you shoot him. If you want to, shoot him and don't tell anyone. Let the yotes eat him.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

Charlie P is correct! Don't feed him corn!
And the GC will not put that deer down, nor will they allow you to do so legally!
If it were me, I'd keep an eye on him! I've been through this situation before. Sometimes it's amazing how well they can recover from an injury like that. But with the cold temps. we've been having and the snow, I'd say if he gets any worse I'd put him down and walk away whistling.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

I'd put him down and if I got caught I'd gladly pay the fine.I personally dont think I would leave it for the yotes I'd try to put them down also.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

if you aint suppose to feed him corn ...give some suggestions that PAhunter could lay out for him to eat?

i agree thats a tough call to make. i'd keep a close eye on him, try to help him along by providing hay or whatever to eat. if he looks like he's really suffering i'd go ahead and put him down ...screw the GW.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

Jroot, The way a deer digest it's food is the reason why you can't feed him anything other then what he's eating. It takes time for it to develop enzymes to break down the food. Game dept used to start supplemental feeding programs and then find deer dead with full bellies.If they are already malunurished it can kill them.

Nature tough but sometimes you have to let it take it's course or use the the three S system. Shoot, Shovel, Shut up. In this case you could skip the middle S.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

I think that hay or oats would be about the best thing that you could put out for him.
I personally would shoot it and then butcher what is left of him up yourself. If your caught glady pay the fine and declare to the end that you did the ethical thing.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

i'd let him be ....you'd be suprised at how tough deer are, he might make it on his own. If you whack him, he definetly wont have a chance..
my .o2
moose

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

This is just how nature cycles and don't think we should really intervene. The dead dear will help feed other animals so its really not a waste. I also hate to see animals suffer but it happens.
Cheers!!

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

For those of you that are saying shoot the deer and pay the fine if caught. Do you realize you'll also loose your hunting license for a few years? Get your name in the paper etc? Still worth it?

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

About the corn thing....What if deer are still picking over cornfields with some still leftover. If they've never stopped picking here and there since fall, will they digest it?

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

If it was part of their diet yes they would digest it.

Is it legal to feed deer in Pa?

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

PaJen, A friend of mine took a button buck last week that had its back leg hanging on by skin. The deer was in ok condition. (soy bean and corn still available). I seen this same deer almost 4 weeks ago and he got along with a limp. As he was dressing the deer, the bad smell started to hiy him. I guess gangrene had set in and the deer would not survive much longer. The deer was left for nature to take care of.

I pesonally, would take the animal down if it is as bad as you say it is.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

drop it! if you can get away with it, and your neighbors don't say anything, do it! if anything is worth saving on it, eat it, or use it as bait like others have said. worring about what some warden will say is stupid, he isn't the one seeing it every day, if that's a concern. and can you imagine the field day the anti-hunting crowd would have with a picture of that deer?

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

IMO, it is best to let nature take it's course. You never know, he may survive and be a great buck in a few years. Obviously, the exact opposite could happen as well but you never know and it's just best to let nature do it''s thing. TGK

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

My heart says you should put the deer down, but my conscious says leave it alone.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

[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

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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....

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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.......

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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.

RE: Wounded starving deer...
 

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.