I know most would say no. The deer have to be used to them and know that they're not a threat. But I could swear everytime the cows (big, black angus) are in the fields, the deer seem to avoid the area like the black plague! Just a coincidence?

The deer prefer to keep their distance from nearly everything. They seem to be a little intimidated by the size of cattle, but they seem to know cattle are usually harmless as long as their personal space is not invaded. Deer give them plenty of room, but cattle in an area doesn't mean the deer aren't close by.I seem them grazing many of the larger fields around here at the same time, with the deer on one area and the cattle on the other.

last year i had a big 8 and a 4 point with about 5 does walk out of a field with about 5 horses

This one farm I was hunting in Alberta this past season hadmany cattle and the deer would feed with the cattle. I saw two differant bucks leave a pasturethat had lots of cows (Whitefaced Herfords) at first light one morning. The farmer said they feed togeather often. They do give the cows room.

As others have said, deer are easily spooked by other animals. I have seen deer feeding fairly close to cattle, but theywill normally keep their distance!When cattle graze through an area, the noise alone may spook deer!Deer are SO wary, that most of the time when they hear noise, they will run first, andsee what was making the noise later!

I use to hunt a farm that had Black angus cattle and you could watch the deer feed with them. The deer would even run out in the field and mix in with the cattle sometimes when we would be walking around. It's as if they knew they were safe with the cattle and knew we would not shoot in that direction.

Early did you have success in Alberta and what area do you hunt? I will be back there Lord willing this next season and I hunt 508 ...

dd

When I was growing up in northeastern Vermont, I lived on a farm part of the time. We had a small herd of milk cows and turned them out in a small pasture at night in the summer. Some times when we went to get the cows in around 4AM, there would be a few deer around them. Sometimes bedded down with the cows.

Ihunt right beside side a cow pasture ad i normally see 10 deer everytime i go hunting in that cow pasture. I dont think that the cows bother them that much

I went out with a guy in our camp & picked a spot for his new giant ladder stand. Everything looked good. Trails, prints, droppings, etc.

So he goes out in the morning and is really enjoying this giant stand. He starts hearing sounds behind him at first light and gets excited. Then he sees that it's cows! He said, "I thought right then and there - this stand is a bust! There'll be no deer with those cows here, moooving around." (I had told him that where he was seeing the cows was where deer come thru.)

He deceides to mooove somewhere else so he lowers his gear down, unstraps and starts down when he has a group of deer go running away from the cows!

So I don't think those deer give a hoot about the cows.