When Do You Think Deer Drink Water?
 

We're having unseasonably warm weather here in N. Minnesota. I also hunt early season with a bow at times and always wondered when deer "usually" drink water.

I do know about any deer will visit a water source when it's warm at any time of the day provided there is nearby cover. However, lets just talk about a general time they prefer... heat or not.

What experiences have you gathered to give you an idea when deer usually hit the water source?

Do they drink before they bed in the morning?

Do they head for water first thing after getting up from their bed in the later part of the day? I'm assuming yes if it's hotter than normal.

What are your thoughts?

iSnipe

I have never actually seen a deer drink water before so I have no clue. Maybe they have a kegger tucked back in the woods somewhere I don't know about.

The rut!!??
 

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

When they are thirsty? I have seen them drink water before. No special time or place.

I think they drink the sweat of the hunters who are chasing them.:s2:

No clue. But if I had to guess it would be in the night during avg. weather. And anytime throughout the day in hot weather.

Answers aren't readily coming in. I posted something similar at another forum a few years ago with very few or solid replies. I found it to be a weak spot of knowledge for many hunters. It's easy to say "Hunt over a water source during warmer weather", but then deer need to drink a lot of water every day regardless of the weather, so the knowledge of "when" they drink or prefer is the $10,000 question. LOL!

Back in the day my dad and I would hunt along a secluded lake's edge, waiting for the deer to come out and drink. This was normally about 45 minutes and sooner before dark.

I'm thinking beyond the warm weather and when the deer have their winter coats on. I'm trying to learn about the natural process of when they drink water because I'm thinking it has something to do with their eating. If I knew more, I could plan an attack based on that knowledge.

Thanks guys.

iSnipe

I think much of the water they ingest comes from the food they eat. Almost everything they eat, or prefer to eat, is a live plant. Most plants need to be very hydrated to survive.

On hot days, deer need more water than these plants can provide because they use more than normal. Perhaps part of the reason we see so much sign near water sources is because of the thick, lush vegetation that surrounds these water sources. I know the ponds and creeks that are on the land I hunt are choked with apple trees and honeysuckle. Both of these plants/fruits contain a large amount of water.

These are just my thoughts based on the fact that I have never actually seen a deer drink either. I know that if I ate apples and berries all day long, I wouldn't really need to drink very much water either.

Exactly my thoughts. Deer don't really intake much standing water, unless under extreme heat. Most of their water comes from the forage around them contained in plants. They need very little water (maybe a few quarts in northern states) per day. Granted, they probably do drink out of sources of standing water during the rut (more physical activity during the day), but not as much as we think.

I have seen them doing what appeared to be licking the dew off plants in the morning. I would think as others have stated they get a lot of moisture from the vegetation they eat.

I wonder if they lick snow. I read somewhere (Rue?) that they don't because it burns up too many calories warming it up in their bodies in the cold winter months.

Update: New Info

I called a wildlife biologist today and discussed it briefly with him about my questions on deer and drinking.

I told him I know it's common for them to drink more when it's hot. I also said I know deer may be more inclined to frequent a water source during the day when there is security cover nearby.

While I knew deer receive some hydration foraging and browsing, the biologist put emphasis on that. So deer do get quite a bit of their water from the food they eat; more than I thought.

I asked about the biological reasons why or if a deer would need to drink at certain times. I also expressed there may be a reason due to the amount of food they eat through the night and was wondering about that. I told him after my dogs eat, they both drink a lot of water. I asked about if they like to drink shortly after getting up from their day beds or if they like to drink after they eat and just prior to bedding for the day.

If you want to know what he told me, please Private Message me and I can get your credit card details to process the $10 fee. :D

LOL! What he told me is that there is no evidence or studies that show deer have a set pattern of needing to drink for biological reasons. They drink when they need to and much of their water comes from food. He said the obvious too, and that is they drink more when it's warmer out. LOL!

Now you know the rest of the story!

iSnipe

is this a trick question?
 

when they are thirsty!

had a funny thing happen this year in Utah. We were archery elk hunting over a pond, the deer came in the morning and the elk in the evening. On another pond the deer came in the evening.

never saw deer in the morning drinking.

around here (Calif.) trail cams show it's all at night, 12-4 am

In terms of whitetails i haven't seen to many at a tank, but when the snows on the ground I have seen them take mouth fulls and licks. I believe they drink however because they like green foods also believe like others mentioned they get hydration from foods (when plants are still living).

Now mulie's I have seen at tanks, in fact locating such sources is of more importance when I'm hunting/scouting them. I believe part of this to be diet related as well as they inhabit sage/buck brush which isn't as lush as whitetails grounds.

Not scientific rather observation based.

Believe it or not, deer get a lot of 'water' from the food they eat, so sometimes they may not even need to go to an actual pond, lake, or river to get some H2O.

Also an FYI
when you shoot a deer they will run to water if there is some near. That is the quickest way for them to replace blood loss. There is a name for it, I forget now though.

Boog

I've seen them drink out of ponds and cattle tanks after legal shooting light.

A couple of other thoughts ...

Most researchers feel that deer need about a half a gallon of water per day.

The drier the climate or season, the more important free-standing water becomes.

Generally speaking, in the arid areas of the west, free-standing water is important.

In the eastern US, deer rely more on plants for their water than free-standing water.

Droughts in the east force eastern deer to behave more like western deer.

The general thought is that deer must have a reliable source of water within a mile of their location to survive.

Correct as stated
 

StraightArrow has it pegged exactly.

I have a stand in some hilly country. I put the stand near a natural spring. Of the 5 times I've hunted it, 3 were evenings and 2 were mornings. I've seen 0 deer in the mornings and 5 deer in the evenings, all bucks. 4/5 bucks took a long drink of water. It seems that after resting up in the hills all day, that they like to come down in the evenings for a drink before they start their day.

Interesting question.