Whitetail Deer Trivia

The Oxford Dictionary defines trivia as: “details, considerations, or pieces of information of little importance or value.” The following tidbits might seem trivial, but savvy hunters will find ways to utilize this useless information.

After an initial morning bedding period, deer may feed briefly before heading off to bed for most of the day.

 

1) Deer are ruminants. Like cows, they have a complex, four-chambered stomach consisting of the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. If you read my previous column, you know that’s important because providing the wrong supplemental feed at the wrong time could prove disastrous. But wait, there’s more…

Deer are most active at dawn and dusk when they feed feverishly before heading off to bedding. However, like cows, they regurgitate a bolus or cud, which they chew to break down coarse food further. This might create a little extra space, which they’ll want to fill before they bed down for the day, and you just might see a brief period of feeding activity an hour or two after things have slowed down.

Being able to read a deer’s body language can sometimes be helpful in predicting what they might do next.

2) Deer have interdigital glands between their toes that constantly secrete small amounts of scent. That’s primarily how other deer and tracking dogs follow them. Small quantities of fresh scent might even put other deer at ease. When deer stomp their feet – usually when they’re nervous or suspect danger, they disperse higher amounts of scent, and biologists suspect it’s not the scent but the amount that may put other deer on alert when they encounter the odor.

Scent secreted from the interdigital gland may act as an attractant. However, when deer stomp their feet, it may produce too much of a good thing and put other deer on alert.

3) Deer are selective feeders. Over eons, they’ve evolved a feeding strategy of feeding on the move. As a side note, this also helps with predator avoidance. They can easily recognize the most nutritious foods and then move until they find them again. They move less when highly nutritious food is concentrated in a small area. This is the philosophy behind food plots and hunting spots with abundant mast.

Deer are selective feeders and will spend more time in areas of concentrated food

4) Deer use body language much more than humans to communicate. Turning sideways and bristling up is a threatening gesture to intimidate an opponent. Tucking their tail and walking off on stiff legs is a sign of submission. If you see the buck you’re about to launch an arrow at do the latter, you might want to wait and see what’s about to step out of the bushes.

 

Speaking of tails, a tail flick signals that all is well. You may have noticed this on a deer that’s temporarily on alert. Then, just before they resume feeding, they give a little flick. I know a Kansas outfitter who always carries a white handkerchief when stalking deer. If their heads go up when he’s caught in the open, he gives it a little wave. It works enough that it’s worth trying.

If deer were an iceberg, the above is just the tip. You’ll never truly understand them, but the more you learn about them, the more proficient you become at tipping the scales slightly in your favor. They still win more often than not, but they only get to lose the game once.