Guard Cat

[Island Girl]

Animals adapt to their surroundings. These deer are fed on the island, and the cat tolerates them .... but lets them know this is her place!!!

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/data/506/medium/DSC01732-1600w.jpg

[jetskier]

Nice Picture!

The deer look very worried. :D

We have 4 cats and the deer come up to the side of the house to eat the plantings. The cats now consider them part of the scenery.

Jetskier:cool:

[Mr. V]

Born free...

*meow*

[secondcurve]

It is not a good idea to feed deer. I strongly recommend against this for a variety of reasons.

[T.H.E. Binz]

It's also illegal!

[fatlazyless]

Oh come on....where's the harm....the local deer population is having a very difficult winter. How they do it is beyond me....they live out in the cold all winter with no heat source....and this winter's snowfall is double-trouble....because their sharp hooves cut through the deep snow....just the opposite of snowshoes.

I drove up to a group of 13 deer just doing nothing on the paved road, a few days back.

[Island Girl]

It's also illegal!

The NH fish and game site discourages feeding deer.. nowhere do I find it illegal. Could you point me in the right direction?

IG

[Old Hubbard Rd]

I had this same discussion just a few days ago. I do not think it's illegal.

[EricP]

My wife was picking up food the other day and saw a Game Warden while at Agway. There were other people picking up food as well. The Game Warden asked if the food was for the deer. She said yes. He replied "good, they need it ths year". No mention of it being illegal. We had 31 in the yard Thursday evening.

[tis]

But how can you resist helping them out a bit this winter, even if you are not supposed to feed them. I know they get used to it and hang around, but they do need it now. And the cat is so cute watching them, which I think was the whole point of the picture, not whether to feed the deer.

[SteveA]

Great picture. We have wondered and worried all winter about how the various wildlife were doing with all the snow.

We thought about putting out a bale of feed hay, but this flyer from NH F&G convinced us it wasn't a very good idea.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_PDFs/More_harm_deer_brochure.pdf

[Coolbreeze]

For those who like to feed deer, try growning plants during the warm seasons that deer feed on. If you have the space try corn, soy winter wheat etc and don't harvest it. Sometimes feeding the deer can invite other less welcome creatures like rats, skunk and even bear.
I think what you do is pretty cool but would limit the duration of human intervention in a natural cycle of life. You don't want the wild creatures to become dependant on your handouts. Have fun and take pictures. P.s where do you feed them,with this information I'll know where to set up my Deer stand next fall! Just joking-

[fatlazyless]

Will try to post a photo here of my neighbor's 11 large, about eight feet tall, arbor vitae bushes, that have been totally shredded by one very healthy looking, strong & youngish deer. As soon as it got dark, it would return. It was chewing on my property too, but nothing like next door. Must have rich taste and really appreciate the lush green results of a lawn irrigation system! It kept coming back for more up until about two weeks ago when the snow got too deep. At winters start, it could only get so high up on the bush, and with the higher snow and a stone wall, it almost got to the top, leaving a little head of green as a reminder, what's left of that shredded (11) bush.:(

[Island Girl]

For those who like to feed deer, try growning plants during the warm seasons that deer feed on. If you have the space try corn, soy winter wheat etc and don't harvest it. Sometimes feeding the deer can invite other less welcome creatures like rats, skunk and even bear.
I think what you do is pretty cool but would limit the duration of human intervention in a natural cycle of life. You don't want the wild creatures to become dependant on your handouts. Have fun and take pictures. P.s where do you feed them,with this information I'll know where to set up my Deer stand next fall! Just joking-

I am just visiting friends... not feeding at my place. I have to haul enough stuff without hauling bags of corn!!!!

[Skip]

...Oh come on....where's the harm....the local deer population is having a very difficult winter. How they do it is beyond me...

While it is not illegal to feed deer in New Hampshire, the pracice is soundly discouraged by our State's Fish & Game Department.

For those who don't know "how they do it" a quick trip to this LINK (http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/News_2004/News_2004_Q4/Donot_Feed_Deer_121704.htm) at Fish & Game provides excellent insight into their advice and excellent information on how the animals cope with winter.

Excellent information at this link & the attached .pdf brochure referenced in the material! :)

[secondcurve]

Winter is nature's way of thinning out the weak and sickly. When there are too many deer they create roadside hazards and they help spread Lyme disease. Please take Skip's advice and educate yourself about what the experts say about feeding deer. I am not sure if it is illegal, but it certainly is a bad idea.

I actually hit a deer early one morning this January on Boston's North Shore. It was killed instantly and caused approximately $4,000.00 in damage to my car. After the accident, I did a little research into the deer population in this area and found that deer can number up to 125 per square mile when a healthy population would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 per square mile. We need to let nature do her work in the winter in combination with encouraging responsible hunting to keep the herds down. Too often the uneducated help keep the herds at unnatural levels by feeding them in the winter and not allowing hunting.

[GWC...]

Great picture. We have wondered and worried all winter about how the various wildlife were doing with all the snow.

We thought about putting out a bale of feed hay, but this flyer from NH F&G convinced us it wasn't a very good idea.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/Wildlife_PDFs/More_harm_deer_brochure.pdf
Peanut butter sandwiches are a favorite... ;)

especially chunky peanut butter... :liplick:

[GWC...]

Winter is nature's way of thinning out the weak and sickly. When there are too many deer they create roadside hazards and they help spread Lyme disease. Please take Skip's advice and educate yourself about what the experts say about feeding deer. I am not sure if it is illegal, but it certainly is a bad idea.

I actually hit a deer early one morning this January on Boston's North Shore. It was killed instantly and caused approximately $4,000.00 in damage to my car. After the accident, I did a little research into the deer population in this area and found that deer can number up to 125 per square mile when a healthy population would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 per square mile. We need to let nature do her work in the winter in combination with encouraging responsible hunting to keep the herds down. Too often the uneducated help keep the herds at unnatural levels by feeding them in the winter and not allowing hunting.
If humans were treated the same...

Think about the reduction in health care, insurance premiums, education, and FLL's taxes.

P.S.- Wonder what you would have done if that were a pedestrian you hit; instead of a deer?

[Island Life]

I've got over 20 of them moving through my backyard most days. Wish I could make them choose a different path of vegetation-destruction but my dog is scared of them. :rolleye1:

[beagle]

:(Here in Connecticut, we would never feed the deer. A recent study determined that 60% of deer ticks in our area carry Lyme's disease. Many people here either have had or still have it. Both of my sons have also had it. If it is not caught early, it can cause serious health problems from fatigue to arthritis to mental deterioration. Doctors here have only recently been good at detecting this disease because it can have different symptoms in different people. You may not see the tick bite and not all cases present with a bullseye rash. One friend who had it and was undiagnosed for more than a year was unable to watch television because she could not process language well enough to understand what was going on. Now after serious treatment with IV infusions, she is somewhat better mentally but can no longer work. New Hampshire probably doesn't have as high an infectivity rate in its deer tick population, but I wouldn't take a chance.

[dpg]

Mr V: AWESOME picture, your deck I assume?

I am/was a hunter but I dunno seem to be getting a soft heart for the deer over the last couple years!;)

[dpg]

O.K. O.K other people have told me they've seen that picture all over the web.:eek: Got me...:D

[Merrymeeting]

If humans were treated the same...



Most humans I know wouldn't tresspass on my property, destroy just about every piece of vegetation I have in the yard, pillage my vegetable garden, and carry deadly diseases into my yard to transfer to my children and me.

I'll be happy to send several herds your way if I could figure out how to get rid of them.

[Mr. V]

Mr V: AWESOME picture, your deck I assume?No, my sister in NH e-mailed it; I'm pretty sure that she got it from another source.

Regardless, it's a great shot!

[Weirs guy]

If humans were treated the same...

Think about the reduction in health care, insurance premiums, education, and FLL's taxes.

P.S.- Wonder what you would have done if that were a pedestrian you hit; instead of a deer?

What if you treated bears, wolves and bobcats that same? Anyone want those fuzzy little bundles of joy in their yards?

[Excalibur]

It can be a great thing to help the wildlife out as we take over more and more of there habitat. There are reports of wolves now moving to the metro areas.

Some day when we realize we are not the ruler of the world and extinct the deer will be able to roam the massive forests that where once cities and have plenty of food to survive the long winters.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/mg19225731.100