So, apparently I finally rattled a few cages with my blog and my concern about what could all happen if this deer issue isn’t addressed somehow. But a few questions keep coming up, so I’d like to clarify a few things:

1) Is our land posted? The answer is yes. I know that by admitting that, many will say that alone is our problem, but trust me, it’s not. There is only one person that has ever asked to hunt that we have turned away. In fact, I’ve brought in many hunters…and not just for deer. We open our land to pheasant hunters (out-of-state and in-state), youth hunters (two of my nephews tagged deer out of our land this fall!), etc. Pretty much anything, anyone. We do NOT charge anything to hunt on our land and we wouldn’t post our land either, if it weren’t for the few bad actors that we have. Actually, we shouldn’t even have to post our land, since our cattle were in one area, and the other hunting area is behind our house…but we do anyway. And as long as people are aware of the cows, and aware of the house and children, then I have no problem at all with them hunting and taking whatever game they legally can.

2) The problem is not just the deer…although they are making a mess as well. The problem is also that there is another significant creature that follow the deer. That is the coyote. The coyote is a predator, and our cows don’t take too kindly to having coyotes nearby. Now, add in a cow that’s just had a calf, the fresh blood and afterbirth smell lingering in the air, a cow nervous about making sure her calf is safe and a farmer trying to get the calf into a barn before it freezes to death. That, right there, is a recipe for disaster. Our cows are gentle and are accustomed to us walking through them throughout calving season. But once a cow has a calf, it’s like a switch is flipped.

A good cow has a good mothering instinct. A good mother protects her offspring with whatever means are necessary. If a cow senses that its calf is in danger, it will do whatever it deems necessary to protect it. That includes throwing a farmer over a fence…or worse yet, a farmwife!

3) Deer poop. Yeah, I know, that’s a shocking revelation, right? Well, they also pee. Cows don’t like either…especially on their food. So, this means that everything that gets deer poop or deer pee in it is basically useless. And really, who can blame them? I have a hard time eating off the same spoon as my kids, I couldn’t imagine anything else! (Just kidding, by the way.)

So, that should cover some of the questions that were asked (but please, feel free to ask more if you have them!)…let’s hope they get us somewhere!