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Water?

L

loneranger

Well-Known Member
Question? Where do deer and birds, obtain water when everything is frozen and there is no snow? Now at least there is a little snow.
 
I believe most moisture is obtained through food. But also many of the creeks in my area usually have open spots in them.
 
Everything here seems to keep spots open on the springs/creeks. I do wonder how often animals actually drink in the hills with no open waterholes? Or how often they travel down to water?
 
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At these temps creeks around me are solid. Thank goodness we got some,,a little snow anyway. Southern Iowa that is. also thank goodness thaws come in faster!
 
Wondered the same thing a ton of times. Surely a lot of areas in country without a lot of water and must get froze solid with all the crazy low temps of many regions. Ya- Im curious on this too.
 
I would imagine they would get most of their moisture from soybeans and corn and other food and if they can find any snow or open water. Would be interested to put out a heated water hole this time of year with a camera over it
 
I always wondered that too. I can think of a lot of places with no water anywhere this time of year with no snow.
 
Water

Great question. It is really noticeable up here in MN when we have not had snow (actually we did but it melted) and almost everything is frozen now with below zero temps.

I know there have been a few deer hit on the road near a flowing creek that stays open year round?
 
I have read a majority of their water intake comes from the food they eat and as a byproduct of the metabolic process if I remember right it was a large percentage like 80-90%. They also do not need surface water daily and as food intake decreases so does the need for supplemental water. I would guess lactating does and rutting bucks on the run would require additional supplementation from surface water. Like CW and 6x6 said Almost all the spots I hunt I can think of seeps, or open areas in creeks or rivers that remain wet and open year round no matter how cold it is.
 
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Central Iowa said:
I have read a majority of their water intake comes from the food they eat and as a byproduct of the metabolic process if I remember right it was a large percentage like 80-90%.
Click to expand...

I remember reading this as well a while back. I assumed it applied mainly to summer foraging though as green vegetation holds alot more water than anything they are eating this time of year. I'd be interested to find out more.
 
I have a field tile that stays open pretty much year around, the deer do not congregate to it when everything else is frozen up. So I'm going with them getting most of the water they need from what they eat.
 
think where do cattle drink? I know of one spring fed pond that almost never freezes up in one place. Know many farmers who break ice for cows. Then there are automatic waterers all over the place. I for one, have a heated auto watered out in pasture for horse and sheep. Local deer use it alot when other water is not available. When its dry, and frozen my water bill goes up significantly.
 
On two of my properties, we have a natural spring that never freezes. When it gets really cold, they get pounded... Usually I pick up sheds around them too
 
Deer, horses ect can survive long as there is snow cover . Worry when there is no snow and a deep freeze . Cold weather freeze dries the ground and no moisture is available. Seems any thing like a goat is tough.
 
Deer are hitting my natural spring that doesn't freeze. I threw a can up on it for the first time a few weeks ago and am getting a lot of pics.
 
This is a FWIW anecdote...in the fall of 2012, following the extreme drought of the summer of 2012, there was precious little water to be found anywhere on our farm. I don't think there was a drop of water to be found in the creeks on our property, etc, and I know that myself and others were concerned that there was so little water available for the wildlife that it might impact them.

When the bow season started that fall it was still bone dry out there and we theorized that a very deep, but small pond that we had up in the timber would be a hotspot. Our logic was that the deer had to be using that pond, it was really the only water within a 1/2 mile of that area of the timber.

Well my son did shoot a very nice buck that day on our first day of hunting for the year AND he was sitting about 15 yards from that pond...BUT the deer he shot came up out of the timber and walked right next to the pond and never took a drink. We both thought that was strange, but maybe he just wasn't thirsty.

Deer did water at that pond, but no more than what they seemed to do in other years and it certainly was not as if he was sitting on a water hole in the US West or Africa or anything.
 
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