Deer and cattle...what's the deal?

[jonsimoneau]

To many of you...this will sound quite rediculous, but untill last season, I had never hunted a farm with cattle on it.  I am currently hunting a farm in western Illinois.  Part of the woodlands have cattle in them sometimes.  When I originally scouted the property for the first time...I pretty much completely wrote off the areas that had previously contained cattle.  The reason is that cattle do so much damage.  The woods were really open, and I assumed offered no bedding protection for the deer.  I figured they would also avoid it.  I was wrong.  I have since noticed, that deer bed in this area regularly.  I assume it is because of the drainages, hollows, etc.  They have very little cover in there due to the grazing by the cattle, but they do have alot of structure, and terrain.  My question, is why do the deer bother to be in these areas, when they could travel just a little ways to be in habitat that has not been molested by cattle?

[cahaba]

Herd mentality maybe.

[Oliverstacy]

Many more eyes to alert to danger...I would think they could pick up on the cattle's sense of what is around them.

Just a thought.

Josh

[overbo]

My experience w/ deer and cattle is,if deer and cattle are in open terrian or woods w/ little or no understory,the deer tolarate the cattle.I think it's because they can see and smell them at some distance.On property that has thick cover,the deer willnot tolerate cattle.Cattle are to noisy and the limited veiw keeps deer on edge.

[doug77]

Jon, I work on the big power lines that run cross country and see it all the time.

doug77

[Lost Arra]

I can never figure out why deer tolerate some animals but not others. I don't think deer play by any rules except food, water and safety and our idea of safety is probably different than a deer's.

 I used to think that cattle would ruin an area but they don't (usually).  Saturday I shot a doe with two huge tigerstripe cows directly under my stand making all sorts of racket.

On the other hand,  I have never seen deer tolerate an armadillo rooting its way through the woods.

[kestimator]

My experiences have been mostly negative in regards to hunting deer and having cows come through the area.  Usually, this would either scare off the deer or keep them away from my stand.  However, I believe that cattle actually can be beneficial to deer and other wildlife in regards to their biological impact on their range.

[ChrisM]

My biggiest rifle buck was shot out of the middle of a grazing herd of cattle.

[Nattybumppo]

I've hunted dairy farms and beef cattle farms all my life. Deer just quite frankly don't mind them. I've also watched Elk, Proghorn, and Mulies mix in with cattle too. Animals don't mind other non predatory animals.

[woodchucker]

I believe they feel safe around cows.

Cattle are EXPENSIVE property!!!!! Nobody goes around shooting into and amongst a herd of cows...

One of the biggest bucks ever seen on my Grandfather's hung right in the tightest part of the herd in our pastures. He was basicly, unshootable

[BigCountryOK]

I've always seen them tolerate them, but at a distance.  They don't seeem to like competing with them, but they will tolerate them...at a distance.

[huntnmuleys]

i know muleys and antelope out here dont seem to mind em.  sure can be a pain though, planning a sneak on a lone buck with cattle around. nothing like a whole herd of watchdogs...

[vermonster13]

Deer do fine with cattle around here, not the same with horses.

[Tom Leemans]

I have the same experience as overbo.

[Shedrock]

Our deer and antelope get used to them.

[5deer]

lots of this in ore./wa.  the deer use them as outer guards the cows get wild and can even get mean. they wreck every thing mostly the fresh water springs.

[John Krause]

I watched some cattle mess with some deer one day. This was in N MO. I watched from a tree as momma doe and two little ones went by me. The wind was from them to me. They passed me and then made a button hook and bedded in sight by a fallen log. This was in a draw that cattle had grazed down.

A litle while later a small group of cows came by and as they got downwind of the bedded deer they smelled them and went right at them from about 50 yds away. The deer got up and moved a ways and the cows stomped around their beds. The cows moved off. After a while the deer came back and bedded again.

A while later the cows came back downwind of the deer and smelled them again. They went right to them and did the same thing. The deer did not return this time.

[DeCurry]

I've hunted two leases that were also cattle ranches and my experience is that the deer avoid cattle.

The only time I've ever seen a deer near cattle was late this summer while scouting one morning; I arrived before dawn to find cattle literally standing/sleeping on top of the area I wanted to watch for deer... then they slowly made their way towards a fence line that has a large gap under it that I know deer frequently use to access this area, so now I'm really getting annoyed.  As I'm contemplating having myself a steak, I notice darting between the cedar trees a lone doe, she was doing everything she could to avoid and hide from the cows but still make her way through the area.

This past weekend, I was putting the stalk on a group of does; I glassed them crossing a field headed in the general direction of a large pond on the property, so I got ahead of them and was trying to get in place for an ambush.  The area around this pond also has some large shade trees that the cattle like to rest under.  Expecting the does to stop for water, I was surprised to find them start to gallop and then bust into a full sprint as they approached the area; they didn't stop running until they were well clear of the area.  They didn't behave like they were spooked, but they clearly did not want to spend any amount of time around there.  I had the wind in my favor the entire time and they never spotted me, so I'm confident it was fear/dislike of the cattle bedding area (no cows were actually present at the though).

[ron w]

Deer need the thick stuff to bed when they feel pressured or unsafe. If they are comfortable with the cows they just relax and bed where ever. When Dairy farms were active around here you always saw deer with the cows. Now farms are different and or less active and you don't see it as much. I know out west this year we saw deer and free range beef all the time.

[amicus]

I hunt on a cattle ranch. The deer don't mind unless the cattle get close to them. The one thing that I like about hunting with cattle is that they make great cover scent. If im hunting in a ground blind or pop up I will get a bucket full of fresh poop and set them beside me or in the pop up. Works great. Also with my rubber boots on I will step on every cow patty that crosses my path.

Gilbert