Do deer sleep?
06-18-2007, 07:58 PM
#12
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chatham, Ohio
Posts: 8,834
RE: Do deer sleep?
my neighbor told me a story that goes as follows:
He was walking on a logging trail towards my pond, and he was in some real thick brush below some pines and he saw 3 deer bedded down. He walked up real close and saw 3 sleeping deer, 2 does and a buck. He walked over real quiet and tapped the buck on the back. It got up, blew, and all 3 deer ran off.
He also told me he saw 6 coyotes run by my pond one day, and that he saw a bald eagle and a snowy owlabove my pond. His stories seem far fetched butr ive never proven him wrong and he is a good guy so i believe him. He also killed a deer with a spear but we'll get to that some other time
He was walking on a logging trail towards my pond, and he was in some real thick brush below some pines and he saw 3 deer bedded down. He walked up real close and saw 3 sleeping deer, 2 does and a buck. He walked over real quiet and tapped the buck on the back. It got up, blew, and all 3 deer ran off.
He also told me he saw 6 coyotes run by my pond one day, and that he saw a bald eagle and a snowy owlabove my pond. His stories seem far fetched butr ive never proven him wrong and he is a good guy so i believe him. He also killed a deer with a spear but we'll get to that some other time
06-18-2007, 08:10 PM
#13
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location:
Posts: 341
RE: Do deer sleep?
ORIGINAL: Cay4redneck
my neighbor told me a story that goes as follows:
He was walking on a logging trail towards my pond, and he was in some real thick brush below some pines and he saw 3 deer bedded down. He walked up real close and saw 3 sleeping deer, 2 does and a buck. He walked over real quiet and tapped the buck on the back. It got up, blew, and all 3 deer ran off.
He also told me he saw 6 coyotes run by my pond one day, and that he saw a bald eagle and a snowy owlabove my pond. His stories seem far fetched butr ive never proven him wrong and he is a good guy so i believe him. He also killed a deer with a spear but we'll get to that some other time
my neighbor told me a story that goes as follows:
He was walking on a logging trail towards my pond, and he was in some real thick brush below some pines and he saw 3 deer bedded down. He walked up real close and saw 3 sleeping deer, 2 does and a buck. He walked over real quiet and tapped the buck on the back. It got up, blew, and all 3 deer ran off.
He also told me he saw 6 coyotes run by my pond one day, and that he saw a bald eagle and a snowy owlabove my pond. His stories seem far fetched butr ive never proven him wrong and he is a good guy so i believe him. He also killed a deer with a spear but we'll get to that some other time
06-18-2007, 08:44 PM
#14
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Chatham, Ohio
Posts: 8,834
RE: Do deer sleep?
not trying to hijack
but it goes as follows:
It was during the ohio muzzeloader season. His house, my house and my grandmas are in a row alongside a valley. He was out on his porch and he saw a deer coming through the valley towards his house. He went inside and grabbed the quickest weapon he could find, which was a large spear he uses for woodchucks. He went out his basement door and hid behind some great vines. The buck came within 10 yards and he threw the spear and hit him right behind the shoulder and in the lungs. This is where it gets wierd, he deer turned and ran down his driveway out into the road and got hit by the game warden. This is the only reason i believe the story, the damn deer ran out in front of the warden and he hit it!!! He and the warden talked for awhile and somehow the warden tagged it for him and everything was ok. If it didnt happen next door i wouldnt believe a second of it but its true.
but it goes as follows:
It was during the ohio muzzeloader season. His house, my house and my grandmas are in a row alongside a valley. He was out on his porch and he saw a deer coming through the valley towards his house. He went inside and grabbed the quickest weapon he could find, which was a large spear he uses for woodchucks. He went out his basement door and hid behind some great vines. The buck came within 10 yards and he threw the spear and hit him right behind the shoulder and in the lungs. This is where it gets wierd, he deer turned and ran down his driveway out into the road and got hit by the game warden. This is the only reason i believe the story, the damn deer ran out in front of the warden and he hit it!!! He and the warden talked for awhile and somehow the warden tagged it for him and everything was ok. If it didnt happen next door i wouldnt believe a second of it but its true.
06-18-2007, 09:29 PM
#16
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Iowa/Nebraska
Posts: 262
RE: Do deer sleep?
Give me a break. Some people need to think about what they want to ask before they write in. This question is a no brainer. Have you ever just stoped and thought about it before you wrote in, prob. not.
06-18-2007, 09:38 PM
#17
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location:
Posts: 1,438
RE: Do deer sleep?
werner,
Did you read all the posts before posting. prob. not.
I couldn't believe the question either, and while of course deer obviously "sleep" a little, it's apparently nothing similar to what humans do.
It ended up being a better thread than a lot of the ones around here.
Did you read all the posts before posting. prob. not.
I couldn't believe the question either, and while of course deer obviously "sleep" a little, it's apparently nothing similar to what humans do.
It ended up being a better thread than a lot of the ones around here.
06-19-2007, 07:25 AM
#18
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wappingers Falls,N.Y
Posts: 140
RE: Do deer sleep?
Wernerjd;
You need to lighten up a bit.
I guess you must see deer sound asleep in your backyard all the time,right?
If you would take the time to read some of the replys you might learn something, I did.
To everyone else:
Thanks for the responses, now it makes more sense. I figured that if the deer fell asleep like we do they wouldn't live very long.
You need to lighten up a bit.
I guess you must see deer sound asleep in your backyard all the time,right?
If you would take the time to read some of the replys you might learn something, I did.
To everyone else:
Thanks for the responses, now it makes more sense. I figured that if the deer fell asleep like we do they wouldn't live very long.
06-19-2007, 08:11 AM
#19
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 321
RE: Do deer sleep?
ORIGINAL: Pops423
I often wondered the same thing. Last year just after Christmas, a 9 pt I had see off and on thru the fall was bedded outside my house one morning. I left him undisturbed and was interested in watching him rest. He appear worn out and beaten up from the rut. I had watched deer bedded before but he was different.
He could barely keep his head up. Just like you or me, he appeared to have heavy eyelids and his head would drop as he dozed off. At times, his chin was on the ground or his body and his eyes were closed. He would remain this way for a few minutes and then pick his head up and look around.
I think he felt safe as he was 15 yards from the edge of my yard and had the wind at this back. He spent hours doing this.
This is the best captures I have off the video and you can see his eyes are almost closed. I'll have to see if I can get a capture of him actually sleeping.
I often wondered the same thing. Last year just after Christmas, a 9 pt I had see off and on thru the fall was bedded outside my house one morning. I left him undisturbed and was interested in watching him rest. He appear worn out and beaten up from the rut. I had watched deer bedded before but he was different.
He could barely keep his head up. Just like you or me, he appeared to have heavy eyelids and his head would drop as he dozed off. At times, his chin was on the ground or his body and his eyes were closed. He would remain this way for a few minutes and then pick his head up and look around.
I think he felt safe as he was 15 yards from the edge of my yard and had the wind at this back. He spent hours doing this.
This is the best captures I have off the video and you can see his eyes are almost closed. I'll have to see if I can get a capture of him actually sleeping.
Once while hunting phesants, I was walking down a corn row and the wind was blowing. I walked to within 5 feet of a doe and when I went to pet it to see if it was alive. It got up and ran about 15 feet and stopped and looked at me. I guess I caught her asleep. It had the prettiest eyebrows you ever saw.
It didn't look nothing like the ones hanging in the garage.
06-19-2007, 11:39 AM
#20
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Southwest PA
Posts: 1,244
RE: Do deer sleep?
Hey Rifleman,
I went back and forth all day on wether or not I should try to stalk him. Late Archery was still in. In fact, I had a thread going on the archery board getting opinions. In the end, I decided he earned his rest. I saw him several time thru the summer and season and figured he would only get better with age.
Plus I wasn't confident in my stalking skills to do it with a bow. He was 15 yards from the edge of my yard and had the wind at his back.I learned a lot that day watching him rest.
I went back and forth all day on wether or not I should try to stalk him. Late Archery was still in. In fact, I had a thread going on the archery board getting opinions. In the end, I decided he earned his rest. I saw him several time thru the summer and season and figured he would only get better with age.
Plus I wasn't confident in my stalking skills to do it with a bow. He was 15 yards from the edge of my yard and had the wind at his back.I learned a lot that day watching him rest.