Early June, I look out my downhill side of the house to see a deer in my garden! Running out the front door, I grab a broom and go yelling. "Get out of my garden!"
As I rounded the last corner of my house, she was there. She has not moved a step since I saw her last!
How dare this cow not be afraid of me.
Waving the broom about like a mad woman. I opened the gate and ran straight to her. Yelling anything that I could think of. She slowly trouted deeper downhill to the terraced mountain garden below.
Point of reference I am disabled and a woman and 65. I was not going to win chasing it. Hell, I have never even made it to the bottom of the garden as it is too steep for me.
I returned with a Daisy BB handgun with CO2 left over from the last owner of this retreat.
That cow was still there in the lower garden. Taking clear aim, I squeed off a shot. The BB bounced off her hind end.
Shocking myself, the BB hit her right where I aimed. Plus, seeing the glint of that tiny ball so far away in the sun was excellent too.
She glared as if to say, "What was that?"
She did not even walk a single step.
I took a second shot at her, again in the body. This time it strikes her toward the front near her heart. Now she slowly walks to the next terrace level downhill and stops. Daring me.
I gave her one more to the neck as her body was no longer visible.
The doe ran one more level down and behind a bush. All Done. I have solved all my problems for the day. Plus, I can now say I have shot a deer 3 times! Hunting seems to drop dead easy.
Yep, I would have made an excellent hunter.
The next day while checking the Garden fence, I saw my apple tree in the garden had every apple pulled off and a few of its branches too. 2 dozen late spring apples lay on the ground. Not one was eaten. The Bitch is pissed! You may assume I am talking about the doe. But both are correct.
When I returned from the mess, I saw her lying under my deck, cooling out in the shade, watching me. To my surprise, the does around here have NO FEAR of Humans!
I am starting to catch on.
Where are the real hunters?
My grandfather had a row of apple trees along his wood line just for the deer.
The wood line was lined up perfectly from his back deck. They would exit the woods and begin eating the apples in the Fall... and he would be hunting from his porch. Which was good because he would always fall asleep and start snoring. lol
This past week I spooked up a large doe in my pasture when was cutting it back after letting it go to seed. She came back when I was 1/2 way through cutting... did a lap around me on the mower slow bouncing as high as she could go (hoofs were probably 8' off of the ground) while staring at me before jumping the fence again and heading back into the woods. I assumed she had a fawn in the grass and was trying to get me to chase her. Never did see a fawn while cutting... but know that there was one out there last weekend. It probably ran into my tall goldenrod patch I left just inside the small wood patch in my pasture (when I wasn't looking).
Moral of the story? I am getting a small used tractor now with a bush hog! lol
My (almost) commercial grade zero turn was struggling out there... and drank 15 gallons of gas AND took 2 whole days to mow just 6AC worth of waist to shoulder high grasses/redclover. A tractor with bush hog would have eaten it up. A much rougher cut though (not fine ground like with the mower) but also a much TALLER cut. Which is important once I finally put animals in there. Cutting the grasses less than 6" is bad for stunting regrowth when its hot.
Good story... and thank you for bringing up memories of my old grandfather's place.
I never hunt anymore. So this place will be a sanctuary for them with my animals. So long as they stay in the pasture and out of my garden/off of my fruit trees. Then it is fair game if they get destructive. I aim to share the bounty with them otherwise.
Chasing that dream and enjoying every minute of it!
(Usually)
Linda, sorry you had a bad experience with a deer. She will probably be back and bring some friends.
She was just doing what deer naturally do.
I live with lots of deer and I suspect those that do not have a fear of humans have had some interaction with humans as babies. Maybe she was orphaned during deer season and someone took to feeding her.
We have had some that would come up to me if I would let them. The thing is that these deer weigh a lot more than me, probably twice my weight. I do not trust them so I will just turn and walk back into the house.
A simple string fence may be all it takes to keep them out of your garden, at least it worked for me.
Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner
I tend to agree that the problem is the solution. Of course, the deer might disappear as soon as hunting season opens! Seriously though, too many people "feed the cute deer" and it leads to what you're dealing with and it's dangerous as well as annoying. I can promise that if you learn to process a deer properly, they taste just fine, and if you don't have a lot of neighbors or the Gov't spraying toxic gick, they're organic also. If you team up with a local who hunts, that can help. That's what I've done. He's a whiz with a cross bow, so it's quiet also.
There are lots of threads here on permies about different options for deer fencing. I would consider having a mix of deer-proof zones and deer access zones if you have the space. If there's lots of wild food in the area, planting yucky tasting plants to redirect them away from things you like might work. However, if food becomes short, the only way to keep some for yourself will be with secure fencing.
Peanut butter on a piece of lightly electrified aluminum foil (ie attached to an electric fence, but this could be modified without the fence) in the spring will supposedly train deer to not feed in that spot. It imprints the place in their memory, and spring is when young are learning from mom where and what to eat.
This is all just my opinion based on a flawed memory
Electric fence is sounding better and even more affordable after this.
Where in some locations it is feeding that brings them in here they are feeding on natural fauna. Even in the garden, she chose to eat natural grasses. Leaving my sad cabbage and potato plants alone.
The Daisy is as close as I will get to hunting. Hunters, I understand own a vast amount of private forest land in the US. Plus they bring the most amazing delights to work with them in December. Yum Yum.
Here I see 5 to 10 deer on the side of the road every time I drive out the ten miles to town. All country/wild land. Electric would also help with other critters. Black Bears
If you haven't tried it already, this might be easier than loading the bb gun. I've scared off bold deer with my house keys. Clank them together a couple times like the sound of a running dog's collar. The deer here at least really don't like being chased by dogs.
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