Cold Weather and No Forage
Has Wildlife On the Move

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Deer season for Hopkins County ended a few weeks ago and once the threat of hunters has subsided, the local deer population is "one the move" searching for forage and feed supplement. With two years of severe drouth in Hopkins County, the hungry deer can be seen foraging for stockmen's hay supplies, winter pasture fields, and any place that might have sustenance.

 

 

The colder temperatures this winter have the deer seeking additional food supplies for warmth and they are being forced more into the open to find it. "If you want to see deer, all you have to do is look for the local winter pasture fields," expressed one local farmer. "They can be found foraging almost every morning and again late in the afternoon.

 

 

Deer, like local livestock, need additional feed during cold temperatures to maintain body heat and to stay warm. With a reduction in native forages, due to drouth, the deer are looking for added nutrition.

 

 

If you typically feed the deer near your hunting lease, now is the ideal time to provide additional feed for them, and to keep them in their native habitat.

 

This deer has been forced from the woods and near a homestead in southern Hopkins County, as
the native forages are in short supply due to two years of continued drouth.

 

_____