OT: Injured Deer

I have been observing a deer for the past few weeks with an injured front leg that is over wintering in my woods. He (I think) can get around and feed himself however the front leg is not functional. I suspect it is a hunting wound.

What would be the proper thing to do? The deer appears to be in pretty good shape however I feel it would not make it to next years hunting season. It is out of season in Indiana however I could process it myself so it would not go to waste.

I have seen plenty of three legged deer that made it around just fine. Generally they are like you are suspecting, wounded in a leg during hunting season. If you think this ones suffering and you need some venison and are sure nobody will notice (and willing to take that chance) then by all means put it out of its misery and make good use of the meat. But just understand you are taking a big chance doing so.

If it is indeed a hunting wound the deer is likely infected and I wouldn't touch it. Bout every couple years or so we get one during hunting season that has had an arrow through it. The puss and gangreen is some narley stuff.

Best to notify your version of the DNR and let them deal with it. You do and you might find yourself on the wrong end of the stick.

We had a doe running on three legs around here a few years back. Told my hunting team we needed to be sure and get her. Well, we did!

She had lost the rear foot at the "wrist." Her wound was completely healed, and tissue had grown over the stub. A surgeon could not have done a better job of covering the stub. Even had hair growing over it. She was in good rig, and would have surely survived the winter.

Not a good plan to harvest it yourself. Could find yourself on the wrong side of the law, and at least around here, the state DNR doesn't have much of a sense of humor.

This young deer appeared at my place early Oct, large fluid fild cist due to blunt force trauma according to DNR website. Animal was fine at Mid November with this hardly noticeable at that time. Those deer are really tough, I wouldn't worry about it.

TRY AGAIN

In my opinion, it wouldn't be worth the risk. I know you are trying to keep it from being wasted or keep it from suffering, but its not a domesticated animal that relies on people to take care of it and anything that can survive winter outdoors is tough enough. Whether it makes it or not, it won't go to waste. To quote "The Outlaw Josie Whales", "Buzzards gotta eat, same as the worms."

I'd let it go and let nature take its course.

It's not worth it to take the chance of getting on the wrong side of the law, plus the wound could have already spread infection of some sort throughout the deer's body.

That being said, a coupla years ago, I was sitting in a tree stand and saw as spike buck in some brush. I let him go, figuring he needed to grow some more. I saw him a few days later, and one spike antler was broken off. I saw him again a few days after that, and when he turned so his left side was toward me, it dawned on me his left front leg was gone, just below the shoulder. I guess he'd had a rough life.

Nature can be rough on its participants, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.

Shot a deer a few years back the was only using three legs. She had been shot in the front leg at the elbow, and the broadhead was buried in the joint. The arrow had broke off and the broadhead healed in there. She had a yearling with year, so she bred that year too.

I bet it will heal up fine.

Rick

Back many years ago I shot a deer 9 point buck that had both right legs broken at the knee and a couple other problems and he could out run a human with not trouble. He/she will make it fine till next deer season and maybe a year or two more. They do get smart and as long as it is other wises healthy I would let it be. Plus it is out of season so to shoot it could cost you big $$

We had a three leeged dog that got around fine , died of old age

Had a doe just like that up by me in Bristol a couple of years ago. She got hit by a car and lost the lower half of one of her fronts. Heard it happen across the fields one night, but didn't know where. Didn't know it at the time, but she laid in the woods by one of my barns and gave birth to a healthy fawn before limping out with the herd. She got around, just not real well. At first we figured that gangreen would set in because it looked like exposed bones. Thought about shooting her to put out of her misery, but she got around and the rest of the herd seemed to take care of her and her fawn. Not sure what happened to her. Not sure if she got taken out by a hunter or coyotes. She was around a couple of seasons, then never saw her again.

I remember we had an albino deer around about the same time. Them white tails did not care for her. The bucks and does used to kick her butt, and she'd wander off and then try to get close to them, and get her butt kicked. That went on about a season with her trying to hang with them. Pretty sure coyotes got her.

Mark

I don't know if there are any other Realtree Video buffs here but I've been watching them for 12,14 years now. A gal from MO arrowed a big buck one year and you would swear from the footage that deer had to die. Never found it.
A year later she was surprised to get another crack at him with the muzzle loader and nailed him that time. He had a bigger rack too.

The best thing to do is call the DNR and take a few photos if you can for them to see. It will probably be left as it is and mother nature will allowed to do as she desires. If it is not suffering, they typically will not destroy it.

I was visiting with a neighbor a few weks ago. He was telling about a 3 legged doe they watched in their field accross the road from their house. It had raised fawns for 4 years in a row, twins one year.

He hadn't seen her since hunting season this year. He was kind of bummed out, but said she was probably eating as much corn of his corn as the four legged ones.

Let nature take it's course unless it is really suffering, then call the DNR.

Tim

Coyotes would get one like that really quick around here...

Ive shot them,but ive never shot one that was worth eating,infection sets in and they are not worth taking a chance on eating one (unless you eat rotton meat for some reason). Some are so rotten you cant even stand the smell to get close to them. Honestly,dont do that. Heres the thing, (And they can survive some amazing things,butcher had a broadhead he cut out of one that was stuck completly through a back bone.if you looked at it you would swear that there was no way that deer could have survived because there was no room whatsoever for a spinal cord. But that broad head was entirely encapsulated with bone and it was obviously a very old injury. The man who shot him swore he moved like it had no injuries whatsoever! in fact he found it simply because when he skinned the deer he noticed a bump on its back.)if it has lived this long,chances are it will survive its injuries,although it may fall prey to something,like someone with a gun!LOL Its not at all unusual to see them with broken legs and things.They live a brutal life regardless of what we see on tv. Ive seen one buck kill another,when they start rutting they are not play acting, they are deadly serious if it comes to a fight. An old buck will have scars from one end to the other.

Ken---deer can survive under the most severe hardships....I have pics last Dec. of a buck dragging most of a hind quarter around by just a piece of sinew....2 months later, he showed up again minus the hind quarter, and then again this Spring....I could not figure out how he did not bleed to death as the femoral artery had to be open at some time...this deer lives about 30 miles from Milwaukee WI.

Another time while butchering a deer, I found a complete broadhead with an inch of wood shaft attached that was completely encapsulated by a tough membrane in the hind quarter of a deer.

I would hope your deer survives.....however, if your freezer still needs filling, I would first contact the DNR and they would hopefully give you the go--ahead to harvest this one..legally...it would sure beat eating track soup any day.

Tim

i would just let him be.