Close call today

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

We have deer all over our lot at our new place. They're thick as flies in the hill country. Unfortunately they love many of the plants, flowers and shrubs the homeowners use. There's a whole cottage industry here of nurseries and landscapers who sell a line of items that are "deer resistant".

I used to really like having all the deer around but that was before they destroyed plant after plant. Some homeowners actually put out deer corn to attract them, and I really wish they wouldn't.

deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough, they are very much like the goats I keep as weed eaters so I don't need to mow the 2 acre meadow behind my house.

FIRST the goats eat the stuff they love... oak shoots, the flowers off the top of crown thistles, baby shoots off acacia trees... then they work there way down. eventually they eat the whole crown thistle down to the ground. they actually seem to enjoy it, spines and all, eeeek. my goats, the very last thing they'll eat is scotch/french broom, it must be nasty. they'll eat ALL the poison oak before they touch the broom (although they nibble the flowers off the broom fairly early, so it doesn't seed, phew).

[Loren & Cathy]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Venison anyone?

A friend of mine was given some elk meat and he thought it was better than venison. Loren

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Loren
I found elk meat to be superior to venison. Moose is superior to elk in my opinion. Bear is several levels below venison, even a young one. As deer go, I like a two or three year old doe that has not had a fawn that year. These are usually called a dry doe. A big buck, badly hit and made to run before recovery, is the least tasty venison, again my opinion. I will harvest a few coon this year and will roast a couple young ones for a gathering I attend in early December. Yea, alcohol is involved and it’s dark where we eat. Ever have pigeon noodle soup? Ain’t bad.
Iowa Dave

[cpaharley2008]

Dave,
You tastes in meat are certainly more refined than mine. No wonder you call my scrapple, a "meat cookie"....

[sleepy]

Iowa Dave, glad you made a quick decision and are safe.

As for venison, around here, they are long legged rats. They destroy fruit tree's, veggy gardens, ornamental shrubs. I live in small town, in a very suburban setting.

We don't have as many hunters as we did 50 years ago. Combined with the recent arrivals (retirees from Vancouver and Calgary), who see deer as 'cute'.
We have a too many deer, and need a cull.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by sleepy

Iowa Dave, glad you made a quick decision and are safe.

As for venison, around here, they are long legged rats. They destroy fruit tree's, veggy gardens, ornamental shrubs. I live in small town, in a very suburban setting.

We don't have as many hunters as we did 50 years ago. Combined with the recent arrivals (retirees from Vancouver and Calgary), who see deer as 'cute'.
We have a too many deer, and need a cull.

Same here, too many deer, too few areas large enough for hunting (we are on an island) and no predators except humans and cars. And right now I think the cars are getting more of them than the hunters- at least, the cars get the does, and that's the only way to reduce the population. They are lovely to watch. They are scary to have all over the roadways.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Hi Loren
I found elk meat to be superior to venison. Moose is superior to elk in my opinion. Bear is several levels below venison, even a young one. As deer go, I like a two or three year old doe that has not had a fawn that year. These are usually called a dry doe. A big buck, badly hit and made to run before recovery, is the least tasty venison, again my opinion. I will harvest a few coon this year and will roast a couple young ones for a gathering I attend in early December. Yea, alcohol is involved and it’s dark where we eat. Ever have pigeon noodle soup? Ain’t bad.
Iowa Dave

All meat from beasts in the deer family is venison, including elk and moose.

I definitely agree that moose is at the top of the wild game meats. Along with a friend we used to harvest one pretty much every year. I would make roasts and steaks out of the best cuts, and lots of burger and some sausage out of the rest.

We usually got a deer or two, and maybe some antelope most years as well. Rarely ate beef for about 20 years.

I find one two of the key things that make the meat tastier, is to immediately cool the carcass. When warm we dressed it an skinned it right away. If quite warm we would dunk it in a stream or river right away. If that was not possible, we boned the entire deer and put it on ice. We did that a lot with antelope too.

My granny would make us pigeon stew when I was young. We would wait until a bunch were in a grainery, go in and close it up and net them. She gutted and skinned them and threw them in whole. We just had to spit the bones out as we ate it. Very tasty.

Originally Posted by sleepy

We have a too many deer, and need a cull.

I overheard some deer talking and they were going on about how the population of humans has grown way beyond it's normal amount, and they suggested there should be a cull on them.

[gabeck]

How does one skin a pigeon? Little wee things there'd be nothing left .....

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by gabeck

How does one skin a pigeon? Little wee things there'd be nothing left .....

Not sure, and can no longer ask her.

[StarvingHyena]

I have friends who live on the Gulf of Alaska where they subsist on all species of salmon, halibut and suffer through King and Dungeness Crab and for red meat primarily Moose. When the family comes to Juneau for supplies they used to take their kids to MacDonalds for a treat. That is until the kids bit into their Big Mac ….. " Eyew Mom this meat tastes funny".

Tom

[sleepy]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I overheard some deer talking and they were going on about how the population of humans has grown way beyond it's normal amount, and they suggested there should be a cull on them.

I grew up in my Town. In the 1960's there were hunters, plus the deer stayed in the Forests- of which we have plenty. Now the deer have figured out that the eating in Town is easier (fruit trees, lawns, ornamentals...), plus there are fewer predators in Town.
The wolves come to the edge of my Valley, plus the occasional cougar
comes through but they haven't put a dent in the deer population.

About a block from me a woman was pinned down by a Buck this summer. While she was in her backyard. The Fire Dept. and the Police responded.

About 10 years ago while my Neighbors were away, a deer jumped through a glass window, into their basement. In the process it broke a leg, and then wondered around the home, defecating and destroying the rooms. Me, the Conservation Officers, an RCMP, and my eldest son, manged to get the deer out.
Without shooting it. The home required new furniture, and flooring. Insurance covered it. I was too busy getting the animal out, to take any photo's.

[gwolfe@wvi.com]

Wow, Dave and Rita, I'm glad you're OK. It took a cool head to handle this terrifying situation.
Properly setting the electric brake controller is one of the least understood processes that I perform with my set-up. Rolling down the window, manually locking the trailer brakes, and listening for a skid as you drive at 25 is very unscientific and always leaves me feeling unsettled about it.
Thanks for the post.

[Red Dog]

Holy Cow! I am so glad to hear you and Rita are OK!

Fred M.