Front yard livestock

The last couple of years have been pretty harsh here in north Iowa and as a result we have had an extreme amount of damage to trees, shrubs, etc due to the whitetails that live in our area.  We have had an almost permanent population of "livestock" in the small hay field between our house and the road.  The boss is none to happy because we have two graduations at our house this spring and the small trees and the arbor vidae hedge have been totally decimated up to a height of about 7 feet.  What was a full, green wall 30 feet high and 150 feet long now looks like somebody stole its drawers and you can see right through it.  The deer were tearing up our round bales of hay this year and even chewing on the Blue Spruce windbreak.  I've always liked having whitetails on our property but they seem more like large, damaging rabbits this year.

sounds like you must be surrounded by do-gooders and too heavily populated to take care of the problem.  Thats what I love about the wide open spaces.  If something is destructive or is putting a cramp in your style, you get rid of it, and it stays your business and your business only.

invest in a nice rifle. and buy a hunting permit, next season. good eats

aandtcattle said:

sounds like you must be surrounded by do-gooders and too heavily populated to take care of the problem.  Thats what I love about the wide open spaces.  If something is destructive or is putting a cramp in your style, you get rid of it, and it stays your business and your business only.

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I wish we could do that around here! lol

In my town theres a herd of about 100 that come out at 4 p.m. and stay out until the sun goes down. The only problem is that its by a major highway. Im suprised there hasnt been many accidents yet.

Between me and the other hunters that frequent our property we usually decrease the herd by 6-8 per year.  The deer in the picture were just the few that were there on Sunday morning.  We've had as many as fifty there at one time with other fields in the area having up to 100+.  We have a pretty busy neighborhood even though we do live out in the country so I'm a little hesitant to shoot them unless they are laying around right with the cows during calving season.  We even have them going right into town and chewing up shrubs etc in the housing developments, though.  The thing that kind of amazing to me is the number of little ones this year.  It seems like half of them are just weanlings from last spring.

oakbar said:

Between me and the other hunters that frequent our property we usually decrease the herd by 6-8 per year.   The deer in the picture were just the few that were there on Sunday morning.  We've had as many as fifty there at one time with other fields in the area having up to 100+.   We have a pretty busy neighborhood even though we do live out in the country so I'm a little hesitant to shoot them unless they are laying around right with the cows during calving season.   We even have them going right into town and chewing up shrubs etc in the housing developments, though.   The thing that kind of amazing to me is the number of little ones this year.   It seems like half of them are just weanlings from last spring.

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6-8 thats it??  Shoot that isn't nothing.. the coyots kill more than that in a meal...

We've mass murdered them around here, for say 5 plus years now.. can't say how many we've slayed in season...  but we're slowly impacting the visual herd.. really not impacting the herd's impact on our crops though... 

the best, and most legal thing that has kept the deer from our yard.. the anatolian sheppard.. by far and away.. no deer within 40 acres...  I just wish I could train her to kill them..  double kicker then...  No deer, and no money spent on dog food... hey that's a thought.. more economical cattle, more economical dogs... 

might be a thought?  side note.. i've seen the dog take down another dog.. wasn't real pretty... say they'll take down a mature coyote and slay it...  tough SOB's they are.. and quick too

I want about 2 more of them dogs.. best deals ever... 

oakbar, this is a blessing in disguise, advertise guided deer hunts for $1000 a head. Fill your pockets and empty your front yard.  <party>