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Questionable deer scat?

AL79

AL79

Active Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2022
Messages
152
Location
Massachusetts
Went scouting today and needed to move some cams that have lately fallen silent. Found some good oaks dropping acorns and a lot of deer scat looking kind of like this image here. Some scat was very loose and watery like. What would cause deer diarrhea?
 

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Could be bacterial infection or nutritional issues. If it's bloody diarrhea it could be EHD or other nasty bug
 
SNIPERBBB said:
Could be bacterial infection or nutritional issues. If it's bloody diarrhea it could be EHD or other nasty bug
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Def no blood. But.lots of creeks and water. Maybe contaminated water sources? Maybe neighboring fruit trees from people's yards? Small public piece with surrounding private homes
 
Wet foods such as aquatic plants will cause loose deer stools. Pheromones can also cause bucks to have loose droppings.
 
That looks like normal droppings to me. Earlier in the year their diet is softer food containing lots of moisture. In the fall when the green stuff is all dried up, and their diet changes to hard mast like acorns and browse, then the droppings have way less moisture in them and you see the all too familiar "pellets".
 
Someone once told me that bucks leave logs and does leave pellets. I dunno how accurate that really is but I have kept it loosely in the back of my mind for 13 years. Have yet to confirm mid-action if that’s valid or not.
 
DroptineKrazy said:
Size indicates buck, doe, or Bambi. Diet changes consistency or shape of the droppings.
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I’ve heard this same thing about size and shape for a long time and from some very reputable sources. But I’ve also had definitive personal observations that demonstrate otherwise. I’m no longer sure what to think about dropping size and shape.
 
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Greens and moisture theory makes sense. Never noticed so much deer diarrhea before. Always the familiar pellets. Will keep in mind. 3 years into hunting. Picked up a lot from this site! Thanks all
 
Definitely diet. I have seen complete liquid poop before, and always a persimmons tree near by. But like others have said, looks normal and most like some type of soft food source. Jewel weed is very popular this time of year around marshes. Killed many deer over jewel weed.

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Biologist friend always said those big clumped piles were the first dump after being bedded for a while. General field observation since has pretty much always been I find those type piles close to bedding and almost never anywhere else. That said, I also agree that there is likely a dietary component too and considering deer are starting to transition off of late season browse and onto acorns, the gut biology has to make an adjustment too. Maybe a combination of those two things.
 
BTaylor said:
Biologist friend always said those big clumped piles were the first dump after being bedded for a while. General field observation since has pretty much always been I find those type piles close to bedding and almost never anywhere else. That said, I also agree that there is likely a dietary component too and considering deer are starting to transition off of late season browse and onto acorns, the gut biology has to make an adjustment too. Maybe a combination of those two things.
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That is something I had never considered, very interesting! I don’t know that I have a large enough control group, but I will say that the times I remember seeing big old logs like this, I was probably closer to bedding than not. It makes sense that the normal pellets might clump up, and these logs are generally accompanied by pellets nearby.
 
Weldabeast said:
Taco bell
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BTaylor said:
Biologist friend always said those big clumped piles were the first dump after being bedded for a while. General field observation since has pretty much always been I find those type piles close to bedding and almost never anywhere else. That said, I also agree that there is likely a dietary component too and considering deer are starting to transition off of late season browse and onto acorns, the gut biology has to make an adjustment too. Maybe a combination of those two things.
Click to expand...
This is interesting. As a new hunter, all podcasts and material i take in says "find the bedding." I have pro ably walked through bedding totally unaware I was in their living room!! I dropped some pins where I found them so I will have to go back in to investigate. Or maybe will hunt it when season opens seeing that I may be close.
...So glad it wasn't Taco Bell. LOL
 
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