doe won't leave our backyard - what to do

[pinkytoe]

When we first moved here a few months ago, there were small groups of does who would jump the fence, graze in the backyard and move on. For several days now, there has been a solitary doe in the yard who doesn't seem to want to leave. She grazes for a while, eats branches and twigs, and then beds down in the corner for quick naps but always wary. I fear that maybe her little herd has been shot or otherwise killed and she is all alone now. I could chase her away but she seems to feel secure here. Any ideas what to do?

[bae]

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/venison

[goldensmom]

We had a fawn that camped out in our yard a few years ago. We watched our for her because of coyotes but she eventually left. We have herds of up to 60 that traverse our farm, live in the woods, forage in the hay and bean fields and that is just what they do. I suggest calling your state DNR if you want her gone, they could re-locate her.

[bae]

Relocation of deer is rarely a sound plan:

https://bloomington.in.gov/documents...cument_id=5711

[goldensmom]

Relocation of deer is rarely a sound plan:

Perhaps it is rare to relocate deer but it is done. Specifically, in a local municipality near where I live deer have been caught and relocated to avoid property damage and vehicular accidents in town. I guess it is sound plan versus practicality and practicality won.

[bae]

Perhaps it is rare to relocate deer but it is done.

I didn't say it was rare to relocate them. I said it was "rarely a sound plan", and provided a handy pointer to a wildlife management agency's data on the matter. The high mortality rate, disease transmission issues, and lack of receiving sites, combined with the cost make this a poor solution to deer problems.

I'm sure local agencies try this all the time anyways...

[goldensmom]

I didn't say it was rare to relocate them. I said it was "rarely a sound plan", and provided a handy pointer to a wildlife management agency's data on the matter. The high mortality rate, disease transmission issues, and lack of receiving sites, combined with the cost make this a poor solution to deer problems.

I'm sure local agencies try this all the time anyways...

Okay. I am far from being an expert, just a farm girl passing along information from what I've seen as a solution hoping it might be helpful.

[bae]

I live where there are more deer than people. There are no predators except cars, and there's very little hunting pressure.

You can't have any sort of garden unless you have a deer-proof fence. That's about 8 feet.

I often have to use my horn to get out of my driveway, to shoo the deer out.

They bed down outside the fence to my yard, ignoring my dogs completely.

Idiots down the road *feed* some of them. One lady even lets them into her living room.

My wife calls them "verge rats"

We've tried every deer repelling substance there is over the past 18 years or so - no joy.

The herd that lives on my hillside has very predictable habits, they move according to a schedule throughout the day, it's sort of cute. They'll come up and graze on the leaves of trees I am busy cutting down, and stand right next to me nibbling while I am splitting wood and such.

There's no good answer except to keep them out in the first place, and that's a royal pain.

I've considered relocating mountain lions *to* here, but that might introduce other issues.

[pinkytoe]

I'm told I will need to completely cage in my garden to keep out deer and critters even though we have a 6 ft fence. And we're smack in the middle of a huge city. I'm concerned about ticks or lice too.

[Tussiemussies]

We have deer here and will also have to build a very large fence for the garden. Are you on a lot of land? Just thinking that maybe you could get her to move to another area by feeding her in a new area. Maybe there is a sanctuary that would take her?