Deer water

[Jerimy240]

Do deer drink stagnant waters from swamps, or will they travel to a main creek or river that feeds the swamp? Also, I hunt next a field where there are ditches, that run through the middle, that fill up with water when it rains heavy. How often do you think will deer use that as a water source. Finally, how often do deer actually drink water? I heard when they get up from bed and prior to.

[buckhunter21]

I think a lot of your question depends on what part of the country you're dealing with here.  In South Carolina, where it's warmer, I would think they would drink water more than they would up here in the midwest...On an average per day basis year round anyways.  Believe it or not, deer get a lot of 'water' from the food they eat, so sometimes they may not even need to go to an actual pond, lake, or river to get some H2O. 
 
Do I think they'll drink swamp water....Yes, if they are that thirsty and nothing else is available.  Those ditches that you said fill up, they may or may not use them on a consistent basis.  If it's raining that much, there may be other little holes that also fill up that they are drinking out of. 

[ChuckNorris]

After a good rain we have standing water on our dirt/sand roads. The amount of deer and other wildlife tracks around these "puddles" is amazing.

[buckfarmdude]

It probably depends alot on the climate, the time of year, and the temperature. I would be hard to say that they drink a certain amount a certain number of times a day.

[69Viking]

I imagine D&DH has done an article on this in the past, might be a good time for them to do a refresher like they did recently with the deer calling article. It doesn't matter how long I hunt it's always good to read articles or watch shows that relate to the techniques you use. You might think you have it down good but then you see a show or read an article and realize it might help if you tweek the way you do things based on the show or article. Good question for sure. I've seen where deer make paths to water such as a pond or creek but I have no way to tell you how often they need to drink water they can't get from their food.

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: Jerimy240

Do deer drink stagnant waters from swamps, or will they travel to a main creek or river that feeds the swamp? Also, I hunt next a field where there are ditches, that run through the middle, that fill up with water when it rains heavy. How often do you think will deer use that as a water source. Finally, how often do deer actually drink water? I heard when they get up from bed and prior to.

 
Deer will drink stagnant water from swamps, ditches, and mud holes. 
 
Deer may or may not use the water sources in the field, and if they do it may be at night.  I wouldn't plan to use them to hunt over if that's the question. 
 
When rains are heavy and green plants are thriving deer can get most if not all the water they need from the plants they eat, so they don't necessarily have to visit a water source.

[duckunder]

I hunt my water hole alot when the rut is in full gear........ Those deer drink alot of water when they are in the seek and chase mode.... Infact, last year I shot my 10 point 140" buck at my water hole.... I truely think they are golden this time of year.....  I put a trail camera over this water hole the past couple years and I had a ton of pictures of bucks standing there with their tongues handging out.... They visit it day and night..... and this water hole is no more than 10 x 10 feet in size..... BUT, they have no other water within a mile or so,  that's why I think this perticular water hole works so good....  I will hunt a water hole anyday during the rut.......

[Stickman]

I have watched alot of deer walking by a mudhole and drink water when a creek was running within a 100 yards of them. I also hunted a swamp that was stagnant and had a worn out deer trail running alongside it. I saw 12 deer walk past it and they all drank from it, funny thing is there was a river over the next hill.

[tumor96]

Your water hole is doing the job at 10x10? That's great! How deep is it? How did you line it, if at all, and did you tap a well to make sure it holds water? Just curious. We have 40 acres (3 of us hunt) of low-lying hardwoods and bordering swamp. We have ample oaks and acorns and have planted about 8 apple trees in the one acre opening. we are about 1 mile from a river one way, and about 1 mile from a lake in the other and we just want enough standing water on our property to hold them. We are going through the paperwork process with the DNR to make sure we do everything right, but we would appreciate any input!

[duckunder]

tumor96....
Yes, my 10 x 10' water hole works great...... If it's like you said, with no water anywhere close to you, I GUARANTEE you will have great results....  It may take a few months for the deer to all find it, but once they know it's there, they will be back.... I did not have to line mine with anything because its in clay, which really is a great bottom, the water does not sink throught it, but ya, I suppose you could line it with some sort of plastic or something, I dont know....   but ya, mine is only about a foot deep, and I pretty much just reley on the rain to keep it filled up.... I suppose you could haul water out to it if it runs low...