Deer learning?

[antlerking69]

Do you think deer learn theres corn piles out from crows & jays? Just wondering...

[Woods Walker]

I have no scientific proof, but my guess is that they do. Now, they don't come out of the womb genetically programed to know this like they are for other things, but I do think it can be a LEARNED reaction.

Let's face it, a deer's life revolves around 3 things in overall order of priority.....

1. Where' s my next meal coming from?

2. How do I avoid being something's next meal?

3. Who am I going to have sex with.

In the case of does you can also add her urge to provide for her young, and for the bucks a need to establish breeding dominance with other bucks, but these are secondary compared to the first 3.

So....that said, I believe that deer would learn to associate it's number one priority...FOOD...with anything that better enables them to fulfill that need. We do know that deer have learned to associate the sound of a combine and that of a chainsaw with food, so why not the sound of certain birds? Any creature needs to know it's local environment to a minute degree in order to survive. The main difference between the sounds of the above mentioned machinery and the bird sounds is that for the vast majority of the time if they hear the machines it does result in a new food source for them. With the birds not quite so much so it may take a little longer for the learning curve.

Good question though!

[Sailfish]

It seems that after 2 straight days of hunting they learn i'm in the woods

my guess is they can learn anything that would assist in Woods 3 keys to survival.
But I dont think they watch the skies looking where the birds are flying. My guess is they smell where the foodpile is.
We all know by now how amazing a deer olfactory system is, so its not hard pressed to me to imagine they can smell the stuff from far away.
Here is something I witnessed 3 days ago:
My daughter and her friend went to the side and backyard and planted seeds. TINY herb seeds (like basil, parsely etc).
Next day, squirrels dug them all up!! It took no time for them to find such a miniscule food source, I would imagine its not any more difficult for a deer to find a fod pile.
Perhaps easier.

[Woods Walker]

I agree Sail that the primary way they locate it is by scent, and with the birds I don't think it's that they see them as much as hear them. Crows and Bluejay's are quite vocal, and many times Bluejay's scolding a hunter they have spotted in the woods will alert deer.

I can't hear for squat anymore and even I am still very much aware of the calls of Crows and Jays.

[Sailfish]

ahhhhhhhhh
Usually when I see a crow its when a mockingbird is chasing his behind across the sky.
I imagine you guys have both those birds in greater concentrations than us.

I didn't think of the vocalization part. I've only seen one flock of crows before and it was winter in MI and they were eating a gut pile (prolly the corn inside) and they certainly did make a squaller. But no deer came by.


Good thread.......makes me remember to use all of my 'sense' before responding.

[Deebz]

I'm sure those crows were eating more than just the corn in the gutpile...

I watched a large crow catch and eat a juvenile robin in my yard last spring. I couldn't get to the 12 ga fast enough to save the robin. They don't call a group of crows a "murder of crows" for nothing....

[Woods Walker]

Up here in "da 'nort", many times if you hear a gang of crows it usually means that they have an owl that they're haranging.

I use to call and hunt crows a lot and if you knew how to make the "gang" or "fight" call then you could usually get them pretty worked up.

[shaman]

Deer are curious animals. In 30+ years in the woods, I've seen all sorts of examples of it. I've watched deer watching a bunch of neo-pagan hippy types out drumming in a field. I've seen deer watching a combine in a cornfield from just inside the treeline. I've had deer come and watch me when I'm answering the Call of the Wild. A pile of corn is definitely going to create enough hoo-haw to pique the deer's interest.

So if there is something going on in a particular part of the woods, you can bet the deer are going to be by to check it out. I think that deer are largely bored with their lives. They wander around like small-town teenagers looking for action. Woodsie is mostly right, but I also think deer have enough intelligence to be hard-pressed for mental stimulation. Otherwise, deer would not come and stand under my treestand and look up.

[rthomas4]

Deer are attracted to the corn, mainly by scent and secondly by association. I have trail camera pictures of me putting corn out, and in the next frame, deer coming out to eat. I use my 4 wheeler to put the corn out, so I believe they associate the sound of the Yamaha to fresh corn. Much like the sound of a feeder going off.

[Bowriter]

Y'all really think deer are that smart? All woodland creatures interact to some degree. Great example is deer and squirrels. Deer often find mast trees by hearing acorns drop when squirrels are feeding. However, that is not the case with corn.

Deer learn of corn piles or feeders by reading the notes the turkeys leave for each other. The turkeys write on birch bark trees with quill pens. If there are no birch trees, they either email or text.

Deer just are not that smart.