Hunting Forum

That photo of th buck was taken 8/18/12 at 5:56 PM and had another nice 8pt. behind him. I tried to post other pics but failed. I'll try again.

Dang got the same one twice couldn't get the thin looking one with the 8pt. behind.

I don't believe it's mange. I think it's the natural shedding of summer to winter coat (sometimes deer will rub their hides against trees when shedding). Even if it is the mange, since it's a skin disorder caused by an insect, I don't think the meat would be bad.

From the Texas Parks and Wildlife site: https://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/habitats/faq/diseases/disease1.phtml

Wildlife Diseases
Can white-tailed deer get mange?

Yes. Mange in white-tailed deer is caused by a mite known as Demodex odocoilei that is only found on whitetails. Demodetic mange causes hair loss that is often accompanied by the thickening of the skin in the affected areas. Mange is usually rare in whitetails. The lesions are confined to the skin of the animal and do not affect the muscles. Once the animal has been skinned, the meat is edible.

Those deer look healthy,I agree just normal shedding.

The mule deer hear are looking similar. Could be normal shedding or mange being being worse because the animals are very stressed by the drought. Here in town we have a lot of deer and they are much thinner than normal.

That makes me feel a little better. I visited kdwpt web sight and read a report on sick and dying deer in eastern Ks. from a disease Hd (Hemoratic Disease). The county I am in was not on their list of affected countys. It is carried by midges found around stagnet water. Many die within a few days of being affected. Some will produce antibiodies to fight off the disease. It causes bleedig from vessels and they loose ability to digest food properly causing thin deer. Some other signs were fever rings on hooves and cracking on hooves. The disease can infect cattle but is not harmful to humans and the meat is unfit for consumption.

I plan on calling kdwpt today. Their wasn't any mention of hair loss from HD but I question the one doe that was looking real thin. I have put out my corn feeder thinking that these deer needed some nourishment. In the article it said not to conccentrate deer around feeders and that corn prevents them from fighting off the disease.

Thanks for your responses.

Corn doesn't provide protein, just carbohydrates. It's like feeding a kid nothing but candy. That's why I plant food plots that supply nutrients to help grow body weight and promote antler growth in bucks and milk production in does. I use corn as an attractant, only.

With HD they are dead in about a week , don't think you have to worry looking at the pics .

I would like to plant a food plot. I have a clearing about 30yds. wide and 60 yds. long beside my stand on river bank. Johnson grass is what is growing on it now and have it mowed down. With the drought we have been having I am afraid it would be a waist of time to try. The soil is real sandy in that spot.

I have asked the same question around here in Missouri.  I've been told by several people that the missing hair is caused by the deer scratching and rubbing on stuff because of ticks.  I don't know if that is true or not, but it makes at least some sense since they are saying the ticks are awful this year because of the mild winter and drought.

I got several trail cam pic's of a small buck here is in texas that looks just like the buck at the top. I figured it was either mange or rubbing for ticks like mentioned above.
I have been on the look out for him to see if his hair grows back before it gets cold. Someone mentioned that if it's mange, the meat is still good to eat ..... humph, ain't real sure if I what to skin an animal with the mange ..... ya know what I mean?

Looks like annual shedding to me.