Deer Do the Darnest Things- Deer Hung on Fence

[Bicoastal]

On my morning walk, I saw a deer hanging by a hind leg snagged at the top of my fence. I had the dogs with me, so I detoured and contacted a neighbor for help. Put the dogs up and came back to neighbor struggling with fence and deer struggling on the ground. Oh! It’s alive!

It was snagged at the coronary band on the top wire of a woven wire fence. You know the teeny ridge where the vertical wire intersects with (winds over) the horizontal wire? It’s just two, teeny, tiny, tightly wound loops of wire. Yep, deer darn was ripping its hoof off on that little bump of wire.

Neighbor maneuvered fence and I snipped a single vertical wire at the knot to free the hoof. Deer was able to run off. Fence bounced back like nothing happened. Yay! I built that fence!

Remarkable.

Wait! There’s a hot wire above the woven wire. How did the hoof come into contact with the woven wire fence and not the smooth strand of hot wire above it?

Any ideas?!?

Let me try a screenshot:

Text

[SusanO]

I guess that deer wasn’t a jumper - it was a dressage deer.

[Weezer]

Glad you were able to help that poor deer out!

[NaturallyHappy]

I wonder if it “kicked back” after clearing the hot wire and snagged the hoof.

[NancyM]

Found a dead one like that a few years ago here. I don’t know how long it had been there. I think they will often kick back when jumping over a fence, and the hind leg can get through any wires at that point, then twist into being hard caught as the front end of the deer descends to the ground. It’s not a pleasant way to die. Deer are a lot like large mice… cute as can be, not smart, make some poor life decisions, and have a high mortality rate. They also eat things that we wish they wouldn’t.

[cllane1]

I had something similar happen once when I was living in Texas. Came around the bend headed to the barn and there is a deer that looks like it’s stuck in a fence of square wire. Thought it was dead because it was hanging there limp. Pulled off, just to check. Turns out, it was a little spike buck and he had gotten his horns stuck in the wire and he was decidedly not dead! I got up behind him and maneuvered his horns out, just sure I was going to get kicked or gored. He sprang loose happily and ran out into the road. I thought, if I just turned you loose for you to get hit by a car! But he made it to safety, and I found out that deer bleat like goats. Never been close enough to hear vocalizations before.

[atr]

Some years ago, I came upon a deer caught in my Horseguard fence. He had managed to get it wrapped around the base of his antlers.

Long story short, I thought I was standing far enough away as I assessed the situation, but Horseguard fence stretches a lot more than you think it might. He charged me, I ended up with an antler going straight through my thigh–in the front, out the back.

There’s a lot more to the story, but suffice to say, emergency surgery, a couple of nights in hospital and 6 weeks wearing a wound vac and I have a scar that means I won’t be chosen for the front row of the chorus any time soon.

So please be careful untangling those deer. DNR came and cut him out after I’d been carted off to hospital.

[Gardenhorse]

@atr

Some years ago, I came upon a deer caught in my Horseguard fence. He had managed to get it wrapped around the base of his antlers.

Long story short, I thought I was standing far enough away as I assessed the situation, but Horseguard fence stretches a lot more than you think it might. He charged me, I ended up with an antler going straight through my thigh–in the front, out the back.

There’s a lot more to the story, but suffice to say, emergency surgery, a couple of nights in hospital and 6 weeks wearing a wound vac and I have a scar that means I won’t be chosen for the front row of the chorus any time soon.

So please be careful untangling those deer. DNR came and cut him out after I’d been carted off to hospital.

Whoa!

[NaturallyHappy]

@atr, Holy smoke!!! In a million years, I would never have thought of that. I’m glad you are ok.

[Bluey]

We found a big buck hung by a hind leg on the top two wires of a barbed wire fence.
Guess he jumped it and the hind leg hit those wires and they wrapped around it.
He was in bad shape, no telling how long he was there.
We turned him loose and he just laid there.
We took the stock trailer, put him in there and hauled him to a stall in the barn with a run.
The vet came and, after explaining how dangerous such bucks can be and clearing the stall from everyone but myself, I was to help hold deer, he gave him medications and IV fluids, while I was holding deer’s head up by the horns.

All was well, deer vitals were improving when one of the horns shed in my hand, I thought I broke it!
Vet laughed and said it was ready to shed, why it came off.

Sadly buck didn’t make it, he was too far gone, but yes, if he had come to life and scrambled, we were ready to jump and run, he would have tried to charge us.

[eightpondfarm]

So glad your deer was lucky. I have found a few dead ensnared in my fencing and one was alive, but so damaged i had to shoot it. It makes me sick that i’ve done this to them. Me and my fencing.

[OnAMission]

We had a fawn caught in ours a couple years ago; the dogs were going crazy and I went out to see, it was about 11 pm and dark and of course I didn’t have my phone or my leatherman, which is unusual, I almost always take those out on an investigation. Thank god the fawn had made it over the fence b/c my dogs were NOT being the “goat” friendly farm dogs that they should have been, they would have killed that deer if they could have reached it and were clawing through the woven wire as it was. So I got them away but then I couldn’t leave to go get anything (worst dog wouldn’t follow me away) and DH was watching freaking TV and couldn’t hear me yelling. I had to loosen the fence to get the wire loose enough to untwist that top square and it was hideous the way it was clamped down so tight on that poor deer’s leg. I fought and fought out there for a long time but finally got her loose and she ran right off, my hands were bleeding from the wire ends and pulling so hard on that wire. She was around for the rest of the summer with a ringed but sound leg thank heavens. I check our fences at a glance every morning and night (I can see it all from the porch). I was so upset and ramped up by it, I came in and took it out on DH blissfully watching stupid TV too loud while I was engaging in a life or death trauma outside. I’ve always known if they are still kicky and/or have horns to accommodate that with a loop of rope or whatever you can do but that fawn was so little she didn’t worry me. I’ve always been so glad she made it to the other side of the fence before she was caught.

[Bicoastal]

I’m pretty sure this is the “pet” deer that was born here. It’s been on the wrong side of the fence it’s whole life -whichever side that is! It has a damaged foreleg. I’ve seen it clear a gate taller than the fence. Surely me finding it hung up with its body on the inside of the fence meant it was out jumping in. Yet it refuses to jump out when I’m walking dogs. It refuses to move on. It refuses to follow other deer off the property. It lives with the sheep full time but refuses to rotate pastures with them. It’s a management nuisance. I kept waiting for it to grow up and move on.

I’ve seen the deer several times since. Now it has a permanently damaged foreleg AND an injured hind leg. This morning, it startled up, ran a few strides, then collapsed. Stayed down for a few looong seconds, got up, and staggered around until it met a fence corner. Then it just stood there.

I’ll give it some time, but the deer may have to be dispatched if both legs are permanently damaged.