Everything I feared about Dolly appeared to be true. As the dominant doe in our original group of four of West Virginia’s finest whitetail deer, it was basically up to her whether the the new outsiders would be accepted. Would she share the corn feeder with the three new deer, plus the pair she’d already intimidated, or defend it for the exclusive use of her group?
I could only hope she would share. There was plenty for her group – Ruthie, another three year old or more (and probably Dolly’s sister), plus their two yearlings Alfalfa and Darla. I was quite optimistic considering that 50 pounds of corn was consumed from Monday night to Thursday morning. I had watched the four deer for nearly a year and knew they could never eat that much in 60 hours.
Hopefully that meant that bossy Dolly was allowing the other five to feed. She was tolerating it, though somewhat reluctantly no doubt.
No chance. Dream on.
Thursday evening, I returned home around 6:30, just an hour or so before dark. Six deer startled as I pulled up the 300-foot gravel driveway, but they didn’t scamper right off. They stood and stared me down, as if wondering whether I meant them any harm. They sent me a message, “We’re hanging out.”
I walked from my truck to the new pole barn under construction, never lifting my head to look the transfixed deer in the eye. I checked out the progress on the barn, sneaking peeks now and then to see if the deer were still standing and looking at me. They were. This only happened once in a while in the past year – when they weren’t going to leave the feeder area for others to pillage.
I got into the log cabin and within 10 minutes the hill above the feeder proved to be a battleground for warring deer. On two separate occasions, large does attempted to approach the trough full of corn. Both times Dolly raised her front hoofs and made an aggressive display. They backed off. Two outlaw yearlings, in all their innocence, also made the mistake of approaching the feeder to eat. They were easily and summarily rebuffed.
Dolly allowed Ruthie, Alfalfa, and Darla to eat as much as they wanted while she stood guard, her head held proudly and defiantly in the air. I almost think she was forcing them to linger at the feeder and keep chowing down, just to show the other deer her contempt for them. Several times the foursome appeared to be leaving the feeder area, only to suddenly turn and head back, led by you-know-who.
My hope is that the other five whitetail deer will sneak back from time to time throughout the night to feed. Over the course of the next week, Dolly will begin to accept that she can’t defend the feeder 24 hours a day. Let the others feed. Have compassion for those three pregnant does, who, like you and Ruthie, will be giving birth in a month. You’re all deer. You’re all in this thing together.
Well, we’ll see if Dolly mellows out. My fingers are crossed.
- Mountain Man
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