anthrax updates for Sutton and valverde

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by DaveC

That bites.
I wonder how one doe managed to slip through the tracks?


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The crazy part is we can’t find any dead deer. Our landowner flew the property about three weeks ago and said the numbers looked normal.

We’re flying the property with in the next two weeks, so we’ll see. I’ve hunted out here for almost 30 years and never have experienced this. That’s why I’m thinking it got us. We shall see!


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[IAFFHunter18]

Best of luck BrianG and to everyone else as well. Heading down in the morning to scope our place out. I will be there for a few days so I am going to try and get some surveys in for us. Bowslayer, keep the cafe going, it may be our hang out for this season.

[Kdog]

Strange stuff. Similar to what James posted...I’m hearing some areas are hit very hard and others appear to not be affected on the same ranch. That has me encouraged that there is a great chance the deer will bounce back. No telling what kind of damage had been done though. We are here at deer camp now. We shall see what we find in the morning.

[BowSlayer]

Originally Posted by IAFFHunter18

Best of luck BrianG and to everyone else as well. Heading down in the morning to scope our place out. I will be there for a few days so I am going to try and get some surveys in for us. Bowslayer, keep the cafe going, it may be our hang out for this season.

Yes sir, y'all be careful and have fun.

[BowSlayer]

Got word this morning that our lease is up for sale. It's a beautiful property and it's a shame. If anyone is in the market for 2100 acres with a brick home and barns/corrals she's on the market. I guess I'll start hauling my stuff home next trip in anticipation of it selling. Also has a bunk house for hunter or the MIL.

[Big pig]

Originally Posted by BowSlayer

Got word this morning that our lease is up for sale. It's a beautiful property and it's a shame. If anyone is in the market for 2100 acres with a brick home and barns/corrals she's on the market. I guess I'll start hauling my stuff home next trip in anticipation of it selling. Also has a bunk house for hunter or the MIL.

Lease is for sale and you had it leased for the season?
So I guess you get your money back and without a lease.
Anthrax hit your lease ?

[BowSlayer]

Originally Posted by Big pig

Lease is for sale and you had it leased for the season?
So I guess you get your money back and without a lease.
Anthrax hit your lease ?

Yes we leased it and yes it's now on the market. Landowner told me we could hunt until it sells and if it sells before season is over he would make it right. Anthrax did hit us but I don't know how bad. Some of the guys are on their way down there now to check it out.

[daniel044]

Update from our trip - we are about 8 miles west of Sonora but just about a mile south of I10 and we were hit. Found 5 dead deer and 1 turkey. So not sure how many more where out there we didn’t see. All feeders had piles of corn underneath them. Our cameras showed deer stopped coming about end of July. A few here and there but no where near the numbers we historically had.

[Big pig]

Originally Posted by BowSlayer

Yes we leased it and yes it's now on the market. Landowner told me we could hunt until it sells and if it sells before season is over he would make it right. Anthrax did hit us but I don't know how bad. Some of the guys are on their way down there now to check it out.

Thanks.

[BowSlayer]

Originally Posted by Big pig

Thanks.

You bet.

I’ll be looking for this guy come October.

[sotol]

Has anyone put a game camera on one of the dead deer? I hear even a buzzard won't eat one killed by anthrax. Just wondering if they can smell the anthrax.

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[daniel044]

Nothing ate ours, they all where just rotting by the sun. Not sure how they detect disease but they seem to sure know what’s ok to eat.

[Norseman]

We have signs of deer at our place. Corn is being eaten, cams have pics of deer recently. We seem to have been spared. Shahan ranch, up 7 miles on 674 north of brackettville


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[Grant2]

Talked to LO today looks like it has slowed down. We look to be ok, but hope the ones that been hit recover soon. With the cooler temps I hope it’s over and not return any time soon.

[TheHammer]

I’m just a lurker on this thread, but I hate it for all of y’all.

Do y’all think there is any chance the deer and other exotics knew what was happening and left? I know some of y’all say y’all found 5 dead deer, then some say they found 30 dead deer. If the place was wiped out, wouldn’t y’all find more dead deer than 5-30? I am completely new to any facts about anthrax, but just doing the number, I’m really hoping for y’alls sake the animals moved pastures.

[Kdog]

It’s really weird, in the last month the deer ate almost no protein out of our two stands. Went through the cards and I’d say we have fewer deer than before but on camera there was a decent mix of buck and doe. Bucks were all 1.5-3.5 year olds. Had some mature doe on camera. Seemed like I had more activity on cameras away from my feeders.

I’m convinced we will recover but it may take some time to get things back the way they were.

[daniel044]

Originally Posted by TheHammer

I’m just a lurker on this thread, but I hate it for all of y’all.

Do y’all think there is any chance the deer and other exotics knew what was happening and left? I know some of y’all say y’all found 5 dead deer, then some say they found 30 dead deer. If the place was wiped out, wouldn’t y’all find more dead deer than 5-30? I am completely new to any facts about anthrax, but just doing the number, I’m really hoping for y’alls sake the animals moved pastures.

I’m hoping this is the case. All the live deer we saw riding around where no where near our feeder locations. I’m hoping they are foraging elsewhere and start showing up as it starts to get cooler when that happens.

Some locals in town said take a total count of dead deer you see and multiply it by 50% to give you the best idea of how many deer probably are out there you didn’t see. So for us we probably lost 7-10 deer worst case if that’s true. I also talked to some oil hands that drive these ranches daily. They said they def have seen lower deer numbers but lots of good deer still roaming around. Only time will tell I guess.

[txhunter1]

Just got back from my ranch in val Verde. No signs of anthrax. 8000 pics on cameras that were put out on July 4th. But the drive down from ozona was sad. I drove 163 south to 1973. Not one single deer or axis till I made it to the dirt road by ozona camp. And I went thru at 45 minutes till dark. Usually I see so many animals you lose count. When you take the right to head to 1024 there was probably 30 axis. And 1024 had the usual amount on road. I'm off blue hills road. Even saw a dead horse with no vultures on it on 1973. But I do have a mountain lion on camera so he might take a toll on my deer. We did get a good rain shower Saturday evening

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[aggieland]

Just go back from our place just south Sonora and we were pretty much wiped out. We did two deer surveys and counted 13 the first night (only surveyed half the ranch) and 27 the second when we surveyed the full 5,000 acres. We typically see 150 plus on a normal survey. We have only found 37 dead so not sure where the rest are? I know it sounds crazy but do the deer get a sense that something is wrong and leave?

[James]

As for all the deer leaving and coming back theories, my opinion is No, they’re dead. This is numerous counties miles and miles. Going from one anthrax ranch to the next doesn’t make much sense to me. I could be wrong though.
Our place is same update, not really finding any fresh ones just old ones from real bad outbreak in late July. Kinda stopped looking after 138 bodies, tired of death.
Some pastures have zero deer on camera, some still have decent numbers. I have My texting camera going off all night with nocturnal pics of about 6-10 deer every night. Out of the 28 big known bucks on the ranch ZERO are on camera but only 3 have been found dead. We are seeing pockets of deer driving no where near feeders on the ranch.
Like others said, drove miles and miles at night where we usually see 100 deer and don’t see a single one now.
Majority of feed pens that usually have 30 deer in it look like this right now...

[Texas8point]

Originally Posted by James

As for all the deer leaving and coming back theories, my opinion is No, they’re dead. This is numerous counties miles and miles. Going from one anthrax ranch to the next doesn’t make much sense to me. I could be wrong though.
Our place is same update, not really finding any fresh ones just old ones from real bad outbreak in late July. Kinda stopped looking after 138 bodies, tired of death.
Some pastures have zero deer on camera, some still have decent numbers. I have My texting camera going off all night with nocturnal pics of about 6-10 deer every night. Out of the 28 big known bucks on the ranch ZERO are on camera but only 3 have been found dead. We are seeing pockets of deer driving no where near feeders on the ranch.
Like others said, drove miles and miles at night where we usually see 100 deer and don’t see a single one now.
Majority of feed pens that usually have 30 deer in it look like this right now...

That is not good news.

[chicken fried]

Terrible

[Hart8]

Originally Posted by aggieland

Just go back from our place just south Sonora and we were pretty much wiped out. We did two deer surveys and counted 13 the first night (only surveyed half the ranch) and 27 the second when we surveyed the full 5,000 acres. We typically see 150 plus on a normal survey. We have only found 37 dead so not sure where the rest are? I know it sounds crazy but do the deer get a sense that something is wrong and leave?

Man,that's a good question..Probably no way of knowing unless tpw has some chipped,or collared.These rascals have adapted,and evolved over 1000's of years.I wouldn't be surprised if the headed for "greener pastures".
That being said..Hundred's found dead on low fence ranches,don't support what you;and I hope.
The drought of 2011 is the closest thing to this I've ever seen.Funny thing about it is, we had plenty of cistern fed water trough's.Deep wells.Plenty of water,and grass..Deer don't like it,but I figured they'd eat it,before they'd die.
We had lots of broadleaf hay,and protein tubs/troughs by the dozens..
On Memorial day weekend.(Friday) It was 112 degrees.Never got below 100 for a high,until mid October.This was between Eden,and San Angelo.Set all sorts of records for the region.
Went from seeing 40 deer in an evening sit(2010) to seeing three deer (2011) Dead deer all over the place.
Can the heat kill them? Cuz food and water sources were everywhere..Yet the carcasses were too.
Honestly,the place just got back to somewhat normal.I hunted '11,12,13,14,and 15 never killed a buck.aaaaand it gets jerked out from under us this year.Easy come easy go

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[slayr]

Spent a few days on our place near Loma Alta. No signs of dead deer and they’re hitting the feeders pretty hard. While heading out this morning saw quite a few deer on 277 between Loma Alta and 55.

[sotol]

As far as finding only a few dead deer but not having any seen or on camera.

My take is that they are dead. When someone shoots a deer that does not drop in sightb think how much effort it can take to find it. That is with the knowledge of where to start looking. Sometimes a person can walk real close to the dead deer and miss seeing it.

Now factor in randomly scanning an area for potential carcasses. Apparently no buzzards to help spot them. Over 100 degrees during the middle of the day and the joy of walking around in the brush when it is near dark during prime rattlesnake time.

It is just sort of luck of the draw how many you find.

Jmo.

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[Lee230]

I've been keeping up with the various threads on this outbreak and I know how much effort, $$, time and restraint many of you exercise in developing quality deer. Kick in the gut for sure and I hate that many of you are going through this. Find some positives and endeavor to persevere!!

[88 Bound]

Originally Posted by sotol

As far as finding only a few dead deer but not having any seen or on camera.

My take is that they are dead. When someone shoots a deer that does not drop in sightb think how much effort it can take to find it. That is with the knowledge of where to start looking. Sometimes a person can walk real close to the dead deer and miss seeing it.

Now factor in randomly scanning an area for potential carcasses. Apparently no buzzards to help spot them. Over 100 degrees during the middle of the day and the joy of walking around in the brush when it is near dark during prime rattlesnake time.

It is just sort of luck of the draw how many you find.

Jmo.

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Yes and no. The dead carcasses still very much smell dead and are not that hard to find. With the deer population in the Sonora area, there would be one dead behind every bush or bunches piled up near food and water source if everything was truly dead.. Finding just a handful after dedicated searches is just confusing. They very well may be dead, but it just doesn’t make sense. Time will tell for us all I guess.

To add insult to injury, the oak trees are starting to put on acorns. That definitely won’t help anyone come deer season.

[aggieland]

Originally Posted by 88 Bound

Yes and no. The dead carcasses still very much smell dead and are not that hard to find. With the deer population in the Sonora area, there would be one dead behind every bush or bunches piled up near food and water source if everything was truly dead.. Finding just a handful after dedicated searches is just confusing. They very well may be dead, but it just doesn’t make sense. Time will tell for us all I guess.

To add insult to injury, the oak trees are starting to put on acorns. That definitely won’t help anyone come deer season.

This is what has us stumped as well. The land owner and ranch hands spent several days riding all over the ranch on ATV's and got a total dead count in low 40's so where are all the other deer? She plans to do a an helicopter survey soon to see what we truly have.

[88 Bound]

Originally Posted by aggieland

This is what has us stumped as well. The land owner and ranch hands spent several days riding all over the ranch on ATV's and got a total dead count in low 40's so where are all the other deer? She plans to do a an helicopter survey soon to see what we truly have.

Agreed, it’s quite weird.

Please share your results!

[Gary Roberson]

Talking to rancher friends south of Sonora and Ozona tell me that they were hit extremely hard. One told me that they were flying for hogs and coyotes and did not see a deer south of Ozona.
I heard that there was a little case near Ft. McKavett and another near Christoval where we normally don't experience it.
Adios,
Gary

[TheHammer]

Originally Posted by 88 Bound

Yes and no. The dead carcasses still very much smell dead and are not that hard to find. With the deer population in the Sonora area, there would be one dead behind every bush or bunches piled up near food and water source if everything was truly dead.. Finding just a handful after dedicated searches is just confusing. They very well may be dead, but it just doesn’t make sense. Time will tell for us all I guess.

To add insult to injury, the oak trees are starting to put on acorns. That definitely won’t help anyone come deer season.

This was my thinking as well! Especially with people saying that one part of their ranch was hit and the other not so much. There is plenty of pockets for these deer to go.

[Fischer]

Just came back from ranch and experienced what other have indicated, deer sightings virtually none, game cameras showing deer activity ending around the end of July, not even any raccoon pictures after late July, protein feeders still having protein after 10 weeks when they generally empty after 5 or 6 weeks and found some deer carcasses. Looks like anthrax hit the ranch hard (located on 189). Spoke with owner of Rafters and he also said he was finding dead deer on his property. know the question is what to do! we know the impact will be several years at a minimum and no or very minimal harvesting should take place. Are those of you also impacted leaving or working with the land owner on a plan to stay with monetary incentives? With such a large area impacted in Sutton county (outside what has been historically impacted) the landowners must understand their land should not be hunted and allow time for re-population of existing surviving heard and animals moving in form outside areas. If those of us affected by this outbreak were to leave, the landowners would have a hard to leasing to new hunters that happen to not be aware of the anthrax not to mention the moral issues of leasing knowing virtually no deer exist. What are your plans?

[Stolle]

It seems like our place in SouthEast corner of Sutton county is in the clear, but man the deer sure weren't as hungry as they were a month ago. I found one dead fawn, but luckily buzzards were eating it. My wife killed an axis spike that wasn't acting just right. I started to clean him and look like he had blood clots all over the hide as I was skinning him. He went to the dump. Buzzards cleaned him up within in day. Locals think he might have gotten whooped bad by an older buck as was just bruised and beat up. We are still seeing a the normal numbers of axis and WT on cameras. They just don't seem to be as hungry as a person would think.

[powderburner]

Originally Posted by Fischer

Just came back from ranch and experienced what other have indicated, deer sightings virtually none, game cameras showing deer activity ending around the end of July, not even any raccoon pictures after late July, protein feeders still having protein after 10 weeks when they generally empty after 5 or 6 weeks and found some deer carcasses. Looks like anthrax hit the ranch hard (located on 189). Spoke with owner of Rafters and he also said he was finding dead deer on his property. know the question is what to do! we know the impact will be several years at a minimum and no or very minimal harvesting should take place. Are those of you also impacted leaving or working with the land owner on a plan to stay with monetary incentives? With such a large area impacted in Sutton county (outside what has been historically impacted) the landowners must understand their land should not be hunted and allow time for re-population of existing surviving heard and animals moving in form outside areas. If those of us affected by this outbreak were to leave, the landowners would have a hard to leasing to new hunters that happen to not be aware of the anthrax not to mention the moral issues of leasing knowing virtually no deer exist. What are your plans?

Do you stay or do you go.. The age old question. When we hunted out there we stayed for 2 more years after the outbreak. Then the ranch sold. It was not good hunting but it was hunting.
The ranch owner told us. Stay or go he is going to get the same amount of money for the ranch. And he was right some left others came in. We told them what happened and they were mad but stuck.
The life a leaser not owner.

[sotol]

I see on the TPWD that anthrax is a reportable disease. Suspected cases must be reported to the Texas Animal Health C
ommission.

What then???

Do they come check out every report?

How many of y'all have a "confirmed" case on your lease or land?

Just curious.


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[Txhuntr2]

Originally Posted by sotol

I see on the TPWD that anthrax is a reportable disease. Suspected cases must be reported to the Texas Animal Health C
ommission.

What then???

Do they come check out every report?

How many of y'all have a "confirmed" case on your lease or land?

Just curious.


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A lot of ranchers keep it hush hush. They know they have anthrax but don’t want to report/test/quarantine etc.

[smokineleven]

Has anyone heard of any anthrax cases between Uvalde and Eagle pass in or near Maverick county?

[txtrophy85]

Flew a large ranch yesterday. Saw 22 deer on about 5k acres....open country too I bet we got a 90% count.


once I got halfway up 55 outside of rocksprings I stopped seeing deer on the side of the road. They were all over 41 and 377 and up 55 till that halfway point then nothing, and this was at 11:30 at night on fingernail moon that set about 12.

[James]

Most depressing thread of TBH history

[Rubi513]

Friend of mine on a Sonora lease did a herd count this weekend. The run he usually takes care of averages 90 deer. This year he counted 5.

[Mike Murphey]

From Maci Ledbetter with Spring Creek Outdoors,
As many of you may already know, numerous ranches across Southwest Texas have recently been devastated by anthrax, with some ranches reporting up to 100% loss of their deer herds. Affected counties in Texas include Crockett, Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Sutton, and Val Verde. Anthrax is a disease caused by a bacteria that occurs naturally in the soil and is capable of surviving dormant for many years. Anthrax outbreaks are typically the product of very wet springs followed by extremely hot and dry summers, and the outbreak typically subsides once cool weather arrives. This disease affects cattle, deer, swine, horses, dogs, exotic hoofstock, and humans. The bacteria releases spores, which can be picked up by growing grass, forbs, and browse plants, or simply remain in the soil. Once the spores are ingested via contaminated planets or inhaled from the soil while feeding, it generally takes 3-7 days for symptoms to develop, which is followed by death within 48 hours. Common signs of this disease are high fever, staggering, difficulty breathing, and the presence of dark, thick blood oozing from body openings such as the eyes, mouth, and particularly the anus, which is followed by sudden death. There are vaccines available for this disease, but they must be administered several weeks before the outbreak starts to be effective. Early spring is the recommended vaccination time. While anthrax is not contagious in the way that the flu or common cold are, extreme precautions should be taken when dealing with animals thought to have died from anthrax to prevent the spread of disease or infection of the person handing the carcass. Carcasses should be burned, though care must be taken in dry areas with high fire danger. Contact your local fire authorities before burning carcasses. Hunters are encouraged to wear rubber gloves when handling game and to wash their hands and cleaning areas thoroughly afterward. Fully cooked meat is considered safe to eat, but do not attempt to salvage meat or other parts from animals thought or known to have died from anthrax.

Spring Creek Outdoors will be giving presentations on the subject of anthrax, including deer restocking options, at the Lyssy and Eckel Feeds in Roosevelt, just west of Junction, on October 1st. There will be a mid-day presentation and an evening presentation, times to be announced at a later date.

[Pedernal]

^^^Good info thanks for sharing^^^

[gander]

I know that they say there are vaccines available and the issue is how do you administer it to wildlife. Would it be possible to make a medicated feed that you could feed free choice out of a protein feeder?

Growing up we hunted this area from the time I was born til 18 years old and one of the ranches we got on had been hit a couple years before. It was a beautiful ranch but basically void of all deer life.

[sotol]

If a place is nearly wiped out and a person brought in a few deer with better genetics than the natives it could be a long term benefit...sort of.
If a deer is vaccinated for anthrax would he be immune forever or is it an annual thing?
With better genetics and almost no competition for forage you could do good til the next outbreak hits.

Just looking for a bright spot in this.

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[jason86]

TPW should trap all the deer in the hoods of San Antonio and relocate them to these areas.

[Kdog]

Originally Posted by sotol

If a place is nearly wiped out and a person brought in a few deer with better genetics than the natives it could be a long term benefit...sort of.
If a deer is vaccinated for anthrax would he be immune forever or is it an annual thing?
With better genetics and almost no competition for forage you could do good til the next outbreak hits.

Just looking for a bright spot in this.

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From what I have read the vaccine is something that is given to livestock annually, like every spring. But there is no oral vaccine, so you would I give it to a wild animal you would have to trap it, give it a shot then release it.

The ranch I hunt was appears to have been hit pretty hard but I feel pretty confident the deer will bounce back. I pulled my cards last weekend and the weird thing is it seemed like there was more deer activity away from the feeder than at the feeder. That is what my cameras showed anyway. One thing is for sure though they are not all dead and the ones that are left will have all they want.

[Spoonbilla]

Been a lurker for a while but thought I'd share a report from our ranch just north of Sonora. We are about 7 miles north of Sonora off 277. I went up last weekend and didn't see any dead deer. Didn't see a lot of deer but that's kind of usual for us this time of year with the day heat and also don't feed in the offseason. Saw some deer in the late evenings and early mornings, also saw several Axis. Saw a couple does with fawns. According to our rancher most of the area effected is south of I10. Hopefully we dodged a bullet. We did find 2 dead kid sheep. They were both dead near burned areas. So not sure if it was a result of anthrax or something else. I guess we will see once the feeders start.

[Sticks&Strings]

Originally Posted by sotol

If a place is nearly wiped out and a person brought in a few deer with better genetics than the natives it could be a long term benefit...sort of.
If a deer is vaccinated for anthrax would he be immune forever or is it an annual thing?
With better genetics and almost no competition for forage you could do good til the next outbreak hits.

Just looking for a bright spot in this.

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It could be a very good thing if one had the money to do it. Purchase 20-30 bred doe, and 5-10 stocker bucks and within a few years you would have some really nice deer. The negative is, virtually no trophy hunting for 5 years or so. Or buy 20-30 sticker bucks that are 3 yrs old and have a shorter wait.

As for the vaccination, it needs to be annually distributed. You can get it put in protein. We have been doing it for years and feed it every spring just to be safe. We think we lost less than 10 deer this outbreak on 6000 acres. We have had this place for 12 years and this is the first outbreak. It had one not too long before we got it but the previous people didnt run livestock and fed the feed. We dont run livestock either. I think that is the best preventative you can do.

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[Kdog]

Originally Posted by Sticks&Strings

It could be a very good thing if one had the money to do it. Purchase 20-30 bred doe, and 5-10 stocker bucks and within a few years you would have some really nice deer. The negative is, virtually no trophy hunting for 5 years or so. Or buy 20-30 sticker bucks that are 3 yrs old and have a shorter wait.

As for the vaccination, it needs to be annually distributed. You can get it put in protein. We have been doing it for years and feed it every spring just to be safe. We think we lost less than 10 deer this outbreak on 6000 acres. We have had this place for 12 years and this is the first outbreak. It had one not too long before we got it but the previous people didnt run livestock and fed the feed. We dont run livestock either. I think that is the best preventative you can do.

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Where do you get your medicated protein? And it has a vaccine specific for Anthrax? I was under the impression there was no oral vaccine for it.

[Sticks&Strings]

Originally Posted by Kdog

Where do you get your medicated protein? And it has a vaccine specific for Anthrax? I was under the impression there was no oral vaccine for it.

Yes. Lyssy and eckels makes it for us. But you have to get a prescription from a vet I believe.

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