Do deer drink water in Ohio?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: DonVathome
04-Oct-21
I do not ever recall seeing deer drink water - and I have spent hundreds of hours observing thousands of deer next to ponds, creeks and puddles.
From: APauls
04-Oct-21
Feeling thirsty Don? ;) Three water threads in a short span lol
From: greg simon
04-Oct-21
To answer your question: Yes
But I agree, I've very seldom observed whitetail deer drinking. Hunting over a water hole for them is something I've never done.
From: DonVathome
04-Oct-21
Haha APauls, yes lots of water questions. I am surprised, I cannot ever recall seeing a deer drink. Hunting out west - sitting water for hours gave me plenty of time to think about this and lots of ?????
From: Grey Ghost
04-Oct-21
I don't know about Ohio, but I've seen plenty of whitetails and mulies drink water in CO, KS, and WY. I've also seen elk, deer, and antelope drink from both clear moving water and muddy ponds. I always figured they just weren't picky, and drank from whatever source was convenient, or where they felt the most comfortable at.
Matt
From: WV Mountaineer
04-Oct-21
I have seen deer eating in the river. Pulling up sone kind of plant. I’ve seen unknown amounts of deer doing this. But, always while float fishing in the summer. Never while hunting because I too have never witnessed a deer drinking water while hunting, that I could remember.
From: CAS_HNTR
04-Oct-21
They for sure drink in Ohio, but I notice it mostly in the summer and very early fall when it's hot still. Drink way less during most of the season. Bucks will get a drink during the rut if they pass by water but I wouldn't say they seek it necessarily.
From: Stringcheesehead
04-Oct-21
My observations in wisconsin are they prefer isolated muddy puddles. Have seen them paw at puddles to make them deeper to drink with the creek only 10 yards away. Water holes are popular in my part of the state but placement near good cover is key to them being used.
From: grizzly63
04-Oct-21
I have watched them break the ice to get water, just before I shot them. What else could they be possibly be drinking in Ohio, kool-aid, beer or maybe getting their moisture from the food they eat. Rest assured, they drink water.
From: BrentC
04-Oct-21
That’s interesting about them breaking ice to get water. Never thought about it.
Here in South Carolina I know they drink but I’ve only seen it once. I think they can almost get by just on dew.
From: Rickm
04-Oct-21
I think in wet humid areas it is not a priority. I would never hang my stand on a water source in NE Ohio or NW PA. I have never in 40 years of chasing WT seen one stop and drink. They can get water anywhere they want plus from food sources.the drier climates are a totally different story.
From: Zbone
04-Oct-21
Once bow shot a little doe as she had her head down drinking from a tiny trickle of a stream next to my treestand, even got it on video...
From: Kevin Dill
05-Oct-21
Deer hate their own reflections, so they mainly drink at night. But seriously.....
From: Will tell
05-Oct-21
They're like a lot of people, you know they drink but you can't catch them doing it. : )
From: Tonybear61
05-Oct-21
Yes deer drink. But very carefully as it places them in a very precarious situation to watch for predators. Like a lot of animals they get water from dew and moisture in the food they eat.
From: t-roy
05-Oct-21
Not sure about Ohio, but evidently they do in Alabama, at least according to Marissa Tomei…
From: APauls
05-Oct-21
It's true. I almost never see them drink though. Feeding in the evening when the dew comes down and mainly through the night prob provides them a ton of moisture besides the moisture in the plants themselves. Also agree on rivers, they just don't seem to like drinking from major water bodies.
From: APauls
05-Oct-21
Except for this joker. He’s show up at 1pm like clockwork. Wind through all the people at the beach…work his way through the kids running in the water and guzzle for like 5mins at the beach edge. Then slowly turn around , work his way back through the maze and check a few coolers for good Canadian beer before going back to the cover of timber
From: Shuteye
05-Oct-21
I have watched bedded deer get up and the first thing they do is take a leak. Then they walk down to the stream and get a drink. At least that is what they do in my woods. Have seen them do that many times from my tree stand. When I was younger and spent all day in a tree stand you see a lot.
From: RIT
05-Oct-21
I put in a test water hole last year close enough to my house to run a 1/2” pvc pipe to fill it up. I can say that deer went out of their way to get water. I had a stand near by for quick early season hunts. All kinds of deer drinking from the water.
From: RIT
05-Oct-21
From: APauls
05-Oct-21
Except for this joker. He’s show up at 1pm like clockwork. Wind through all the people at the beach…work his way through the kids running in the water and guzzle for like 5mins at the beach edge. Then slowly turn around , work his way back through the maze and check a few coolers for good Canadian beer before going back to the cover of timber
From: Tall Paul
05-Oct-21
I have a birdbath about 10 yards outside the kitchen window. Starting in the spring, I rinse it out and refill it every evening, to hopefully keep the mosquito population at bay. When I open the kitchen window curtains in the morning, I'd say that its almost empty about 50-60% of the time. And yes, I've seen deer drink from it several times.
From: Tall Paul
05-Oct-21
I forgot, I'm in East Mississippi where the humidity is unbearable for about 7 months, at least to me. Practically every morning the humidity is 100% according to the National Weather Service.
From: goyt
06-Oct-21
I put a camera on a 30 gallon tub that had collected some rain water in it. This is in Ohio and about mid September this year. After about 9 days I had pictures of 1 or two deer drinking out of it with maybe 120 pictures. I think that I had a 1 minute delay between pictures so there were probably some deer drinking during that dead period. It was on a major trail intersection and I think that most of the deer did not drink but some did.
From: fdp
07-Oct-21
Seen them drink lots of times while floating or wading Sunfish Creek and Paint Creek.
From: Paul@thefort
07-Oct-21
When do deer drink water. Mostly in the evenings. Deer can go long periods without drinking anything because they often get the water they need from lush vegetation. However, deer typically leave their bedding and go to water in the evening before they find food, especially when it's convenient.
From: Grey Ghost
07-Oct-21
That's interesting, Paul. The deer on my place do exactly the opposite. They hit my pond after feeding in the mornings, before heading to their bedding areas.
If anything, this thread proves there are no definitive rules wrt deer drinking habits.
Matt
From: Joey Ward
07-Oct-21
Tall Paul.....a little off subject, but, have you ever heard of another Paul Davis from Mississippi? Specifically, Meridian?
He made some great music in the '70s. Singer of songs, teller of tales. :-)
From: ruffedges
07-Oct-21
Here ya go...
From: Paul@thefort
07-Oct-21
Matt, I did a Google Search on that subject, ie, the World Wide Web, so it has to be correct. Right?
From: Grey Ghost
07-Oct-21
Paul,
Is that a rhetorical question? I'll trust my own observations over the inter-webs every time.
BTW, you remain one of my biggest inspirations. I can't imagine getting it done at the level you do, consistently, at your age, but I'm trying.
Matt
From: txhunter58
10-Oct-21
Good thread
