Hair in bed

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freezeAR
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Hair in bed

Unread postby freezeAR » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:49 am

I was scouting yesterday and found several buck beds. Two beds where in a long fairly narrow oxbow and two where found in a thigh deep swamp. The beds were on root wads above the water level. My question is, can any assumptions be made based off the length off hair found in bed? One bed in particular had smaller white hairs. Is there a difference in summer and winter coat belly hair or could you expect its a smaller deer due to the length?


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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Jeff G » Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:05 am

hair length varies greatly throughout the season (summer coat and winter coat), also depends on where you are in the country. In WI i have seen hair of all lengths in bed. short hair in a bed can also be a result of hair freezing to the ground and breaking off when the animal moves. I would look at the location of the bed and try to find out if it is a primary bed that is used all year long, or if it is seasonal due to crops, etc.
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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby dan » Fri Mar 04, 2016 5:18 am

Im with Jeff, I don't think the length of hair will tell you much.
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freezeAR
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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby freezeAR » Fri Mar 04, 2016 9:34 am

Thanks guys. Due to location, local rubs and tracks and worn to bare dirt, I had it pinned as a primary bed. As I found a few more beds in another area it struck me as odd to find varing lengths. I never thought of freezing to the ground but it makes perfect sence due to him entering from across a slough. I did try to relate the summer vs winter coat into the equation. It is really interesting to see all that can be learned from sign that I have never concidered prior to finding the site. Thanks again.
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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 10:43 am

Jeff G wrote:hair length varies greatly throughout the season (summer coat and winter coat), also depends on where you are in the country. In WI i have seen hair of all lengths in bed. short hair in a bed can also be a result of hair freezing to the ground and breaking off when the animal moves. I would look at the location of the bed and try to find out if it is a primary bed that is used all year long, or if it is seasonal due to crops, etc.



How would you determin if it's a seasonal bed or primary? I understand food source has to do with it, but like he said some of the beds he found that had hair were in the swamp. Would you say oaks, beech, hickory ect. Would be the primary food source, therefore that would be the primary bedding area?

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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Jeff G » Fri Mar 04, 2016 12:50 pm

Outdoor814 wrote:
Jeff G wrote:hair length varies greatly throughout the season (summer coat and winter coat), also depends on where you are in the country. In WI i have seen hair of all lengths in bed. short hair in a bed can also be a result of hair freezing to the ground and breaking off when the animal moves. I would look at the location of the bed and try to find out if it is a primary bed that is used all year long, or if it is seasonal due to crops, etc.



How would you determin if it's a seasonal bed or primary? I understand food source has to do with it, but like he said some of the beds he found that had hair were in the swamp. Would you say oaks, beech, hickory ect. Would be the primary food source, therefore that would be the primary bedding area?

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I would say it's based on location.
Swamp example I see are mostly primary beds. In the swamp they don't rely heavily on wind direction. Exclusively about security and an exit route. They are in those spots most of the year.

Seasonal beds can be near seasonal events. When trees drop acorns. Bedding maybe closer to the food source. Crop harvest, or if it's rotated every other year, deer may bed close depending on food.

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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:44 pm

Jeff G wrote:
Outdoor814 wrote:
Jeff G wrote:hair length varies greatly throughout the season (summer coat and winter coat), also depends on where you are in the country. In WI i have seen hair of all lengths in bed. short hair in a bed can also be a result of hair freezing to the ground and breaking off when the animal moves. I would look at the location of the bed and try to find out if it is a primary bed that is used all year long, or if it is seasonal due to crops, etc.



How would you determin if it's a seasonal bed or primary? I understand food source has to do with it, but like he said some of the beds he found that had hair were in the swamp. Would you say oaks, beech, hickory ect. Would be the primary food source, therefore that would be the primary bedding area?

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I would say it's based on location.
Swamp example I see are mostly primary beds. In the swamp they don't rely heavily on wind direction. Exclusively about security and an exit route. They are in those spots most of the year.

Seasonal beds can be near seasonal events. When trees drop acorns. Bedding maybe closer to the food source. Crop harvest, or if it's rotated every other year, deer may bed close depending on food.

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alright I got it. So say I got a few beds in a swamp located. Adjacent to the swamp is an oak stand maybe say 2-300 yards away. Should I try and locate beds in that area or try and focus on a cut off point between bed and food?

I would assume you focus on trails from bed to food correct?

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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Jeff G » Fri Mar 04, 2016 3:22 pm

You are correct. I would get as close as possible to the bed in the swamp. Good luck!

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Re: Hair in bed

Unread postby Outdoor814 » Fri Mar 04, 2016 3:33 pm

Thanks JeffG I appreciate the help

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