Why deer poop pellets

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Why do some animals have pellet poop? By Straight Dope Staff Oct 23, Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Dear Straight Dope: Dear Straight Dope: Being an avid outdoorsman I've often wondered, what is the internal mechanism in animals such as goats, d Doug replies: A legitimate question.

Let us deal with the matter as scientists. Well, somebody had to say it. Doug Send questions to Cecil via cecil straightdope. Why are deer droppings so small? I mean, deer are fairly large animals, but they create a big pile of very small pellets.

White-tailed deer pellets. Photo by Jim Conrad, backyardnature. Get Our Newsletter. About the Author Cat Taylor. There is a lot to discover from it. Here are 10 facts about deer pellets that you might not know, but can help you put venison in the freezer.

Wildlife biologists agree that deer defecate roughly 13 times per day during the fall months. If you consider a family group of deer consisting of two does and three fawns, it amounts to 65 different excretions during a single day. As hunters, we often build our deer hotspots around rubs and scrapes. A bad plan? No, but if you find a trail lined with pellets, you should take notice.

When I discovered it, I did a hang-and-hunt in the area and saw 14 different deer. Over time, as I learned the property more, I came to realize that the area is a major staging zone used by the deer just before heading out to the big ag fields for the evening.

Many hunters believe that they can tell the sex of a deer by the size or shape of their pellets. Earlier this season, I watched a large buck tend a doe in a massive sea of tamarack.

Days later, I checked the area out. I found a number of piles of long, formed droppings along with countless piles of smaller-sized pellets. Their size and length allowed me to easily distinguish between buck and doe droppings. Many top researchers do suggest that the length of a formed pile can suggest buck or doe, especially when dealing with a mature buck.

On average, bucks drop around 75 per excretion. Whether you believe you can determine deer sex or not from the size of poop, you should take notice when you see lots and lots of pellets on the ground. Chances are, they belong to a buck.