From longtime blogger Dutch:
Mike: I think some time ago there was a thread on the blog about hair loss in deer. This past Friday, I was hunting on my family’s farm in Virginia and had this little lady stop by. She was definitely the boss doe in charge of her group, and seemed perfectly healthy other than not having any hair on her back. I’ve never seen this before and my first thought was mange but whenever I’ve seen animals with mange in the past, it’s been in random splotches on their bodies, usually with little sores. This just seemed so uniform. Just wanted to share and see if you or anyone else had any thoughts.—Dutch
I reached out to QDMA biologist Kip Adams, who said:
I’ve seen mange range from little spots to nearly the entire body. I don’t know that this is mange but it certainly could be and that would be my guess. Many things can cause skin irritation and hair loss for deer, and if this deer is exposed to cold temperatures it’ll be difficult to survive the winter.
Any of you hunters ever seen a deer with hair loss this bad? Let me know, I never have.
Yep! I have gotten a few like that on trail cameras. They seem to be healthy otherwise.
David
I haven’t.