Comments on: Supplemental Feeding and Disease Transmission in White-tailed Deer http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/11/25/supplemental-feeding-and-disease-transmission/ Deer Hunting and Habitat Management Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:32:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Mark B. http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/11/25/supplemental-feeding-and-disease-transmission/comment-page-1/#comment-103 Mark B. Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:32:55 +0000 http://www.buckmanager.com/2007/11/25/supplemental-feeding-and-disease-transmission/#comment-103 Thanks for the info! Your conclusions, were the same as mine, concerning the congregation of deer and disease transmission. I continued my research after submitting the question to you, and your answers were right in line with other folks concerning Blue-tongue and CWD. The sad thing is, I got my info about blue-tongue from a group of game wardens ("Conservation Officers") here in Western Kentucky, who must have had method of transmission of blue-tongue mixed up with CWD, as they told me that just the deer drinking from the same water-hole was spreading the disease, but there was no mention of the deer flies and biting gnats that actually spread the disease, to the best of my recollection. Of course, I could have mis-understood them, but I was pretty sure that they never mentioned the insect element of the transmission of Blue-tongue. Until I happen to be eating at a local restaurant that I regularly eat lunch at, and over heard their conversation concerning the effects of a mid-summer drought on the wildlife management area, I had never heard of blue-tongue. And until I started researching communicable diseases and deer management, I had never heard of CWD. I wonder if a way to innoculate the deer against blue-tongue could be developed... may introduced through supplemental feeding. Anyway, if deer are like most animals, and I think they are, then the supplemental feeding and especially the food plots with better food value forage should make them healthier and better able to fight off an infection of any kind, as well as producing larger racks and all around healthier does and fawns. Anyway, thanks again for the thoughtful and insightful answer to my questions! Sincerely, Mark Thanks for the info! Your conclusions, were the same as mine, concerning the congregation of deer and disease transmission. I continued my research after submitting the question to you, and your answers were right in line with other folks concerning Blue-tongue and CWD. The sad thing is, I got my info about blue-tongue from a group of game wardens (“Conservation Officers”) here in Western Kentucky, who must have had method of transmission of blue-tongue mixed up with CWD, as they told me that just the deer drinking from the same water-hole was spreading the disease, but there was no mention of the deer flies and biting gnats that actually spread the disease, to the best of my recollection.

Of course, I could have mis-understood them, but I was pretty sure that they never mentioned the insect element of the transmission of Blue-tongue. Until I happen to be eating at a local restaurant that I regularly eat lunch at, and over heard their conversation concerning the effects of a mid-summer drought on the wildlife management area, I had never heard of blue-tongue.

And until I started researching communicable diseases and deer management, I had never heard of CWD. I wonder if a way to innoculate the deer against blue-tongue could be developed… may introduced through supplemental feeding. Anyway, if deer are like most animals, and I think they are, then the supplemental feeding and especially the food plots with better food value forage should make them healthier and better able to fight off an infection of any kind, as well as producing larger racks and all around healthier does and fawns.

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughtful and insightful answer to my questions!

Sincerely,

Mark

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