[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/understanding-bedding-behavior\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/understanding-bedding-behavior\/","headline":"Understanding Bedding Behavior","name":"Understanding Bedding Behavior","description":"Uncover the secrets behind the sleep behavior and bedding areas of whitetail deer so that you can track them with accuracy and improve your hunting skills.","datePublished":"2014-12-09","dateModified":"2019-01-25","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Featured3-e1430949451307.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Featured3-e1430949451307.jpg","height":405,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/understanding-bedding-behavior\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1548,"keywords":["News"],"articleBody":"What\u2019s the most frequent whitetail behavior?\u00a0 It may come as a surprise to some, but it is bedding and everything associated with the whitetail\u2019s resting time.\u00a0 On average a whitetail beds a whopping 70% of the day.\u00a0 This is the AVERAGE, and the 70% figure does not apply throughout the year.\u00a0 During the dead of winter in the north, whitetails literally go to the edge of hibernation and may bed most of the time.\u00a0 On the other hand lactating does and rutting bucks may bed far less, so the 70% figure is a rough, year-round average.Head down, nose in the dirt, this buck is fast asleep.Hunters are forever talking about whether eyesight, hearing or smelling is the whitetail\u2019s greatest defense mechanism.\u00a0 Though senses help a deer avoid danger, it\u2019s a whitetail\u2019s ability to bed properly that allows them to utilize their senses, so they can keep from getting killed.\u00a0 With this in mind it\u2019s important for hunters and deer\/land managers to realize the role a deer\u2019s bedding habits can play when it comes to land development, food source layout and hunting opportunities.amzn_assoc_placement = \"adunit0\";amzn_assoc_search_bar = \"true\";amzn_assoc_tracking_id = \"livinglegen05-20\";amzn_assoc_ad_mode = \"manual\";amzn_assoc_ad_type = \"smart\";amzn_assoc_marketplace = \"amazon\";amzn_assoc_region = \"US\";amzn_assoc_title = \"Shed Hunting & Scouting Essentials\";amzn_assoc_linkid = \"ae7c57fdf6064a88ed3611cb5c96359a\";amzn_assoc_asins = \"B000051ZOA,B06XKRQXKY,B07B51ZJWL,B00LV8QI9M\";Survival SkillUsually deer will bed with their back to the wind.\u00a0 There are no wasted senses with whitetails, and by bedding in this manner they can use their eyes to see downwind and their sense of smell to alert them of upwind danger.\u00a0 In hilly country they also have a tendency to bed just over the edge of a ridge if wind is blowing downhill.\u00a0 This allows them to see below and smell their intruder before it sees them.Through studies done here at our deer research facility, we\u2019ve come to realize that whitetail bucks can smell does from at least 400 yards away.\u00a0 If they can smell another deer from this far away you can bet they can smell man just as far away if conditions are right.\u00a0 So, where they bed allows them to take advantage of their incredible nose.In many ways deer are like people in that they prefer to bed in the same location over and over.\u00a0 On more than one occasion I\u2019ve seen bucks and does bed, get up to feed, and come right back to the bed they left.\u00a0 I\u2019ve also observed whitetails bedded in the same place day after day and month after month.\u00a0 When it comes to bedding they are definitely creatures of habit if the location provides them with the security they require to survive.In order to conserve energy during freezing winter days, a whitetail will spend more of the day bedded down.Whitetails are very much aware of all that goes on around them when they are bedded, whether they are chewing their cud or dozing.\u00a0 Foreign sounds put them on alert in a second and they can easily differentiate between the footsteps of man and animal.\u00a0 So, just because deer are bedded and resting doesn\u2019t mean their guard is down.\u00a0 Just the opposite is true.\u00a0 When bedded they are more in tune with what is going on around them than with any other behavior they exhibit.\u00a0 The more they bed, the greater their chance of survival.Once the rut is over and winter arrives, a whitetail\u2019s bedding behavior moves into high gear.\u00a0 From mid-December through March in the North, most whitetails bed over 85% of the time, with the majority of daylight activity occurring just before sunset.\u00a0 During this time it\u2019s all about food and cover. To survive winter\u2019s blasts deer gravitate to south facing environments that are out of the wind to take advantage of sunlight. They also seek out areas where they can access food.\u00a0 When the post-rut arrives it is common to find whitetails bedding within 100 yards of prime food sources, if they have adequate bedding cover nearby.RestSome biologists feel that whitetails do not have to go into a deep sleep like humans to restore their body.\u00a0 Research conducted at Cornell University by Dr. Aaron Moen suggests that when a whitetail\u2019s heart rate drops to their bedding rate of 72 beats per minute they are probably able to build back body cells, whether their eyes are open or not.Although deer sometimes sleep with their eyes closed, their other senses are still on high alert.By studying the whitetails on my research facility, I\u2019ve discovered that they do not close their eyes for very long when bedded.\u00a0 Rather, they bed with their eyes open most of the time and periodically close them for very short periods.\u00a0 However, this is not to say that they don\u2019t go into what humans refer to as a deep sleep.No, this is not a dead deer, but rather a fully stretched out buck taking a snooze. \u00a0Deer often times sleep with their eyes wide open.Though rare, I\u2019ve seen and photographed (above) what I definitely thought was deep sleep.\u00a0 Once I observed a buck that bedded in the normal manner, with his head up.\u00a0 After a few minutes his head began to bob.\u00a0 The buck then stretched his entire body on the ground, like he was dead.\u00a0 After watching him for about thirty minutes I tried to sneak up on the buck.\u00a0 I was able to get within fifteen yards before he came to life and jumped up.\u00a0 The amazing thing is that the buck appeared to have his eyes open the whole time.Social BehaviorAs might be expected there can be a great deal of social interaction that takes place within a whitetail\u2019s bedding area.\u00a0 In addition to chewing their cud and dozing, whitetails exhibit many different forms of behavior from ground level.\u00a0 Probably one of the most frequent things they do is groom.\u00a0 Whitetails use this resting time to bathe by licking themselves.\u00a0 Many times I\u2019ve seen deer spend up to an hour just licking their legs and body.A buck bathes himself in the midday sun.I\u2019ve also observed subordinate bucks sparring with bedded mature bucks.\u00a0 This is more common than many hunters believe and occurs from the time velvet peels until antlers are cast.A young buck sparring with a mature buck that is bedded down.Bedded does nursing their fawns is another behavior I\u2019ve observed in the woods.\u00a0 This normally occurs shortly after the birthing process and takes place when the doe is bedded and the fawn wants to nurse.Does will often interact and groom each other in bedding areas.\u00a0 This kind of doe to doe behavior is much more common than that which takes place in buck bedding areas.A buck tends a doe during peak rut.When the breeding phase of the rut explodes, nearly all bedding behavior is dictated by the doe.\u00a0 When a doe is in estrous she knows she\u2019s a marked gal so she tries to bed in the thickest cover possible, limiting her movement to only emergency situations.\u00a0 As a result, bucks bed and move only when the doe moves.\u00a0 Because of this limited activity things can and do move at a snail\u2019s pace during this phase of the rut.\u00a0 In some cases both buck and doe will move less than 50 yards throughout the day if food and cover is close by.  "},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/understanding-bedding-behavior\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Understanding Bedding Behavior"}}]}]