Deer Health & Disease

Category: deer-behavior
Topic keys: ehd, cwd, deer-health, deer-disease

Current guidance

As of 2026-06-21, the most recent claim on this subject.

In the show’s most recent episodes, Don argues that CWD’s danger has been overstated by agencies and calls the National Deer Association, formerly the QDMA, a left-wing outlet pushing CWD narratives; he says its biologists’ claim that supplemental feeding spreads CWD is nonsense, arguing feeding instead makes deer healthier. He notes Illinois backed away from its CWD sharpshooter program after it reportedly had no effect, and recalls being an early critic of CWD testing, encouraging hunters not to submit deer. On EHD, Don maintains deer surviving an outbreak carry stronger genes, which he credits for bucks getting noticeably bigger afterward, a pattern he says Mark Drury has also observed; he thinks habitat or water-source changes could reduce risk only somewhat.

How the guidance evolved (most recent 120 of 135)

2021-09-27 Terry reports the Kentucky DNR shut down supplemental feeding and imposed mandatory deer check-ins in reaction to CWD found in a couple of counties. 54:08 — Episode #84 Don Choice - Iowa or Illinois for Opening Day?
2021-09-27 Don doubts that banning supplemental feeding will actually slow the spread of CWD among deer. 54:58 — Episode #84 Don Choice - Iowa or Illinois for Opening Day?
2021-10-25 Terry reports Kentucky recently banned mineral and feed in two counties along the Tennessee border with mandatory CWD check-ins. 56:52 — Episode #88 - Hunting MATURE Bucks on October Mornings?
2021-10-25 Don believes supplemental feeding can lead to a healthier deer herd rather than being a disease risk. 58:19 — Episode #88 - Hunting MATURE Bucks on October Mornings?
2021-10-25 Terry predicts Kentucky’s baiting laws will change statewide next year following the CWD outbreak in the state’s southwest. 62:02 — Episode #88 - Hunting MATURE Bucks on October Mornings?
2022-01-30 Don says his biggest concern for deer herds nationally is pressure to kill older-age-class bucks to fight CWD, calling it a bigger threat than mismanagement. 91:25 — Episode #102 - WE ARE GIVING AWAY A TRUCK IN THE LESTER’S FEET RAFFLE!
2022-02-20 A Michigan study on captive deer showed positive results using humic acid related to CWD. 3:24 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
2022-02-20 Don personally suspects nutrition, rather than sharpshooting, may be the real answer to CWD. 3:57 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
2022-02-20 Don found additional UK research showing certain mineral deficiencies in the soil in areas where CWD cases were found. 4:09 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
2022-02-27 Don argues CWD has appeared in states with no captive deer facilities at all, undermining blame placed on the captive deer industry. 80:53 — Episode #106 - Don finds sheds of an 8-year-old buck!
2022-06-20 Don warns that current drought stress on deer could make them more susceptible to an EHD outbreak later in the summer. 29:54 — Episode #122 - Extreme Heat Really Hurts the Doe and Fawns!
2022-08-08 Terry suggests a wet spring followed by a dry summer, without a severe drought, could be beneficial from an EHD perspective. 9:55 — Episode #129 - Lessons Learned from a GIANT TYPICAL - Story you haven’t heard!
2022-09-26 Terry says Kentucky was hit hard by EHD in Eastern KY last year and Western KY a couple years before that, though he hasn’t heard of local hits yet this season. 2:53 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Terry says the only real hope to slow an EHD outbreak is an early frost. 3:32 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don says Real World’s Expect Healthy Deer technology can help wild deer resist EHD, but can’t save all of them since wild deer don’t consistently get enough of it. 3:45 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don says people are sending him photos of dead deer nearly every day, showing how hard EHD is hitting his area. 2:29 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Terry says staying out of the woods and simply running trail cameras as usual is the right next step during an EHD scare. 5:16 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Terry criticizes states for not immediately adjusting doe harvest quotas once biologists know EHD is spreading through the herd. 6:09 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don stopped shooting does on his farm after the 2012 EHD outbreak, going ten full years (2011–2021) without harvesting a single doe. 7:00 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don says the 2012 EHD-hit deer herd took about five years to bounce back once hunters adjusted their management. 10:37 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Terry counters that ten years after 2012, deer numbers and age structure still haven’t returned to what they were before that outbreak. 11:07 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don notes EHD outbreaks can be extremely spotty, wiping out deer in one section while leaving a neighboring section untouched. 12:57 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Don avoids walking creeks or checking ponds during an EHD scare, trusting patient trail-camera monitoring since human intrusion does more harm. 13:47 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-09-26 Terry worries the combination of low buck numbers and a heavy EHD outbreak could push the herd toward a 2013-level crash. 78:18 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-10-10 Don said people wrongly assume a dead deer found away from water can’t be EHD, but many EHD deaths occur in ag fields far from water. 12:16 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
2022-10-10 A farmer from Don’s church found three deer, including an eight-point buck, dead in a bean field while cutting beans this week. 12:03 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
2022-10-10 Ben Rising posted photos of two nice bucks that died of EHD, the first time it had happened in that area. 13:07 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
2022-10-10 Terry predicted most of the Midwest is about a week from a real cold snap dropping temperatures into the twenties. 13:31 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
2022-10-17 Terry hopes the incoming cold front and freeze will help stop EHD’s momentum in areas like Ohio that have been battling the disease. 2:30 — Episode #139 - Plans Can Change… Goals Stay The Same!
2022-11-27 Terry would like nonresident and resident tag numbers to fluctuate based on EHD outbreaks, though he admits it’s logistically difficult since tags are bought months in advance. 49:51 — Chasing Giants Podcast #145 - Bully Bucks and Big Rubs!
2023-01-22 Terry says he started hunting Illinois hard around when EHD broke out, and then they didn’t hunt the area for three or four years. 8:05 — Episode #153 - What Should Buck Doe Ratio Be?
2023-01-22 Don had to back off his two-does-per-buck harvest goal in 2012 when EHD hit and wiped out much of his deer herd. 54:47 — Episode #153 - What Should Buck Doe Ratio Be?
2023-02-05 Don noted CWD was first discovered in 1967 in Fort Collins, Colorado, in a government research pen of mule deer. 22:20 — Chasing Giants #155 - Hilarious Episode Live from Middlefield, OH
2023-02-05 Terry said Apple Creek Whitetails in Michigan found that adjusting deer blood pH with humic acid reversed CWD mortality. 24:21 — Chasing Giants #155 - Hilarious Episode Live from Middlefield, OH
2023-02-12 Don recalls Mark Drury saying that after an EHD outbreak wipes out a deer herd, the rebound often produces exceptionally giant bucks, which is exactly what happened on his farm. 56:25 — Episode #156 - Looking for a Buck Bed…
2023-03-12 Don compares CWD to mad cow disease, noting mad cow started from feeding slaughterhouse byproducts to cattle. 67:27 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
2023-03-12 Bronson cites survival data showing only about thirty percent of CWD-positive tracked deer are alive twelve months later, versus eighty percent of CWD-negative deer. 77:23 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
2023-03-12 Don notes Wisconsin’s hired CWD advisor, Doctor Crowell, holds opinions closer to his own than to Bronson’s, which makes conflicting PhD opinions confusing for laypeople. 78:29 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
2023-05-07 Terry noted that controlling blood pH was part of the trial data used at Apple Creek to help deer survive chronic wasting disease. 33:49 — Episode #186 - Regenerative Ag Practices
2023-06-04 Don says the 2012 drought was the worst he’s ever seen and also caused the worst EHD outbreak he’s witnessed. 15:00 — Episode #172 - Don is really worried about EHD in 2023
2023-06-04 Don recalls losing about 75% of the deer around him during the 2012 EHD outbreak, with some nearby areas hit even harder. 15:11 — Episode #172 - Don is really worried about EHD in 2023
2023-06-04 Terry relays reports that captive deer industry operators force-fed EHD-positive deer that survived, but notes wild deer lack that controlled intake. 19:26 — Episode #172 - Don is really worried about EHD in 2023
2023-06-18 Don’s goal is to keep his food plots as nutrient-dense as possible so wintering bucks are in fantastic shape to grow bigger racks the next year. 31:55 — Episode #174 Holistic & Regenerative Ag Techniques for Food Plotters
2023-09-10 Don believes states are managing deer herds for a younger age structure, disfavoring older bucks due to CWD concerns. 26:04 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
2023-09-10 Don said if a major EHD outbreak were happening, he’d already be hearing reports of dead deer, and he hasn’t heard much. 34:16 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
2023-10-22 Don believes there will always be giant bucks no matter herd condition, noting some giants were still shot even after EHD swept the Midwest in 2012. 6:13 — Episode 192 - End of October - Tactics and Plans are Changing - PRE RUT!
2024-01-28 Terry speculates that deer with dark, concentrated urine in extreme cold may be dehydrated despite being able to eat snow for water. 6:05 — Ep# 205 - Don shares trail camera pictures from 2023
2024-05-19 Don cautions that not every captive deer is a 300-inch giant — some are only 150 inches — a factor as significant as CWD resistance when releasing captive-bred deer. 41:53 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
2024-07-21 Terry said the 2012 EHD outbreak near his Illinois hunting grounds still hasn’t fully recovered twelve years later. 60:42 — Episode #231 - Timing is Key: When to Plant Fall Plots
2024-08-18 Don identifies Wabash County, Indiana, as the location of the recently reported EHD deer die-off. 17:18 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
2024-08-18 Terry stresses that nutrition is a herd’s best defense against EHD, and supplementation must start in winter and continue through spring. 18:51 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
2024-08-18 Terry warns that stockpiling nutrition products now, in a panic over EHD, is already too late to meaningfully help the herd this season. 19:06 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
2024-08-18 Don advises getting supplemental nutrition to deer weeks or months ahead of an EHD outbreak, not after it appears. 19:13 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
2024-09-08 Don said he believes CWD hysteria is driving states to avoid managing for older age-class bucks out of fear those deer are more likely to carry the disease. 20:11 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
2024-09-08 Terry compared claims that older bucks test positive for CWD more often to saying a 90-year-old is more likely than a 30-year-old to test positive for Alzheimer’s, calling it ridiculous. 23:37 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
2024-09-16 Terry stated their worst fear was that EHD-favoring drought conditions were spreading further. 7:55 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don reported EHD outbreaks recurring across Illinois with new reports daily, including one recently in his own home county. 8:06 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Tim Heath found several dead deer in Logan County, Illinois, including one captured on trail camera video looking visibly sick from EHD. 8:29 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don explained the outbreak needs a heavy rain of several inches and a hard frost to subside, but the ten-day forecast showed no rain. 9:11 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 A friend doing food plot work on Terry’s Illinois property texted him about a strong smell that could indicate a dead deer from EHD. 9:56 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don explained that deer surviving EHD develop resistance for life and pass some of that resistance on to their fawns. 11:08 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don recalled that from his time in the captive deer industry, southern breeders often brought northern deer down for breeding programs. 11:56 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don stated the EHD survival rate in the Midwest and northern states is under ten percent, often under five percent, so most infected deer die. 12:52 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-16 Don recalled that the 2012 EHD outbreak killed 75-80% of deer on his property, taking four to five years to recover. 14:09 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-22 Don is worried he hasn’t seen his number-one target buck or another buck on camera in ten days to two weeks amid EHD concerns. 1:33 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
2024-09-29 Don says the EHD situation is still a really big concern, with new reports coming in this week. 2:58 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Areas of Michigan have been hit even harder by EHD, with a private Facebook message estimating around 80 percent deer mortality in one spot. 3:04 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Todd Hewing reportedly posted that he found fourteen dead deer from EHD in Illinois. 3:18 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Don has not found any dead deer, smelled any, or seen circling buzzards on his own property despite the EHD outbreak nearby. 3:58 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Don’s friend Tim Heath, a serious land manager in Logan County who also targets mature bucks, has reportedly been hit hard by EHD this year. 5:08 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 After the 2012 EHD outbreak, it took Don roughly six to eight years for deer numbers on his property to recover. 5:58 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Terry’s group didn’t resume hunting an EHD-hit area until the 2015 season, taking three seasons off, and age structure still hasn’t fully recovered there. 6:11 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Terry has a nagging suspicion that something, possibly EHD, may have happened to his target buck this season, though there’s nothing he can do about it. 6:45 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-09-29 Terry hopes the team can pull off a good hunting season despite the EHD concerns affecting many listeners this year. 63:28 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-10-06 Terry reported that one of his Illinois farms appears to have been hit hard by EHD, based on neighbors finding dead deer. 9:50 — Episode #242 - Stop Hunting October Mornings
2024-10-13 Don and Terry concluded the area holding his prior target buck got decimated by EHD, lowering the odds the deer survived. 22:36 — Episode #243 - Target Giant Non-Typical Buck Success - Don Higgins
2024-10-13 Don relayed that Todd Ewing told him his area was totally wiped out by EHD, though nearby areas showed no dead deer. 34:00 — Episode #243 - Target Giant Non-Typical Buck Success - Don Higgins
2024-10-20 Terry said one of his properties thirty minutes away lost at least 75% of its deer to EHD this year. 29:00 — Episode #244 - October Lull? Don and Terry See Bucks Moving in Mid October
2024-11-24 Terry explained he lost the buck whose history he’d tracked for several years to EHD this year. 2:32 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
2024-12-22 An Iowa consulting client told Don he’s still finding fresh dead deer dying now, in poor body condition, as lingering carryover from EHD. 19:20 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2024-12-22 Don explains EHD doesn’t kill deer outright but compromises their health so many die later, often over winter. 19:38 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2024-12-22 Don argues Oklahoma’s program releasing deer carrying a CWD-resistant gene shows the outside-the-box thinking needed to combat the disease. 46:36 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
2025-02-09 Don says friend Chris Jordy of Heart Jay Outfitters in North Dakota sent him a T-shirt. 42:45 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
2025-02-09 Chris Jordy’s group is fighting ridiculous CWD regulations and laws in North Dakota and is well organized in battling their state game agency. 42:55 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
2025-03-10 Don states the federal government’s CWD funding to states is harmful because states exploit the money, often resorting to sharpshooting deer over bait. 15:26 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
2025-04-27 Larry Haren told Don that his friend Aaron had come up with a cure for EHD, sparking Don’s introduction to Aaron. 1:50 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron says his interest in deer nutrition really started back in 2012. 6:40 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron explains that his team began the EHD research by partnering with the University of Minnesota to screen compounds. 16:30 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron argues that state wildlife biologists are working in a silo on CWD instead of leveraging outside nutrition and genetics experts. 33:29 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Don states the captive deer industry has proven a certain gene exists that makes some whitetails resistant to CWD. 31:43 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron suggests that since whitetails have survived four million years, agencies should stop trying to overmanage CWD like playing God. 40:40 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron shares that this is the first year he couldn’t supplemental feed after his area entered a CWD containment zone with a feeding ban. 37:53 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-05-18 Don asserts CWD has never actually jumped the species barrier, despite lawmakers using that fear to justify culling policy. 27:27 — Episode #273 - Clover Maintenance and Spring Planting
2025-06-22 Don theorizes the shrinking buck head sizes could be linked to EHD killing off northern deer and more resistant southern deer moving farther north. 17:56 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-08-17 Don said he began encouraging hunters not to turn in their deer for CWD testing due to how agencies handled positive cases. 20:11 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don believes letting nature take its course over time, rather than mass culling, would allow deer herds to self-correct for CWD resistance. 21:33 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don argued the best fix for CWD policy would be pulling all federal funding from states, forcing them to bear the cost of their response. 23:41 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don believes deer that survived his farm’s 2012 EHD outbreak carried stronger genes, which he credits for his bucks getting noticeably bigger afterward. 39:39 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don noted Mark Drury has also observed that bucks tend to get bigger after a deer herd bounces back from an EHD outbreak. 40:09 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don thinks habitat or water-source modification could reduce EHD risk to some degree, but would have minimal impact in many situations. 37:26 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-17 Don said he has never found a dead EHD deer on his farm, even though many died there during the 2012 outbreak. 41:47 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
2025-08-24 Terry says that during his heaviest EHD outbreaks, fawns were the only deer that survived. 1:29 — #287 “Predators, Food Plots & Cracker Barrel Woke?
2025-08-31 Terry recalled that EHD didn’t set in on his Illinois farm until the first week of September in a prior year, making this year’s early Ohio outbreak alarming. 23:17 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-08-31 Don said this year’s EHD outbreak started a full month to six weeks earlier than typical. 23:50 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-08-31 Don’s advice for hunters hit by EHD is to stick with the plan and do the right thing regardless of what the state game agency does. 31:47 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-08-31 Don said he told people early on not to report sick deer to the DNR because doing so would ruin their hunting property for a decade or more. 38:31 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-08-31 Don said more deer die from cars and EHD than from CWD, agreeing with what he said Ted Nugent stated on Rogan’s show. 37:45 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-09-28 Don suspects muddy, ground-dug water holes may attract the midge that carries the EHD virus. 35:35 — #292 - Public Land Busts, Big Timber Dreams, & Target Bucks
2025-10-12 Terry said that with EHD continuing to take a toll on Kentucky’s deer, he wants to assess deer numbers to guide doe harvest decisions. 7:37 — #294 From Old School to High Tech: Don Higgins Reflects on 40 Years in the Deer Woods
2025-11-23 Terry describes a tough season hunting one specific deer in a high-EHD area with much lower deer numbers than usual. 12:58 — EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!
2025-11-23 Terry relays that fellow hunter Todd Hewing has also reported deer numbers hit hard where he hunts nearby. 13:39 — EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!
2026-01-04 Don attributes an unusually warm fall with green leaves lingering into November, followed by early snowfall in Illinois, to conditions that can cause deer pneumonia. 54:02 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
2026-02-08 Don Higgins asserted the National Deer Association, formerly the QDMA, has become a left-wing propaganda network pushing CWD narratives. 50:40 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-03-08 Terry predicts more states will follow Canada and ban natural land-based lures as CWD policy tightens, motivating the synthetic scent business. 15:14 — Permission Properties, Scrape Magnet Explained, and Our Health Journeys | Chasing Giants Ep. 315
2026-04-05 Don observed that in the Northern Illinois CWD zone, the trend has reversed and the DNR is now having a hard time getting landowner permission for sharpshooting deer. 12:11 — Why Some Hunting Properties Work Instantly… And Others Fail - Chasing Giants Podcast #319
2026-04-05 Don plans to ask Republican governor candidate Darren Bailey about Illinois’s CWD sharpshooting program when Bailey appears on the podcast. 12:23 — Why Some Hunting Properties Work Instantly… And Others Fail - Chasing Giants Podcast #319
2026-04-05 Don recalled being one of the first in the hunting industry to publicly call the CWD scare overblown and to encourage hunters not to submit deer for testing, drawing criticism at the time. 15:29 — Why Some Hunting Properties Work Instantly… And Others Fail - Chasing Giants Podcast #319
2026-04-26 Don noted that Illinois backed away from its CWD sharpshooter program, reportedly because it was having no effect. 41:02 — Don Shares Personal News + The #1 Mistake Hunters Make | Chasing Giants Podcast 322
2026-06-21 Don said the National Deer Association’s biologists oppose supplemental feeding, claiming it spreads CWD, which he calls nonsense. 52:48 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
2026-06-21 Don argued that supplemental feeding actually makes deer healthier rather than spreading disease, contrary to some biologists’ claims. 53:05 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers

Contradictions & open questions

Places where the show’s advice on this subject appears to disagree with itself, either between speakers or over time. Both claims are shown as they were said, with dates. Nothing here is resolved — which one applies is the reader’s call, and the owners’.

Guidance may have changed: Don gives different recovery timelines for the same 2012 EHD outbreak: five years to bounce back versus six to eight years for deer numbers to recover.
- 2022-09-26 Don says the 2012 EHD-hit deer herd took about five years to bounce back once hunters adjusted their management. 10:37 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
- 2024-09-29 After the 2012 EHD outbreak, it took Don roughly six to eight years for deer numbers on his property to recover. 5:58 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
Guidance may have changed: Terry names different things as the key EHD countermeasure: an early frost as the only real hope versus nutrition as the herd’s best defense.
- 2022-09-26 Terry says the only real hope to slow an EHD outbreak is an early frost. 3:32 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
- 2024-08-18 Terry stresses that nutrition is a herd’s best defense against EHD, and supplementation must start in winter and continue through spring. 18:51 — Episode #235 - Is EHD Back in 2024? Bucks Dead in Indiana!
Guidance may have changed: Don links EHD to opposite buck-size outcomes: an outbreak rebound producing exceptionally giant bucks versus EHD contributing to shrinking buck head sizes.
- 2023-02-12 Don recalls Mark Drury saying that after an EHD outbreak wipes out a deer herd, the rebound often produces exceptionally giant bucks, which is exactly what happened on his farm. 56:25 — Episode #156 - Looking for a Buck Bed…
- 2025-06-22 Don theorizes the shrinking buck head sizes could be linked to EHD killing off northern deer and more resistant southern deer moving farther north. 17:56 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
Guidance may have changed: On combating CWD, Don praises Oklahoma’s gene-based release program as needed outside-the-box intervention while Aaron argues agencies should stop overmanaging CWD like playing God.
- 2024-12-22 Don argues Oklahoma’s program releasing deer carrying a CWD-resistant gene shows the outside-the-box thinking needed to combat the disease. 46:36 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
- 2025-04-27 Aaron suggests that since whitetails have survived four million years, agencies should stop trying to overmanage CWD like playing God. 40:40 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines

Questions on this topic

An anonymous listener asks whether logging-created stagnant water holes that drew away his mature bucks are creating a self-inflicted disaster for his buck herd. 50:30 — Don Higgins Breaks Down His Favorite Properties of 2026 - Chasing Giants #320
Jerry Mullet asks why Mississippi allows a 3-buck quota with a long rifle season during the rut when top states limit harvest and hunt after the rut. 58:57 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
Josh from Westphalia, Michigan asks whether deworming deer in spring boosts antler growth, what product to use, and what to feed inexpensively otherwise. 35:00 — Episode 199 - Dewormer in Deer Feed, Tractors, Screens, and Windmills
Chase Myers asked why his New Jersey deer herd is still recovering slowly from a bad EHD outbreak years ago and how to bring more deer back to his property. 59:00 — Episode #231 - Timing is Key: When to Plant Fall Plots
Paul asks whether Don still believes the deer herd remains below pre-EHD levels and whether he’s now shooting does on his own farm or for landowners. 44:15 — Episode #149 Frigid Temps and Deer… Merry Christmas 2022!
Tyler Aker asked Don’s opinion on states like Oklahoma allowing release of captive deer into the wild to combat CWD. 48:32 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
Daniel Morell asks Don to explain the difference between supplemental feeding and food plots, given states are banning feeding over CWD concerns. 58:32 — Episode #90 - November 7th - WHERE IS THE RUT
After a CWD-positive test led to an earlier rifle season, is that something hunters should worry about? 70:34 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
Do harsher winters play a role in CWD-related deer mortality? 85:11 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
Duane Miller asks about Oklahoma’s regulation releasing captive deer for CWD-resistant genes and whether Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young would stop recognizing deer from that state. 27:24 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
An audience member jokingly asks if the midge fly that carries EHD was bred and released on purpose by DNRs. 6:31 — Episode #211 - Live from RWWP Dealer Event - BINGO
Dustin Ward from Liston, Indiana asks whether unusual widespread deer coughing on his farm signals illness and whether he should supplement feed or minerals. 52:20 — Kill More Deer. Feed Hungry Kids. | Boone Brothers | Chasing Giants 306
Aaron Shorter from Chagrin Falls, OH asks whether ivermectin drench on corn piles has research backing as an EHD preventive. 45:17 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
Has Real World explored enhancing its EHD-fighting technology to help herds combat parasites like botflies? 33:51 — Episode #95 - Live from Guthrie, KY
Are heavy ticks on deer something to worry about, and can anything be added to feeders to help? 52:28 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
Larry Beachy asked how long Don managed his wild deer population before starting to cull younger bucks. 21:48 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
If leading the DNR, how would you write laws that permit supplemental feeding while preventing baiting? 9:15 — Ep# 205 - Don shares trail camera pictures from 2023
Are you concerned about maintaining a specific buck-to-doe ratio on your hunting properties? 34:00 — Episode #5 - November is Here!
Don asks for Aaron’s opinion on whether nutrition and/or genetics are the answer to managing diseases like CWD. 32:47 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
Don asks Aaron whether supplemental feeding bans meant to slow CWD are actually warranted. 35:57 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
Terry asks how storms, flooding, and spring weather affect deer health. 42:29 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
What’s the most important thing to focus on after a property is hit hard by EHD? 50:05 — LIVE at 360 Blinds: No Script, No Filters — Just Real Questions | Chasing Giants 308
A West Virginia listener asked what ripple effects an EHD outbreak disproportionately killing mature bucks could have on genetic diversity and breeding. 36:58 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
Will they try EHD Defense, the water treatment product Wes sent them? 10:54 — #279 - Live Hot Seat! Don Higgins Faces Tough Questions from Dealers | 2025 RWWP Summit
Zach Zimmerman asked whether rope scrapes and licking branches spread CWD via nose-to-nose contact more than a mineral site would. 41:30 — Episode #185 - Bucks are starting to shift - Fall Plots, GET THEM IN
Rick Maga asked whether state agency deer-culling programs effectively increase available food per deer, similar to supplemental feeding. 44:13 — Episode #207 - Was Don a Hippie?
Matt Mickelson asked if there’s a connection between glyphosate use and CWD, and whether it affects the local deer herd. 39:37 — Episode #151 - Winter Scouting Tips
Ken Vines suggested that if CWD can spread to humans, all deer processing businesses should be required to test for it. 77:21 — Episode #201 - New Year, New Tools, New Websites
Dan Higgins asks whether flies stress deer enough to affect their health, and what landowners can do to reduce fly stress on the herd. 67:46 — Episode #81 - TIPS FOR TRACKING YOUR DEER
Don asks Bronson whether CWD’s danger is overblown or truly the serious threat some organizations and state agencies portray. 67:20 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD
Don asks whether Bronson knows about deer breeders selecting breeder bucks for a gene believed to confer CWD resistance. 74:47 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD
What’s the difference between CWD and EHD in deer? 66:24 — Episode #161 - Live from Last Master Class - Inside QuietKat E-Bike
Chris Couch asks what Don thinks of Oklahoma’s new law letting landowners pay to release captive-bred, CWD-resistant does into the wild. 35:50 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
Terry asks Don whether he has heard of any EHD outbreaks in his area this year. 13:35 — Episode #133 - Special Guest Mark Luster - Buck Forecast Part 2
Amos asks whether removing all mature deer on a high-graded farm would let a bigger buck class emerge next generation. 27:58 — Episode #108 - Mind Blowing Deer Management with Dr. Bronson Strickland
Are the black wart-like growths on his buck’s face and body genetic, will they return, and what causes them? 63:09 — Episode #108 - Mind Blowing Deer Management with Dr. Bronson Strickland
Corey asks why CWD continues to be such a problem in captive deer breeding facilities. 79:43 — Episode #106 - Don finds sheds of an 8-year-old buck!
Jeff Gibson asks whether Real World would help fund a study letting contributors buy Real World mineral at cost to test CWD effects in a Missouri zone. 41:27 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
Ryan Ballsley asks Don and Terry if they follow any regimen to combat ticks. 47:03 — Episode #267 - Spring Whitetail Habitat Projects - Is it Go Time?
An anonymous listener asked what Don would do about baiting and supplemental feeding regulations in Ohio if he oversaw the ODNR. 50:43 — Episode #242 - Stop Hunting October Mornings
Terry asked whether anything could still change Don’s forecast this late in the year, or if it was locked in. 22:21 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
Terry asked what advice Don had for hunters in the middle of an EHD outbreak right now, wondering what they should do. 30:56 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
Terry asked whether Don would report his dead deer to the local DNR if it happened on his property. 36:01 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
Terry asked whether Don would walk his property searching for deadheads with bad smells but no camera activity, or just wait. 36:26 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
Patrick Simpson asked whether a mild winter sets up a bad EHD year for those not prepared for it. 44:57 — Episode #17 - Live from Don Higgins first Master Class of 2020
Al Foster relayed a DNR contact’s theory that a spring virus or EHD outbreak may explain mature bucks disappearing before summer. 49:37 — Episode #17 - Live from Don Higgins first Master Class of 2020
Chad Corte asks whether Don or Terry have heard of humic acid helping to prevent CWD. 59:27 — Episode 200 - Journey to 200
Does EHD kill fawns as much as it kills older deer, or do people just not photograph dead fawns? 31:56 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.