Please Help to Identify a Predator

[Terrocat]

Hello. We have a very strange visitor in our backyard a few days Already, which made a very strange sound as he had breathing problems, with whistle. O day, I have found, I think, it’s scat tween the chicken coop and barn. Everyone, I have asked about, could not identify the animal. May be, anyone here could help me with the problem? Please, see the picture of scat. Thank you in advance.

 

[Chipper Chicken]

Where are you? Do you have Elk where you live?

 

[Blw18]

Looks like a deer to me. The whistling/breathing noise seems like the alarm call they give off. Sounds like loud sneezing.

 

[Terrocat]

Where are you? Do you have Elk where you live?

I am in PA. Elks are 70 miles from us.

 

[Chipper Chicken]

I think @Blw18 is probably correct, most likely that scat is from a deer.

 

[hayley3]

Normally deer poo is pelleted like a goats. Odd this is all clumped together.

 

[Blw18]

I’m a deer farmer. My deer in the summer months when their food is green and full of moisture have poop that sticks together. It starts becoming like pellets in the colder months when they’re eating more dry grass and pelleted feed with little moisture. I hope that helps

 

[hayley3]

I’m a deer farmer. My deer in the summer months when their food is green and full of moisture have poop that sticks together. It starts becoming like pellets in the colder months when they’re eating more dry grass and pelleted feed with little moisture. I hope that helps

That's good to know but I've never heard of a deer farmer...would you care to explain how that works?

 

[Blw18]

Well, we breed and sell fallow deer. One of my bucks is my avatar. Because fallow deer aren’t regulated like whitetail and are considered livestock, you only have to have a simple permit. We breed these deer and sell them to ranches, other farms, and for anyone wanting to have some interesting livestock! They’re exceptionally easy to raise and fun to work with. We don’t have a big operation (maybe a dozen deer at the moment) but we should be expanding later this summer and adding another breeding pen. This is only a hobby at the moment but I want it to grow into something larger.

 

[Rooster G]

That is deer, elk, or alpaca. I have got to go with deer.