Ask Chip
Glenn Kimball, South Central Power Company
Q. Hi, Chip: Recently, I watched two deer in my yard taking turns licking each other's ears. This went on for at least five minutes. They were both full grown does. I have never seen this before. Is this usual behavior?
A. Glenn: Like you, I have never observed this particular behavior in deer, so contacted Clint McCoy with your question. He is the ODNR, Division of Wildlife, deer biologist, and here is what he had to say:
Ohio Cooperative Living magazine readers are fascinated with wild birds. I know that because each time I write an “Ask Chip” column about birds or birding, questions/comments from readers abound. Last month — May 2023 — was no exception. My monthly Woods, Waters & Wildlife column featured orioles and how to attract them to backyard birdfeeders in a story titled “Looking Good in Orange.”
Nancy Drake
Kathleen MacMurray, Hancock-Wood Electric Cooperative
Q. Hi Chip: I live on County Road 220 next to the Hancock-Wood substation north of Van Buren, Ohio, and read your very interesting outdoor articles in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine. Perhaps you can solve a riddle for me: I had six very nice laying hens in a fenced yard, and one warm summer afternoon when I went out to refresh their drinking water, all six were lying dead, decapitated, with no signs of any predator around. I wondered, could it have been a fox, hawk, owl, or a mink that killed them?
I have two squirrel tales to tell this month. You may remember my story (Ramping it up) in the April 2019 issue of Ohio Cooperative Living. In the story, I highlighted cooperative members Dave and Jane Kunkler, who have developed a home-based business of selling ramps, a leek-like plant they discovered growing in profusion on their rural prop
