Road kill deer

I passed by this doe laying dead in the ditch yesterday. Someone smashed their vehicle into the deer.Bush one side of the road-she must have jumped out suddenly.
I was to claim it for a friend -no one around from the accident, and she was a beautiful deer. Shame to go to waste.
One of my buddies was to come to pick it up-and do "paperwork".

I dropped the call to him to cancel his trip ,and left.
Look at picture, where she has an "open "wound looking damage on her rear end.I figured it as a bad omen......

Looking at the pictures - let me know ,if any experience:

Based on the eye -how long she may be laying dead?
What could cause the damage at her rear end-hair and skin missing ,and the flesh was looking like a skinned deer being aged for few days.No bite marks.
No signs of any animal chewing on it,while she lay dead either-no hair splattered.

PS-i drove on that road at 11 am-driving back around 2 pm saw her dead. Saw no dead deer while driving up. I believe i would see the carcass both ways.She had no or very little stiffness,blood pinkish red,and while moving her front leg ,the blood was coming out from her nose a bit.
Thanx

I would say a few hours. Was it still warm? I guess you would be able to salvage some parts like back straps and neck meat at the very least. I don’t think I would be getting into the cavity at all.

I would guess the missing skin is from skidding across the road.

About a year or two ago, OOD mag had an article regarding road kill and signs which showed if the animal was safe to eat. I carried a copy of the article in my truck and of course as i go looking for it i cant find it. Perhaps someone can find it and share it with as i cant even find it online .

It looks like a pretty hard hit. The temps outside will make a big difference in the salvageable meat quality.

Ambient temps play a huge part, as does the condition of the kill. If it's cool, it's good for a while. If the injuries to the animal haven't caused the body cavity to fill with excreta, or bile, then it's a matter of cutting damaged flesh away cleanly, and processing the remainder as usual.

Had a similar situation a few years back. Driving to the gun club one evening, clear road...two hours later coming back same way, a doe had been hit in her hind quarters, and with amateur CSI skills, the vehicle spun her, and broke her neck.

Still warm, cold evening, Loaded her into the truck, and within a few hours, had her hung, and cleaned. One hind quarter was not salvageable, but the remainder sure was.

Oddly enough, still one of my favourite memories of my dad. Called him at 10pm, and he drove 35mins to come assist out in the garage, both of us having a beer, and joking around while my wife and son slept in the house.

No rigor mortis, its a fresh kill, the meat should be good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marker

No rigor mortis, its a fresh kill, the meat should be good.

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Or old enough that rigor has
gone.

Attachment 43484
Going to dig into a delicious rack o' ribs I found on my way to work Wed!
Aaaand sideways again.

FYI - if you did pick it up technically you need a possession permit from mnrf. Permits are free and can be obtained online.

This was a road kill i picked up a few years ago. Salvaged about 40 lbs of meat off of him and tasted no different than any other venison i have had:

https://live.staticflickr.com/4839/3...9b4eafe3_k.jpg

Bloat and smell will are also good indicators. When i field dressed the one above it did not smell any different than a hunted deer.