Water for Deer?

[Jeff13]

So a few weeks ago I was doing some post season scouting in the area I hunt. All the ponds and lakes were froze solid. So I've been thinking there has been zero snow for the past 4 weeks and the ice is thick. How do the deer get hydrated? There is no river or creeks that I know of that would be open to drink from. So how do these deer get water?

[lichen fox]

Here are a couple of excerpts from a quick online search I did...deer get alot of their water needs from what they eat...in winter they can also get it from frost, licking ice, etc...

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Deer will readily make use of surface water when it is available, but can usually get enough water from the food they eat to sustain themselves for long periods without any surface water at all. The desert subspecies, like Coues Deer, and Carmen Mountain Whitetails are especially adapted to this.

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Water is the most critical of all nutrients. Animals and humans average about 70-75 percent of their body weight as water. Studies have shown that deer can survive about a month with little or no food, but animals have been known to die in as little as three days without water. Research has shown that deer will lose weight and stop feeding with even a moderate restriction in water.

Deer get their water from three sources: free water, such as ponds, streams, and the dew on plants; preformed water, or that contained in plants; and metabolic water, which is produced in the animal's cells as part of metabolism. Deer are believed to need about 3 to 6 quarts of water a day, depending on the outside temperature. It is possible, but we are not sure, that with lush forage available, deer may not need free water at all.

[jnorm1984]

Deer don't "need" to get water from a pond or steam. They get a good amount of hydration from what they are eating. I know there was an article about this in Deer & Deer Hunting not too long ago. But I bet google could give you some more info.