One of our reader's recently sent in some photos of a piebald deer in the southern part of the state. It's awesome to see deer in this color phase. I have never seen a piebald, albino or melanistic deer (even rarer than albinos, melanistic deer are all black).


According to Buck Manager, piebald is a genetic variation (defect) produces the piebald condition in white-tailed deer, not parasites or diseases. Piebald deer are colored white and brown similar to a pinto pony. Sometimes they appear almost entirely white. In addition to this coloration, many have some of the following observable conditions: bowing of the nose (Roman nose), short legs, arching spine (scoliosis), and short lower jaws. This genetic condition is rare with typically less than one percent of white-tailed deer being affected.