How long can deer stay bedded down?

[ApexerER]

So with the horrible hunting conditions this weekend. While I was sitting in my stand I was asking myself this question. I thought I read or heard somewhere that deer need to eat and drink every 5 hours. I have no idea if that is true or not. When I got to my stand Saturday morning the weather had been miserable most of the day on Friday so I figured the deer would be moving Saturday morning. The weather quickly became awful with pooring rain and wind. Some of my buddies were texting me and couldn't believe I was still in the stand. I said the deer HAVE to move at somepoint...I have heard every 5 hours, I ve only been here 3 was my response. I didn't make it 5 hours but it was close and I saw nothing. I thought Sunday morning would be great....even if it was supposed to be windy I figured the rain was gone and even thought it was windy the deer would have to move to eat at somepoint. I did see a small 3pt just after legal shooting hours Sunday morning but I believe he was pushed by another hunter that had to leave because he was called into work. The wind got to the point by 10am that I was thinking it was dangerous to stay and I didn't see another deer. So how long can deer stay bedded down and not move if the weather is not ideal for them?

[chrisw]

As long as they want/need to, but from deer I've watched from a stand they bed for a short time (30mins-2hours) then they'll get up walk a step or two and urinate/defecate, nibble on some nearby browse and lay back down. I've watched them repeat this over and over again throughout the day, but never travel outside a 30 yd circumference, so they will get up but may not really go anywhere. I love watching deer do this, watching them bedded and watching/smelling for danger in a relaxed state is really cool.

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[Doc]

I think there is an awful lot about deer behavior during the bedding (or hiding) times that is not commonly known about deer behavior. We have a tendency to view these things simply as things that deer always do under certain conditions and at defined times of day. I think a lot of it is far more random than we think. It would be interesting to see a lot more study of the bedding behaviors, timing and purposes and locations. 

[ApexerER]

I was expecting a lot more answers, so my question must either be stupid or nobody really knows. I think although what ChrisW said wasn't what I wanted to hear...It makes a lot of sense. Deer don't have to go on a walkabout to stay comfortable. Hadn't really thought about that before...

[Doc]

I'll bet there are some biologists down in PA that could answer your question with real credibility. They have done considerable radio transmitter work down there with deer. As far as anecdotal guesses,  probably wouldn't put a whole lot of credibility in those.

[thphtm]

The last time I hunted out of my natural ground blinds ( old tree trunks piled 4' high ) there were 7 deer  200 ' away from me , I was in the blind around 4 hours in the morning , went to the house and had some lunch and went back to the same blind .The deer stayed there all day , they would get up and walk around a little and go back to there beds. As long as they feel safe they will stay where they are for a good amount of time.

Another time hunting state land there was a buck bedded down behind a big downed tree , it was there for 4 or more hours that I was above it on the side of a hill, it did not move until a few doe came out of a near by swamp.

[Taylormike]

I actually don't think the wind effects deer.  I've been trying to be particularly conscious on windy days. What I've noticed, I see just as many deer if not more during the wind. Last year on a 30 or 40 mph wind, I headed out late.  I got in my stand at 11am.  I saw 130" 8 point and a bear on that sit.  They walked around without a care.  I think if we hunted as hard in the wind we would see just as much activity on those days that we say, "this is perfect hunting conditions, today's the day."