A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the impacts of habitat quantity and quality on white-tailed deer harvest rates. Habitat quantity does not necessarily impact the harvest rate itself, but a property that provides a smaller amount of habitat must harvest fewer deer than a property that provides a larger amount of habitat in order to keep the deer population on the ranch stable. Habitat quality, however, can vary between properties that provide the same quantity (in acreage) of deer habitat, which in turn impacts the health and productivity of the ranch’s deer population.

Habitat quality impacts deer harvest rates because herd productivity will vary between properties. If deer density is held constant, deer on a property that provides good habitat will be in better condition than deer on poor habitat. This superior body condition can be measured through increased body weights in animals and improved antler quality in every age class of bucks. Today, I will discuss how fawn survival, as effected by deer density and the buck to doe ratio, can significantly impact the annual harvest of white-tailed deer populations. (more…)

When it comes to white-tailed deer management—at any scale—the most important factors are deer density and buck to doe ratio. These  two numbers are usually indicative of habitat condition and the reproductive potential of the deer herd. Most hunters continue to talk about buck harvest criteria, and although important, they fail to have a good handle on the deer density and buck to doe ratio in their hunting area! In addition, many landowners overlook habitat conditions and factors that limit fawn production and survival.

White-tailed deer harvest rates are important because they determine not only the number of animals you will shoot this year, but more importantly the number of deer that will survive into next year. This is especially important for the doe population because these animals, depending on deer density and sex ratio, can increase the total deer population prior to the next hunting season by 50% or more. This article discusses population and environmental factors that influence white-tailed deer harvest rates on an annual basis.  (more…)

Not all that many years ago it was considered unsportsman-like to shoot a doe deer. Since then, however, wildlife biologists and hunters have realized that proper doe harvest is an important part of white-tailed deer management, although I suspect there is a small percentage of landowners that still do not allow doe to be harvested on their properties. After all, a landowner has the ability to be more conservative than the law and choose not to harvest antlerless deer, even if hunting regulations permit it.

But is a no doe harvest really justified? Maybe, but then maybe not—particarly if the only reason holding someone back is the “old school” philosophy of not shooting female deer. It is true that the shooting of does may not be justified in some areas. Not every deer whitetail population can sustain regular doe harvest. Some deer herds may allow periodic doe harvest, such as every other year or every third year, for example, while others need regular (annual) doe harvest to thrive. So why does the harvest of whitetail doe vary by area? (more…)

Every hunter wants to harvest a trophy buck, but when it comes to white-tailed deer hunting the reality falls somewhere between shooting a big buck versus deer overpopulation. On one hand, you have hunters that really just want to harvest a single deer, preferably a big, mature buck. Then on the other hand, you have deer numbers that need to be controlled. This will probably not come as a surprise to you, but the average deer hunter only wants to harvest one deer, or more precisely, one buck. While most hunters love seeing numerous deer while out in the field, an important part of deer management is population management.    

The reason I bring this up is because just this last week ranches near Kerrville, on the western edge of the Texas Hill Country, were finding dead deer after several days of cold and wet weather. The cause of these deaths — malnutrition. And before assuming that these deer were confined within a high fence that maintained too many animals, I’ll let you know that they were not. In fact, most of the animals found dead were free-ranging white-tailed and axis deer, but they were all starving. Basically, the deer population of the area has exceeded the carrying capacity of the winter range. They were all competing for limited winter forage, and the weakest died. (more…)

Last week I wrote an article discussing harvesting white-tailed deer early in the season, which I strongly recommend. The article discussed why it is important to remove deer before winter, especially does, and the benefits of having a deer herd at carrying capacity. Well, one reader posed a question that many of you may be interested in:

“What about nursing fawns early in the season? Will taking lactating does hinder growth and development in these young deer?”

Yes and no. To begin, whitetail fawns are usually weaned and become functioning ruminants at eight weeks of age. Most fawns at southern latitudes are born in late May and June, meaning the majority of fawns are weaned by the end of August. And this makes sense from a biological perspective, because as late-summer food sources deplete the doe can then rely on the fawn to nourish itself. This covers the majority of whitetail fawns that hunters will encounter in the field during the fall hunting season. (more…)

Deer hunting season takes place in the fall for one primary reason — to remove excess animals from the landscape prior to winter. When it comes to the deer carrying capacity, winter is THE limiting factor. As a result, proper harvest is essential for the deer herd found on your property, their habitat, and your overall deer management program. With the the onset of winter just around the corner, do not forget to harvest deer, especially does, as early as possible. I mention this now because as the end of the year approaches, the time that many hunters have to head to the field decreases. The Christmas and New Year’s holidays can take away from your days in the field. It’s hard to harvest deer and reach harvest quotas if hunters can not make it out to the ranch.

With winter officially kicking off on December 21, time is running out to get the deer population on your property down to its winter carrying capacity. If you are not sure what the proper deer carrying capacity for your ranch is, then you first need to contact a wildlife biologist in your area. Carrying capacity refers to the number of deer that a property can over-winter. It varies by ecological region, habitat type, and ranch, but it is the first piece of information you need to properly manage any deer herd. If the proper density for a ranch is 1 deer for every 10 acres, then a 1,000 acre ranch can over-winter 100 white-tailed deer. Excess animals, if they exists, must be removed annually to ensure the health of the remaining deer. 

With much of the deer season already gone, why should you always aim to harvest deer as early as possible in the season? Below I have listed three good reasons why early doe harvest is important for your deer management program. (more…)

Each landowner or property manager must recognize the habitat needs of white-tailed deer on a continual basis and direct management towards meeting those needs. Since white-tailed deer have a relatively small home range of about ½ to 1 mile in radius over an annual basis, all of their needs for growth, reproduction, and cover must be met within this unit. Deer management is about food management–as in habitat.

Whitetail will seldom move from within their home range to meet their needs, even though better conditions may exists in the surrounding area! Deer are very versatile in their feeding habits and will eat a wide variety of items, including fruits, browse, forbs, agricultural crops, and even small amounts of grass. Deer “perform” best in habitat where a great variety of preferred food items are present. (more…)

In general, white-tailed deer generally live within a home range of approximately one square mile. However, this range can increase during the breeding season, especially for bucks. Unless your property is high-fenced, a deer’s daily movements within that home range throughout the year often results in movements into habitat found on more than one adjoining landowner.

As a result, it is important to understand that landowners share individual animals. For this reason, the potential for successful white-tailed deer harvest management diminishes as landownership size decreases. It makes sense that as the size of individual ranches continues to decrease throughout an area, effective and meaningful management can be a challenge.

Fragmentation of habitat often results when changing land uses occur on adjoining tracts of land that were once uniform rangelands or woodlands. The increasing cost of land and the desire for folks to have just a small “piece of heaven” only increases fragmentation issues. (more…)