As the snow falls today in Central Texas, I can’t help but think about the white-tailed deer throughout the country. I’m not just talking about the animals living right outside my door, but everywhere throughout the whitetail’s range. This is the time of year when habitat conditions are tough and when the nuts and bolts of deer population management are tested. After all, the white-tailed deer hunting seasons are over and the remaining deer are carryover, the core herd of the upcoming hunting season.

At the heart of deer population management is food availability. With late winter upon us, even though spring is just around the corner, white-tailed deer food is scarce over the landscape. Late winter is the most nutritionally stressful time of the year for a deer. At this point in time, the deer herd on every ranch should be at or below its base population size—the maximum number of animals that the habitat can support. Otherwise, the deer herd is at risk of a die-off from being malnurished due to inadequate food resources. (more…)

The benefits of supplemental feeding of white-tailed deer have been witnessed by researchers and landowners alike. In white-tailed deer management today, the combination of habitat management and supplemental feeding go hand-in-hand on most properties. Though some landowners choose to supplement through food plots, others use protein pellets. Regardless of the product used to supplement deer, the primary reason for providing supplemental feed is to improve the overall health of each individual animal in the herd.

The health of a white-tailed herd is readily measured through the individual body condition of deer, the antler quality of bucks, and fawn production. Although the presumed outcome of providing additional food is better and healthier deer, landowners often look for different inputs—or different food options. I’ve been asked time and time again over the years about feeding whole soybeans as a supplement for whitetail. It can be done, and it can be done successfully, but it’s always good to look at the pros and cons.

First, let’s not confuse baiting deer with supplementing deer. Baiting deer with corn can be great for attracting deer for the purpose of harvest, but corn is not a supplement. A true supplement adds nutritional value to an individual deer’s diet. Sounds simple enough, but why would a deer manager consider different options for supplementing deer? Well, the big concern are typically costs. (more…)

Spring is officially here and plants are green again, but the lack of rainfall has kept native vegetation from really taking off. On the bright side, trees, shrubs, and vines are leafing out thanks to some precipitation and warmer temperatures, and providing new-growth browse for hungry white-tailed deer. And speaking of deer food, there is some on-going research that may shed more light on the supplemental feeding of deer and its impact on native plants. Deer managers agree that supplemental feeding, whether it be protein pellets, whole cotton seed, or some other type of high-protein food, really helps local deer populations.

However, the words “supplemental feeding” have become almost synonymous with “deer management” in some circles, and although not totally accurate, it’s not far off. Although the management of deer populations incorporates much more than the addition of free-choice protein, most landowners giving deer management an honest effort are providing some sort of supplemental food. So as common as this practice is for the management of white-tailed deer, it also deserves further attention. By definition supplemental food is, well, supplemental. The foods placed out for deer are merely there to add to an individual deer’s natural diet, not replace it. If this were false then a property could support an unlimited number of deer as long as food was continually added to the system. This won’t work. (more…)

An important component of any deer management program is ensuring the physical health of individual white-tailed deer, as well as the overall deer herd. Individual deer health is important for maintaining body mass, promoting maximum antler growth in bucks, and optimal milk production in does. Because the energy and protein requirements of deer have become more understood over the years, deer managers now focus much of their attention on meeting and even exceeding the food requirements of white-tailed deer. This can be done in either of two ways, either from native habitat or through supplemental food.        

Although protein pellets ranging from 16 to 20% protein are often offered in free-choice feeders, people often consider other sources of protein for diet supplementation. Several sources of “alternative” protein include crop seeds such as soybeans and whole cottonseed. However, cottonseed contains a compound known as gossypol, a toxic pigment the plant naturally produces and is believed to discourage consumption by animals. Gossypol can reduce reproductive ability in some mammals when consumed at high rates. Fortunately, recent research in Texas has found that white-tailed deer are not negatively effected by whole cottonseed, even when it makes up a high percentage of a deer’s diet. (more…)

When it comes to white-tailed deer management we do know a lot, but we do not know it all. There is a lot that is not known about how white-tailed deer affect their habitat under different densities with and without supplemental feed, however, that is exactly what a research project initiated on two South Texas ranchesd hoped to determine — the effects of deer on native vegetation.

To accurately conduct the research, six 200-acre enclosures were constructed on both ranches. In addition, they were divided into 3 pairs — each with target populations of 10, 25, or 40 white-tailed deer. One of each pair was supplemented with a free-choice (all you can eat) pelleted supplemental ration and the other was left to forage from only native forbs and browse. To document changes in habitat condition, canopy cover and biomass were estimated annually. (more…)

Many landowners and hunters consider supplemental feeding an important factor in deer management and a source of nutrition when native forage is inadequate either in quantity or quality. Under certain conditions a supplemental feeding program can help. However, most deer feeding programs which provide sufficient additional nutrients to be of value are quite expensive.

There is a distinct difference between feeding and baiting white-tailed deer. Maintaining deer feeders from October through December is a common practice on many ranches to attract deer to hunting blinds during the hunting season. Unfortunately most of these baiting efforts cease just before additional feed is really needed by the deer — in late winter. Supplemental feeding is most-beneficial during stress periods. Stress periods for deer are usually encountered when the protein content of the forage is at a low level during severe winters, dry springs and dry summers. (more…)

White-tailed deer habitat consists or food, water, shelter, and also space. Thus, food plots and supplemental feeding only impact the nutritional carrying capacity of a particular piece of property, not the total or actual carrying capacity. Assuming there are both adequate water and cover, supplemental feeding can greatly increase the number of the local deer population. Supplemental feeding has become commonplace in deer management programs across the country, but is it healthy?

One thing to keep in mind is the amount of space and and habitat per deer decreases as the population size increases! More deer in an area means less area for each individual deer. This may not be a problem if the number of deer is below the carrying capacity of the area, but this rarely seems to be the case with white-tailed deer.

One of the arguments used by those in support of supplemental feeding is that it not only enhances the nutrition and resulting health of the deer, but that it could possibly take pressure off of the natural vegetation by decreasing deer browsing. Unfortunately, there is little data to support this and plenty of data to refute it. (more…)

Managing for proper nutrition in white-tailed deer is important for good body condition, good fawn production and recruitment, and maximum antler growth. Good nutrition can be accomplished by doing three things that involve proper habitat management, supplemental feeding, and the planting of food plots. If you want to kick your deer management program in to high gear, I recommend sound habitat management practices in addition to supplemental feeding through either protein pellets or food plots.

Most everyone is familiar with the benefits of supplemental feeding (high-protein food, often pellets), but it can be expensive and it promotes the urge to artificially maintain excessive numbers of deer. With that said, supplemental feeding is not a bad thing, but it must be combined with other sound deer population management practices. (more…)