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Deer Management Through Browse Use

Habitat is the cornerstone of white-tailed deer management. Plant communities are an important component of habitat and are composed of forbs, grasses, and woody plants (browse). Healthy, diverse habitat sustains native wildlife populations and almost always represent healthy deer herds.

However, browsing of woody plants by overabundant white-tailed deer and domestic livestock may have negative impacts on perinnial shrubs, trees and the overall habitat.

White-tailed deer are browsing animals, not grazing animals like cattle. As a results, browse plants serve as important food sources for white-tailed deer and grass is of little to no value. Browse plants consists of the twigs, fruits, and nuts of trees, shrubs, and vines.

Excessive browsing may lead to decreased plant vigor, increased susceptibility to disease, or decreased reproduction and seeding establishment. Stresses such as these could potentially cause the disappearance of some plant species important for quality deer habitat. Consequently, deer biologist typically quantify the most palatable browse plants in an area in an attempt to monitor browsing pressure by the local deer herd. Sound deer management decisions can be made by recording browse plant use by white-tailed deer.

In any area, three classes of browse plants exist: first choice, second choice, and third choice. As you would expect, first choice plants are those that deer relish — the ones they look to consume first. Third choice are plants deer really do not care to eat. These third choice plants are foods deer can eat, but they choose not to unless first and second choice plants are unavailable.

Second choice browse plants offer the most information about the local whitetail herd. First choice plants almost always show heavy browsing, unless there are very few deer in an area. On the other hand, third choice plants are often used very little, unless the number of the deer in an area has greatly exceeded the carrying capacity of the property.

Monitoring the consumption of second choice browse plants by white-tailed deer gives landowners interested in deer habitat management the best information. Here are browse plant preferences for South Texas by preference:

First Choice – Coma, Cedar Elm, Southwest Bernardia, Four-wing Saltbush, Guayacan, Granjeno, Manzanita, Sugar Hackberry, Texas Kidneywood, Vine Ephedra

Second Choice – Anaqua, Anacahuita. Blackbrush, Brasil, Catclaw Acacia, Cenizo, Colima, Guajillo, Hog Plum, Huisache, Little Leaf Sumac, Live Oak, Lotebush, Palo Verde, Ratany, Retama, Texas Ebony, Twisted Acacia, Woolly Bucket Bumelia, Wright Acacia

Thrid Choice – Agarito, Allthorn, Amargosa, Coyotillo, Creosotebush, Desert Yaupon, Green Condalia, Honey Mesquite, Knifeleaf Condalia, Mountain Laurel, Narrowleaf Forestiera, Shrubby Blue Sage, Texas Persimmon, Whitebrush, Wolfberry

This list of important woody plants for white-tailed deer in South Texas should be used as an example of the information available to those interested in producing high-quality deer and habitat. Find this information for your area in publications or by contacting a biologist at your local department of natural resources.

Winter Tough on White-tailed Deer

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. Continue reading “Winter Tough on White-tailed Deer”

White-tailed Deer Warts

A deer hunter never expects to see giant warts or tumor-like growths on a white-tailed deer, but they do occur. Over the years I’ve seen many of photos of both live and harvested deer with “tumors,” although I’ve never seen one while in the field. The technical term for these growths is cutaneous fibroma and it’s caused by a virus. From a deer management perspective, there is not much you can do to keep wild deer from getting fibroma.

What are External Deer Tumors?

First, they are not tumors at all — they’re warts. Cutaneous fibromas are caused by a naturally occurring virus of the deer’s skin. The virus that causes these unsightly warts in deer is believed to be transmitted through biting insects and/or direct contact with damaged skin. Once the virus enters the skin, warts begin to form.

As the warts increase in size, the skin surrounding them is typically hairless and grayish in color. The number of warts on an infected animal can vary from one to several hundred, they can sometimes clump, and can in some cases end up covering much of the deer’s body.

Do Warts Bother Deer?

For the most part, these warts will not cause a white-tailed deer any major problems. However, sometimes the growth of the wart can indirectly cause problems by restricting the consumption of food or the deer’s breathing depending on where the growths are located.

Although death from fibromas in deer can occur, death from warts is not always imminent it seems. There have been many hunter testimonials of white-tailed deer with warts “shaking them off,” so to speak. In those cases, where they really the same deer? I can’t say for sure. I could see a situation where a deer with an isolated wart could recover, so to speak.

Deer Warts, Deer Hunting

From a deer hunter’s perspective warts are quite unsightly. Since fibromasts are a virus of the skin, they will be removed if the deer is skinned. Notice I said IF the deer is skinned. Although the meat of a deer is typically not affected, most hunters that harvest a deer with a large number of warts are hesitant to put the meat in the freezer.

This is understandable and probably the safest thing to do. Some research reported that a buck with external warts also had internal and cancerous fibromasts. Again, if an animal does not appear healthy then use your own, conservative discretion.

The take home message on warts is that they do occur naturally in white-tailed deer across their range. Fibromasts can occur on any deer, healthy or otherwise. With that said, these warts occur rather rarely and there is nothing that can be done from a deer management standpoint to manage against them. Deer are the only host for the virus, so fear not for yourself should you find yourself standing over an infected, wart-covered animal.

Feeding Soybeans to Supplement White-tailed Deer

Roasted Soybeans and Deer

The benefits of supplemental feeding for white-tailed deer have been well-documented by researchers and land managers in recent years. In white-tailed deer management today, the combination of habitat management and supplemental feeding go hand-in-hand on most properties interested in providing optimal, year-round nutrition.

Though some land managers choose to supplement through food plots, others prefer to use protein pellets for ease and reliability. 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.

Deer Nutrition

The health of a white-tailed herd is readily measured through the individual body condition of deer, the antler quality of bucks, and annual fawn production. Although the presumed outcome of providing additional food is better and healthier deer, land managers often look for different inputs — or different food options. For managers, it always comes down to ease of access to the produce they are feeding, deer performance while consuming the feed, and costs.

I’ve been asked time and time again over the years about feeding whole, roasted soybeans as a supplement for whitetail. Roasted soybeans are a good supplement for deer, but not a silver bullet for a deer management program. Feeding roasted beans can be done, and it can be done successfully, but it’s always good to look at the pros and cons.

Feeding Roasted Soybeans to Deer

First, let’s not confuse baiting deer with supplementing deer. Baiting deer with corn or other agricultural products 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 biggest concern is typically costs.

The dollar does not go as far as it once did, so hunters and deer managers are constantly looking for less expensive options. Currently, corn is $7, roasted soybeans are $12, and protein pellets are $11 per 50 pound bag (depending on where you buy them). Corn only offers 6 to 7% protein, soybeans average about 40% protein, and the pellets I quoted above are 20% protein.

All of these products get cheaper at bulk prices, but let’s look at the value. In other words, what do the deer on your property get for each dollar that you invest?

Comparing Soybeans to Other Supplements

Corn is an attractant so the value is that it will draw deer into your area. However, the money you spend on a bag of corn does nothing to actually help the deer other than making their belly feel a little more full. The addition of protein, however, really can improve the diet and body condition of individual deer. Roasted soybeans and protein pellets are both more expensive than corn by weight, but the value (what the deer gets versus what you pay) is much better!

Soybeans, at 1.7 times the price of corn, deliver over 5 times the amount of protein when compared to corn. Protein pellets, at 1.6 times the price of corn, deliver over 3 times the protein. Roasted soybeans also have 3 times the fat content of corn.

The value of roasted soybeans and pellets over corn is obvious, but there is more to consider when it comes to supplementing a deer’s diet. In addition to macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats), what about the essential micronutrients required by by white-tailed deer?

Soybeans and Protein Considerations

Protein is great, but deer can not survive on protein alone. Important micronutrients for whitetail include calcium, phosphorous, potassium, copper, selenium, zinc, and vitamins A and E. This is where protein pellets pull away, so to speak, from whole or roasted soybeans. Soybeans can have good levels of micronutrients, but not always.

The nutritional value of the bean will depend on the conditions under which it was grown and this affects the macro- and micronutrient levels. This will ultimately impact the amount of nutrients that are digestible by deer. In addition, roasted soybeans have more (bypass) protein than raw soybeans. This means roasted soybeans provide more available, usable protein than raw soybeans.

Roasted Soybeans for Whitetail

Where they are readily available, roasted soybeans are a practical way to supplement the nutrition of white-tailed deer. Of course, any food added to a deer’s natural environment should only be considered a supplement. Supplemental food is not habitat in a sack and can not be substituted for good deer habitat management. However, roasted soybeans can be used effectively to supplement animals where good deer habitat exists, but micronutrient levels can vary.

Nasal Bots in White-tailed Deer

Nasal Bots in Deer

Most deer hunters that have harvested white-tailed deer have, unfortunately, found nasal bots. Nasal bots in deer are very common. At first glance, what a hunter encounters looks like a large maggot. And, that’s basically what a nasal bot is. They live in the cavities of the deer’s nose and mouth.

Nasal bots are the larvae of a specific kind of fly that belongs in the genus Cephenemyia. Deer biologists actually find them in a percentage of whitetail deer, particularly when a thorough examination of the head is conducted. From my experience, white-tailed deer in Texas are more likely to have nasals bots than to not have them.

What’s Up, Nasal Bot?

These bots are specific to members of the deer family, which also includes elk and mule deer in the United States. Nasal bots begin life when the adult fly lays a group of eggs around the nose or mouth of a deer. Next, the small larvae within these eggs are then released when the deer licks the eggs.

White-tailed deer often have nasal bots

The warm, wet saliva creates an environment that permits the “hatching” of the immature bots. These larvae then migrate to the nasal passages and occasionally into the sinuses. While there, they molt into larger stages of the maturing larvae.

The mature larvae then move to the deep cavities in the deer’s mouth called the retropharyngeal pouches. The fully matured bots then exit and pupate in the ground until emerging as adult flies. Then, they begin the life cycle all over again.

Are Nasal Bots in Deer A Problem?

To a white-tailed deer, nasal bots are typically only a minor nuisance. The bots do irritate the lining of the nasal passages and move about in the retropharyngeal pouches. In fact, most sneezing and coughing of deer is assumed to be the result of nasal bots. From a clinical perspective, the bots do not cause deer any harm. No sores, infection, nor other problems have been reported, even when the parasites are present in large numbers.

Deer hunters normally encounter nasal bots after the deer they harvested has begun to cool. After the deer dies, the body temperature falls and the bots begin to leave the nasal passages and oral pouches in search of a more suitable environment. These bots then exit through either the nose or mouth. Bots can also move in the wrong direction, or down the trachea (where it is usually warmer), and may appear to be in the body cavity of the deer, even though they are not.

Lastly, nasal bots in deer pose no disease threat to deer hunters. They do not harm the venison. Remember, nasal bots are only found in nasal passages and around the mouth of deer. Deer “infected” with these harmless parasites are safe for human consumption. However, I suspect many unknowing hunters have discarded deer carcasses after observing an ugly larvae crawl out of a deer’s nose.