Mark from Mississippi writes “I have a helpful hint for your readers.  After deer season closes and before turkey season starts, I like to put a large dent in the coyote population.

Recently, my mechanical “critter” died. Being short on time, I grabbed my dove decoy with motorized wings wanting something that would give some sort of movement. FYI. It worked like a charm! I have yet to experiment with a motorized mallard decoy…..but I imagine it would have the same effect.”

Thanks for the tip Mark!

Deer Doc

There is so much talk about food plots today that most hunters think they are an absolute necessity to have on their property.  However, proper habitat management will provide more food for deer.  In today’s world, habitat management and food plots have become interchangeable terms, when in reality they are two very different things.  So what’s the difference?  We’ll get to that in a second, but first let’s take a step back and talk about managing your herd to match the amount of available food.

Managing habitat and planting food plots will increase the amount of available food for your deer herd.  Obviously if you have a lot of deer you need to provide adequate nutrition for them, but what if you have too many deer?  If you have this problem then you need to manage by bullet and bring down the population to match the amount of available nutrition.  Providing enough food for an overpopulated herd of deer is very challenging.

While you are working on managing the number of deer on your property, you can start thinking about habitat management and food plots.  You may be asking yourself what’s the difference.  Planting food plots allows you to put additional nutrition on the ground whereas habitat management allows you to enhance the naturally occurring vegetation.  Deer mainly feed on forbs (herbaceous plants such as broadleaf weeds) and browse (woody plants) which can range from medium to high quality nutrition.  Along with increasing the amount of available forbs and browse, habitat management will improve the overall quality of habitat (bedding areas, fawning habitat, etc).  Increasing the quality of habitat and available food will ultimately help to grow healthier and larger deer as well as help to keep them on your property.

So how much food can you make available to deer through habitat management? Nutritional carrying capacity is a metric used to measure habitat quality and is the number of days one deer can be fed on one acre.  A study that was conducted in Mississippi determined that unmanaged forests only provide about ten deer days/acre, not a lot of food.  That number jumped up to almost 90 deer days/acre after the habitat was managed.  It was also shown that even if you find yourself in a low quality soil region, you can still significantly increase the number of deer days/acre with habitat management.

Obviously there are benefits to habitat management, but how do you go about improving the habitat? Every situation is different, but generally things such as thinning or burning will improve habitat.  A thinning will create openings in the canopy allowing for younger plants and forbs to begin to grow.  These openings can be maintained by burning which will ultimately kill young woody vegetation and keep forbs and browse continually growing new, more palatable and nutritious vegetation.  These are just a couple of options that you may choose from.  Remember that every situation is different and you should consult with a wildlife biologist before you take any action on your property.

When do food plots come into action?  Food plots are supplemental to habitat management.  They allow you to provide nutrition at energetically demanding times for the animals (e.g. harsh winters and summers).  In addition to providing supplemental nutrition to animals, food plots also allow for hunting opportunities.  Most food plots are only an acre or two in size and should allow for an easy kill shot with a bow or muzzleloader. Typically food plots should make up 3-5% of total land cover.  That means if you have 2000 acres of forested land you should have about 100 acres planted in food plots. Food plots take a lot of time and work , but there are obvious benefits to planting them.

Keep in mind that this all takes time.  It is going to take time to bring your deer herd down to appropriate levels, time to manage your habitat, and time to plant food plots.  But if you are patient and take the time to do it correctly, you will find the associated benefits to be great.

As always, hunt hard and hunt safe!

Deer Doc

Clint from Arkansas writes “I have a helpful hint for your readers.  A few years ago after a friend fell out of a stand and laid in the woods for six hours, I decided to be proactive about safety. I addition to carrying my cell phone, I wear a whistle on a duck call lanyard. This allows me to signal for help in case my cell phone loses reception or the battery dies. Someone looking for me could hear the whistle from a long distance away.

I hope this tip helps someone one day so they don’t lay unassisted like my friend.”

Thanks for the tip Clint!  Tree stand safety is an extremely important topic and isn’t something that should be taken lightly.  Hunters need to take action and protect themselves when they plan on hunting out of a tree.  Obviously properly wearing a safety harness and always being hooked into the tree will help to ensure your safety.  This also applies to hanging and taking down sets. Proper planning and preparation will help you to come home safe to your family.

As always, hunt hard and hunt safe!!

Deer Doc

One of the most frequently asked questions by hunters is “Should I shoot spikes as part of my management plan?”  The answer to that question is it depends.  There is a misconception that a once a spike always a spike or that spikes are somehow genetically inferior.  However this isn’t always true.  A spike is kind of like a skinny 12 year-old kid.  You don’t really know what they are going to develop into.  They may stay skinny or could blow up into a physical specimen.  Shooting spikes really depends on your management goals.

First of all, you may live in a state that only allows you to harvest two or three bucks a season.  If this is the case then you aren’t going to be able to harvest enough spikes to make a difference.  You also need to be hunting/managing a property of approximately 1200 acres or more to allow for yearling dispersion.  If you happen to find yourself in this situation then you can begin to consider intensive spike harvest.

One situation where you shouldn’t shoot spikes is if 40% or more than your yearling buck class is comprised of spikes.  If you were to shoot spikes in this situation you would end up shooting a majority of your yearling age class.  If your goal is to harvest a mature deer and you don’t care as much about antler score then you should probably let spikes walk.  However if you are intensively managing your property and are looking to harvest “trophy” animals (i.e. 150+ inch deer) then you might consider intensively harvesting spikes.  Now I’m not saying that a spike will never reach that size but other yearlings that are larger may have a better chance to reach your management goals.  In the meantime that spike is consuming six pounds of browse a day that other yearlings with better potential could be eating.

Now these are just some general guidelines to consider.  There are a lot of other factors that you may need to take into consideration before you even think about intensively harvesting spikes.  For example, if you have an over population of deer you are more than likely going to have on average later birthdates for your fawns.  This means that your buck fawns don’t have as much time to grow before the first hunting season and are therefore smaller.  It takes these fawns longer to compensate for their later birth date and will express smaller body and antler characteristics for longer.  Also, if you have an overpopulation you probably don’t have adequate nutrition in the woods for them to eat.  Remember, food plots are supposed to be supplemental only.  You can provide a lot more food in the woods by doing some habitat management but that’s another topic for another day.  If you have an over population of deer you simply need to manage by bullet and start to reduce your herd.  Only once you have balanced the number of deer on your property with the food available can you start to consider intensively harvesting spikes to reach your management goals.

These are some general guidelines and considerations about harvesting spikes.  There are a lot of misnomers out there and I hope this helps to clear things up a bit.  If anybody has any questions feel free to email me!!

Deer Doc

You don’t have to watch the Outdoor Channel for very long before you come across a show where the host is talking about hunting a particular animal that they have had on camera for years.  But do you ever wonder if the deer they harvest is really the same deer they’ve been getting pictures of the past few years?  There are definitely some bucks that you can identify from year to year by their unique antler characteristics or body markings, but how can you tell a that a young eight pointer has grown into a mature nine or ten pointer?

I don’t think that you can make that determination.  In fact, I don’t think that you can start to identify individual deer from year to year until a deer reaches at least 3.5 years of age.  In general, a 3.5 year old buck has grown into its main frame that it will keep.  Now obviously there are some exceptions to the rule, but most generally a 3.5 year old eight pointer will stay a main frame eight.

Now even if you are trying to identify a mature deer from year to year, there are a few things that you need to be aware of.  First of all, unique characteristics such as drop tines and kickers aren’t always grown every year.  Antler growth greatly depends on the nutrition and stress placed on an animal.  On rare occasion, those drop tines and kickers can even switch sides from year to year.  I never thought this to be true until I saw it in subsequent years from our research animals here at Mississippi State.  Even things like beam length are subject to change.

I think that it is almost impossible to identify individual bucks before they reach 3.5 years old because their bodies aren’t fully developed let alone their antlers.  They still have a lot of growing to do.  I also don’t think that it’s possible identify, for example, an eight pointer that turns into a ten pointer the next year.  As I have already stated, it’s hard enough to identify a buck when he has unique characteristics let alone when his main frame changes.

I’m not saying that it is impossible to identify individual bucks throughout the years.  I’m just saying that it’s not as easy as you may think!

As always good luck in the deer woods!

Deer Doc

Mark from Sportsman’s Condo asks, “Doc, I had a customer send a picture of an exceptional piebald buck he shot in Ohio. It made me wonder….what percentage of deer are piebald and what percentage are albino? Thanks.”

Mark,

Albino and piebald deer are extremely rare.  I only know of one population of albino deer and that’s in Wisconsin.  These deer are actually protected because people enjoy seeing them so much.  I would have to say that albino and piebald deer make up less than one percent of the entire population, but that’s entirely an educated guess.  Out of all of the deer I have seen, I have yet to see an albino and have only seen one piebald.  Either way, if you end up seeing an albino or piebald deer you should consider yourself very lucky!

Thanks!

Deer Doc

Tom from Florida asks, “Dear Eric, I hunt and live in Florida, which put the Black Bear on the endangered species list in 1994.  Since that time our Deer population as well as the Turkey population have continued to decline. On our Hunt Club we now see more Bear than Deer.  What is your opinion on Bears eating Fawns and Turkey Eggs.? Thank you.”

Tom,

Although a bear’s diet is comprised mainly of berries, tubers, and insects they will definitely eat a fawn if given the opportunity.  Bears are very opportunistic and will eat anything that’s available.  However all black bears are not created equal.  Northern and western bears will target fawns and elk calves more than southeastern bears.  This is because bears in the north and west are just emerging from their dens in the spring and are in need of protein.  Since bears in the southeast don’t necessarily have the same hibernation pattern and fawns are generally born later in the southeast, I don’t know how much bears actually target fawns in the south.  However, I have no doubt that bears are eating fawns when they have the chance.  I haven’t read a lot about bears eating turkey eggs, but again they are opportunistic and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to take a few eggs as well.

Bobcats and coyotes are also notorious for preying on fawns.  There is much research that needs to be done on these predators and their effects on white-tailed deer.  Coyotes especially are a relatively new predator to the east and not a lot is known about them and their effects.  It’s important to remember that fawns may not be the first choice of these predators, but if there isn’t any other food out there they may target fawns more often.

Thanks for the question!

Deer Doc

Gerald from Illinois asks “I recently purchased property in southern Illinois. I have visited with some neighbors and we have decided to try some deer management. I know doe harvest is part of the management equation. My question is which doe do we harvest? Would it be the lead doe coming into the food plot or through the woods (alpha doe) or one of the smaller ones? I am afraid of shooting a smaller one as it could be a button buck?”

Gerald,

Harvesting does is a vital part in managing your deer herd.  Many hunters are concerned with mistaking a buck fawn for a doe fawn but there are some characteristics that you can use to help reduce buck fawn harvest.  First of all, when you are trying to implement a management program and reduce the number of does you have on your property any mature doe is fair game.  Characteristics such as a long nose and larger head will help you determine a mature doe from doe fawn.  One of the best things you can do to help minimize buck fawn harvest is to wait until a group of deer is present.  If you see a lone doe, wait until another deer is present before making a decision about harvesting.  Comparing  two deer will help you to judge body size.  If one doe is obviously larger than the rest that is the doe you want to harvest.  Realize that accidents are going to happen, especially if you are aggressively harvesting does.  Using these before mentioned guidelines will help reduce this risk and will help you to properly manage your property.

Thanks!

Deer Doc

Brian from Missouri asks “My buddy and I have an ongoing argument. He regularly makes his own mock scrapes by urinating in them. He is also urinates into scrapes made by bucks. I say this scares the deer because of the human scent. He says pee is pee and it makes no difference and makes the local bucks mad. What are your thoughts?”

Brian,

Everybody has their own tricks that they use and swear by.  Urinating in a mock scrape is definitely one that I’ve heard before and although it’s not something that I would necessarily do, I don’t think that it will hurt anything.  When you look at the chemical composition of urine it’s made up of urea, chloride, sodium, potassium, and creatinine.  Concentrations of those compounds vary from animal to animal but the chemical composition remains the same.  To my knowledge, I haven’t been busted by a deer sniffing where I had previously urinated in the woods.  Now with that being said, I don’t know if I would make a mock scrape and pee in it either.  I would be more concerned with scent that I leave behind from my boots and clothes.  There are a lot of things that people swear by and if it works for them, that’s great but it may not work for everybody.  The key is to be comfortable and confident in what you are doing and I think you will have an enjoyable experience.

Good luck!

Deer Doc

Tim from Georgia asks, “Can more than one buck breed a doe? If so, could she give birth to twins from two different bucks?”

Tim,

It is possible for more than one buck to breed a doe.  There are a couple of different scenarios where this may happen.  A doe is usually receptive for 24-36 hours and a mature buck will generally tend her until she becomes unreceptive.  However, if a tending buck is challenged by another buck, a window of opportunity is open for a different buck to come in and breed with the doe.  Another scenario where a doe may be bread by multiple bucks is when a tending buck leaves a receptive doe that is at the end of her estrous cycle and another buck comes in and breeds her.  It is possible for twins to have different fathers however; this is rare and was first documented at our research pens at Mississippi State.

Thanks for the question!

Deer Doc