Paul and friends ask,

1.  This year in WI we had a mild winter and spring.  We noticed that some bucks held on to their antlers much longer this year.  We noticed that some bucks still had antlers when we had our trail cams out scouting for spring turkeys. The reason for this is ….?

Testosterone regulates when bucks begin dropping their antlers.  After the rut, bucks experience a sharp decline in testosterone.  Other factors such as stress and available nutrition affect the time bucks drop their antlers as well.  I also noticed on some of my cameras back home in Wisconsin that one buck in particular held onto his antlers relatively late. The mild winter and spring caused a lot less stress on the deer herd this year which may be one reason why bucks held onto their antlers so late.  Another reason could be that does weren’t bred during the regular breeding season and were still coming into estrus later into the winter.  This may have caused bucks to have increased testosterone levels later in the year which would have delayed the time of antler drop. However, there is also a lot of individual variation that could contribute to the time a buck drops his antlers.

2.  We believe that deer go nocturnal once the bow season starts.  Is this an accurate observation?  Is there a reason for this?

There is no doubt about it that deer increase movements at night, but there are a lot of reasons why you may not be seeing deer while in stand.  The biggest reason may be that when deer are pressured they begin using habitat that is thicker than usual.  When deer begin using this type of cover it becomes hard for hunters to locate and see them and lead many hunters to believe deer have gone nocturnal.

3.  You had a nice response on deer habitat and food plots.  To have deer that grow large antlers is there an advantage to having plots with high mineral content or would high protein content be preferable?

You want to provide deer with food plots that are high in protein or carbohydrate content.  Carbohydrates are great for deer when they are trying to put on fat to survive a winter.  Protein is great for bucks during the summer when they are growing their antlers.  Biologists still know very little about how minerals affect antler growth in bucks.  Calcium and phosphorus are the only minerals that we know affect antler growth and can be provided by using a mineral lick.  Planting multiple types of plots will help to ensure there is food on the ground at all times of the year for your herd.

4.  Is a doe in heat bred by many bucks or does she hang with the dominant buck? Does the first buck to reach this doe have the best chance to have an offspring?

A doe can be bred by multiple bucks while she is receptive.  This has been documented in Mississippi State’s captive herd where DNA analysis showed multiple paternity in offspring.  This can be a smart strategy on the doe’s behalf because it ensures that she will conceive offspring.  The first buck to reach a receptive doe is not necessarily the buck that will breed her.  That buck has to be able to fend off other suitors until the doe becomes completely receptive.  Factors such as age, body size, antler size, and aggressiveness all help bucks to defend estrus does. The buck that can defend a doe in estrus the longest has the best chance to breed her.

Thanks for the questions Paul!

Deer Doc

Paige from Georgia asks “I am a female and somewhat new to hunting. We had a mild winter here in Georgia and now it has been unseasonably hot and dry. How does that affect the fawns, and antler growth on the bucks?”

Paige, mild winters are generally good for fawn growth and survival as they are generally followed by early green up.  Early green up means better nutrition earlier for gestating does as well as readily available cover when fawns begin to drop.  Georgia, like most of the country, has experienced an unseasonably hot and dry summer which means it is difficult for healthy vegetation to fully transfer all of its nutrients to deer. This means that bucks may not fully express their potential this fall. Plants simply act as transfer agents for nutrients and minerals in the ground and a dry summer, like the kind we find ourselves in right now, means the transfer of nutrients from plants to deer is less efficient. However, bucks won’t be the only ones that will be affected by this dry summer. Does and fawns will also be affected. This year’s fawn crop may have gotten off to a strong start with last year’s mild winter; however, the lack of available nutrition due to the drought is making it hard for does to produce nutrient rich milk which may stunt a fawn’s growth and development.  A doe’s basal metabolic rate is three times greater during lactation than other times of the year.  This year’s drought will not only affect antler growth of bucks this fall, but you may also experience smaller body and antler sizes in the future from this year’s stunted fawns.  Biologists call events such as a severe drought a density independent factor.  A density independent factor can be any event such as a drought, severe winter, or even something such as a hurricane or wild fire that affects the entire population, regardless of how many animals make up that population.  There are also density dependent factors such as severe over browsing that affect populations that are over populated.  Density dependent factors affect animals in a population based on how many animals are in that population.  Density dependent factors are the reason why biologists harp on shooting does to try to keep populations manageable and to ensure that there is plenty of food on the ground for all deer.  So long story short, this severely dry summer will not only make it difficult for bucks to express their full potential this fall but will potentially affect this year’s fawn crop in the future.

Thanks for the question, Paige!

Deer Doc

I recently received an email that contained pictures of a melanistic white-tailed deer.  Often times when people think of rare pelages associated with whitetails they think of an albino or piebald deer but not necessarily a black, melanistic animal.  This is a great time to talk about different pelages that are observed in the deer world.

Piebald White-tailed Deer

The most common of the uncommon pelages has to be considered the piebalds.  Piebald deer have both brown and white pelage and are very rare.  They are believed to occur in less than 1% of the hunted population.

Albino White-tailed Deer

Albino deer also occur although very rare.  Albinism is caused by a recessive trait and individuals display white pelage and pink eyes. Albinism may be so rare because often times these deer display physical deformities such as short legs, scoliosis, or short mandibles all of which may increase death at an early age.

Melanistic White-tailed Deer Fawn

The rarest type of whitetail is the melanistic deer.  Melanistic deer are very dark and even black across their entire body except for the white hairs on their tail and tarsal and metatarsal region.  Melanistic deer may retain the normal white pelage on their face, neck, tail, and chest.  Melanistic deer have been reported in Texas, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and New York.

I hope this sheds a little light on the different pelages that can be found in whitetails.  So the next time you’re out in the deer woods be sure to keep your eyes open!

Thanks!

Deer Doc

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