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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.

Food Preferences of White-tailed Deer

Ever wondered about the food preferences of the deer on your property? It’s something you should know if interested in managing for good deer habitat and a healthy whitetail herd. White-tailed deer actually eat a wide diversity of plants, with seasonal use varying with the availability and palatability of the plants found in their habitat.

Whitetail seek out the best foods at all times. That is, they want high quality foods as less time spent foraging means using less energy. Deer diet varies by location because of the environmental and plant diversity found across the whitetail’s range.

Food Preferences by Forage Class

Seasonal food preferences of white-tailed deer in have been developed based on identification of stomach contents in deer harvested during all seasons of the year. In whitetail food studies, plant preference are typically determined by comparing availability of the forage in the habitat versus the percent it comprised of deer stomach contents.

This allows researchers to determine the deer’s preference for particular foods, as well as their relative value. The importance value of a particular species quantifies the volume of a particular plant species in the deer diet. Native plants that had a high importance value made up a higher percentage of the seasonal or annual diet.

Deer Food Habits by Plant Category

For those that are not familiar with white-tailed deer, a knowledge of deer use of food items by general forage class is as important as knowing the specific plants species eaten by deer. The forage classes identified during the study were defined as:

Browse: This classification refers to the growing soft portion (stems and leaves) of perennial woody plants, trees, shrubs, vines and plants typically referred to as “brush” fall into this category.

Forbs: These are plants that are often called “weeds” by farmers, ranchers, landowners, and those that love well-maintained urban lawns. These plants are herbaceous (non-woody, normally broad-leafed, flowering plants. Forbs include all flowering herbaceous plants that are not grasses.

Mast: Refers to the fruit of the plants defined as browse species. Mas includes things such as oak acorns, mesquite beans, prickly pear fruits, berries, and similar items. As a group, mast is seasonally important in deer diets and can vary greatly from year to year.

Grasses: This includes grass and herbaceous grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes.

Grain Crops: This food class includes forage items that are planted for farming, grazing, or specifically for wildlife in the form of food plots. Cool season crops typically include clover, vetch, wheat, oats, and ryegrass. Common warm season crops include peas and other legume varieties, mile, and millet.

Commercial Feeds: This includes sacked feeds such as true supplements or those simply considered deer hunting attractant. The most common sacked supplement is a deer pellet that is at least 16% protein and is distributed through free-choice feeders. The most common deer hunting attractant is whole corn distributed with timed deer feeders prior and during the white-tailed deer hunting season.

Deer Diet: A Texas Example

Data collected in west-central Texas from over 230 deer in 6 counties indicated the average annual diet of white-tailed deer consisted of 36% browse, 20% forbs, 20% mast, 12 grasses, 7% planted agricultural grain crops, and 5% commercial feed.

Are the results form Texas similar to the food preferences of deer in your area? Although the specific plant species consumed by deer in your area will no doubt be different, deer preference by plant category will likely be very similar across the whitetail’s range, with the exception being the consumption of additional crops in areas dominated by row crops.

Browse and forbs are the key plants required by white-tailed deer. They also use mast and agricultural crops when available. Deer are very selective foragers and shift their focus to the best plants available to them as the seasons change.

Deer Density, Buck to Doe Ratio, and Harvest Rates

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. Continue reading “Deer Density, Buck to Doe Ratio, and Harvest Rates”