Deer Management | Deer Hunting & Management

Are White-tailed Deer Getting Smaller?

Small Deer in Your Area?

Have years of heavy hunting pressure impacted deer body condition and antler quality in your area? It may be difficult to say with any certainty, but it seems plausible that deer hunters, which serve as predators, could alter the gene pool of certain game species. Last month, an article presented research that found hunting had a profound impact on wildlife, driving an evolutionary process that makes animals become smaller and reproduce earlier.

The study, which looked at both hunting and fishing, examined 29 different species and found, that under human pressure, creatures on average become 20% smaller. Do deer use more energy trying to evade predators, hunters?

Feeling the Pressure

Article: “The human tendency to seek large ‘trophies’ appears to drive evolution much faster than hunting by other predators, which pick off the small and the weak.

Researchers reported, ‘It’s an ideal recipe for rapid trait change.’ In virtually all cases, human-targeted species got smaller and smaller and started reproducing at younger ages — making populations more vulnerable.

Hunters are instructed not to take smaller animals or those with smaller horns. This is counter to patterns of natural predation, and now we’re seeing the consequences of this management.”

Small Deer Study in Focus

This study makes some very good points with regards to hunters in general being trophy-oriented, but hunters and landowners partaking in intensive deer management programs are doing exactly the opposite. I have often believed that under certain conditions, such as extreme hunting pressure, particularly with regards to the overharvest of young bucks, that gene pools could be negatively impacted.

For example, some properties consider themselves “managed” by having an 8 point or better rule on harvested bucks. However, regular readers of this site know that the best yearling (1 1/2 years old) bucks can have 8+ points. This can result in decades of hunters high-grading their buck herd.

So by looking at common hunting practices this way, it becomes quite apparent that humans, particularly hunters, can impact gene pools. This is especially true in wildlife species that, like deer, are relatively short-lived. Common sense would conclude that just several years (which for deer would be several generations) of extreme pressure could alter whitetail genes in a given area. And if you are a management-minded hunter, that is exactly what you want.

Just as improper harvest can impact a deer herd negatively, proper deer harvest centered around a well-thought-out deer management program can continually change the gene pool for the better. In fact, this is exactly what the culling of inferior bucks is intended to do. Bigger-bodied whitetail bucks, much more often than not, grow larger antlers than their smaller-bodied counterparts. These bigger deer are also able to cope better with harsh winters, summer droughts, and better fight off would-be predators. In summary, help mother nature do her job and improve your white-tailed deer herd by harvesting those deer that are small for their age class.

The Culling of White-tailed Bucks is Not a Myth

There has been an ongoing debate in deer management over the culling young white-tailed bucks based on antler characteristics ever since the first research on the subject concluded. The subject at the very heart of this debate still remains the harvest of spike antlered bucks. Though many deer managers cull bucks in an attempt to improve the antler quality of their deer herd, does it really work?

DADH: “Conflicting penned deer research findings have fueled the age-old culling controversy. Study results on captive deer have produced recommendations ranging from removing all spike-antlered (presumably genetically inferior) yearlings, to complete protection of all yearling bucks regardless of their antler traits. Those favoring selective removal of small-antlered young bucks claim such a practice will remove small-antlered genes from the herd and improve antler quality.”

Texas has lead the way in terms of antler research. Research conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department suggests that breeding better-antlered white-tailed bucks improved the antler quality of bucks sired, but then researchers at Texas A&M University concluded that a doe’s “nurturing ability” was the most important factor. The latter study suggests that the genetics of individual deer are not important at all?

In an attempt to end the culling debate, researchers from Stephen F. Austin State University set out to determine if a white-tailed buck’s first set of antlers were good predictors of future antler growth. Would yearling bucks in a wild population and varying in antler quality really be significantly different as they aged? To answer this question, wild bucks were captured in South Texas and yearling bucks were permanently marked. This allowed bucks to be tracked from yearling to maturity.

What did they find? Well, at 4 1/2 years old they observed no significant difference in Boone and Crockett antler scores between marked 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 point yearling bucks. Researchers found that smaller antlered yearling bucks attained a mean antler size equal in width, mass, length and number of points to those starting with larger antlers at yearling age. They were also not significantly different at 5½ years of age and older. Earlier I said that culling works, but this research suggests that removing small-antlered yearling bucks would not improve mature buck antler size. So what gives?

Well, first let’s look at how the yearling bucks were grouped. In the study, yearling bucks were divided into two antler-point categories, those with three or fewer antler points and those with four or more antler points. Although their objectives were to determine if 2 and 3 point bucks were inferior to 4+ point bucks, the implications to deer managers are muddy. If one were to just read through the study it would seem meaningless to cull at all, but it’s not and here’s why.

In my opinion, instead of comparing 2 and 3 point yearling bucks with 4+ point yearling bucks, the data should be re-worked to compare 2 and 3 point yearling bucks with 7 and 8 point yearling bucks. Since most yearlings have either 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 total points, I think all the mediocre yearlings (4, 5, and 6 points) bring down the average from the top-end deer (7 and 8 points). Since yearling antler points, like everything else, fall along a bell curve, I can only assume that there were many more 4, 5, and 6 point bucks in their sample than 7 and 8 point yearlings. Let’s see the data from 2 and 3 point deer versus only 7 and 8 point yearlings.

Buck Management: Culling bucks is not simply shooting every 2 and 3 point buck we see. If you are even remotely interested in improving the buck segment of a deer herd then I recommend shooting yearling bucks with 4 or fewer antler points. If you have a higher threshold for pain (especially fewer bucks in the short-term), then I suggest shooting yearling bucks with 5 or fewer antler points. This may sound insane at first, but because top-end bucks make up only 20% or less of the buck herd, the competition has to be removed! By doing this, a land owner can ensure that all future deer (bucks and does) are sired by the best bucks. If you are going to make drastic genetic changes within a population, it takes drastic action. Ranchers do not put a crappy bull, a mediocre bull, and a good bull in with their cows and hope all the calves end up being grand champions.

Buck management is not a one-size-fits-all for every ranch. Culling must occur at the yearling level as well as each age class thereafter. Bucks at each age must be compared on a relative basis to other bucks in the age class and inferior bucks should be harvested. As a property progresses in a deer management program the quality of cull, management, and trophy bucks should increase if the age, genetics, and nutrition are in place. And remember this, if genetics were not heritable why would deer breeders (whether you like them or not) consistently produce monster buck after monster buck. I think there is something to it!

Buck Management: What’s Up with Missing Brow Tines?

The hunting season has just ended for the majority of white-tailed deer hunters. Now, it’s time to reflect, look back over the past season while it’s all fresh in your mind. If you had the opportunity to spend many days in the field hunting, then you should have a good picture of the overall deer herd using the property you hunt.

Better yet, if you recorded deer observations while hunting, then you have the hard data to support what is happening under your property’s current deer management program. These field observations, in addition to game camera photos, will allow a deer manager to track individual bucks from one year to the next. I strongly recommend keeping both photo and stand observations since some bucks always seem to avoid getting caught on camera.

Are missing brow tines caused by genetics?

Missing Brow Tines

With regards to antlered deer, one issue that always seems to arise is the lack of brow tines (G1) on some whitetail bucks. Hunters have often questioned why some middle-aged and mature bucks simply lack brow tines. Is something going on in the deer herd?

Well, yes. Antler characteristics are genetically linked and highly heritable This means a young buck will likely look a whole lot like his daddy. To back up this claim, I will cite some long-term data collected from Kerr Wildlife Management Area (WMA), located in Texas.

From 1974 to 1997, the research facility at the Kerr WMA was involved in a number of studies designed to determine the role of nutrition and genetics in white-tailed deer antler development. During each of various studies that took place over that time, researchers recorded antler information for individual whitetail bucks throughout a 23 year period.

Deer Hunting and Management

Brow Tines on a Buck?

This wealth of antler data allowed wildlife biologists to back-test 217 whitetail bucks from yearlings (1 1/2) to 3 1/2 years of age and 168 bucks until they were 4 1/2 years old. That’s a lot of deer, and from what I can find, represents one of the largest sets of antler data available. So what did they find?

In short, data from 385 bucks found that 90 percent of the bucks without brow tines at 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 years of age were spikes at 1 1/2 years old! All bucks without brow tines at 1 1/2 years old lacked brow tines at 4 1/2 years old. On the other hand, all bucks with 5 or more points as yearlings had both brow tines at maturity. Bucks that had both brow tines as yearlings had both brow tines at 3 1/2 and 4 1/2 years of age.

Missing Brow Tines Starts with Spike Bucks

Incredible Antler Data

The numbers above speak for themselves. In addition, deer researchers know that antler characteristics in white-tailed deer are highly heritable, so the probability of passing on genes for specific antler characteristics (larger or smaller antlers) is a given. The future of the deer herd on a property depends a good amount on the quality of the bucks doing the breeding.

To sum up, a whitetail buck that has spikes as his first set of antlers has a 90 percent chance of developing into a buck with missing brow tines later in life. A buck that has 5 or more points as his first set of antlers is much more likely to have brow tines later in life, at least according to this data set out of Texas.

Deer Management Implications

How does knowing this information affect you and the deer you manage moving forward? It likely depends on the goals you have for the deer that use your property. If one of the goals is to harvest the maximum number of mature bucks on the property annually then you want to allow all bucks to reach maturity.

However, if you are looking to improve buck antler quality, then at least one of the factors you should consider is the quality of the young bucks on your land. Antlers are the result of genetics, but they are also influenced by the environment. Nutrition plays a role in how genes are expressed, how a buck looks.

This phenomenon can be seen is deer herds with suboptimal nutrition as spike bucks tend to comprise a higher percentage of the young bucks, those 1 1/2 years of age with their very first set of hardened antlers. In these types of situations, increasing the available food by reducing the size of the total deer herd or the addition of supplemental foods/forages may be an appropriate step to increase overall deer health, buck quality.

If a property provides ample food and a manager is seeing a high percentage of 1 1/2 year old bucks without brow tines on the property, then you now know it’s all in the genes. The only way to improve antler quality and reverse missing brow tines in older bucks is to put pressure on spikes and bucks without brow tines, regardless of age.

Deer Management for Brow Tines, Better Antlers

In this situation, deer management practices should also include rolling over the doe herd to reduce the number of old does sired by bucks lacking brow tines. This is not a management strategy that plays out overnight, but a practice that must be integrated into the long-term management of a deer herd using a property.

Small Acreage Deer Management: Part 2

Small Acreage Management Continued

Part one of this two part series on small acreage deer management discussed how selective harvest on properties less than 500 acres in size is difficult to control. Most deer in an area have home ranges that encompass neighboring ranches. The best remedy for combating the small acreage dilemma is to create cooperative, working with adjacent ranches to increase the quantity, and ideally quality, of land under a common white-tailed deer management program.

Increasing the reach of a small acreage management program is the first priority of any small landowner, or even large landowner for that matter. I also want to touch on the other important deer herd issues that were asked about in the first part of this series—estrus cycles, spikes, and buck to doe ratio.

Deer Management & Herd Parameters

First, with regard to the estrus cycles of deer, whitetail does cycle every 28 days. Late-born fawns result from does that cycle later than normal, or does bred on their second or third estrus cycle into the breeding season. Although born later than usual, late-born whitetail fawns are not genetically inferior to fawns born earlier in the fawning season.

In addition, research has shown that fawning date is not a factor in the antler production of yearling (1 1/2 year old) white-tailed bucks. Genes are genes and can not be changed, but antler production is influenced by environmental conditions. This circles back to the importance of managing for and maintaining high quality white-tailed deer habitat.

Small Acreage Deer Management

Buck Harvest on Small Tracts?

This brings us to the long-debated discussion about spike bucks. Some hunters believe spike must be harvested. Some are adamant that the protection of spike bucks is a necessity. There is no single, correct answer to this debate. The harvest approach depends on a specific deer population and the goals of the small acreage land manager. The thoughtful harvest of deer is important to be successful at managing deer and their habitat.

I mentioned that environmental conditions influence buck antler quality. This is true for all age classes, but some bucks in each age class will be better or poorer than average. Research has found that some yearling (1 1/2 year old) bucks on poor diets (simulating poor habitat conditions) still developed into 5, 6, 7, and 8-point deer. This is interesting from a research perspective. However, harvesting spikes will not change the genetic composition of a deer herd on a large or small property. Why? Females contribute at least on-half of the genes found in every fawn.

Furthermore, bucks must be allowed to age if the land manager’s goal is to grow and produce mature, quality bucks. That means not shooting bucks when they are young during the deer hunting season. There are situations when the harvest of spikes is warranted, however.

Deer Harvest is Essential

There is a time when shooting spikes is a good idea. It’s not a situation that all properties face. Reducing the overall deer population is important when the deer density of an area is extremely high, even on small acreages. Too few acres per deer leads to low quality habitat, smaller deer, smaller antlers and fewer fawns. Too many deer creates a nutritional stress in deer which leads to more 1 1/2 year old bucks showing up as spikes.

It’s a feedback loop that has to be broken. Too many total deer for the habitat means more (higher percentage) yearling spike bucks. In this situation, the selective harvest of bucks throughout the ag classes is recommended. This means shooting spikes on the yearling end so that those bucks with 5, 6, 7 and 8 points get to pass go. A high deer situation also means the selective harvest of does throughout the ag classes. Deer management is not just shooting bucks!

While we are on the topic, the study found that 95% of spike bucks are yearlings (1 1/2 years old). There is an occasional 2-year old spike out there, but old spikes are very, very rare.

More than Shooting Deer

I understand why managers tend to focus on buck harvest. Love it or hate it, let’s use the commercial deer breeding world as an example. Again, this is just an example. There is not a single deer breeder out there lining up to buy spike-antlered yearling bucks. Why? Because they, like you, know that antler characteristics are highly heritable. The difference is that deer breeding and movement is controlled within a pen.

White-tailed deer management on small acreage is different from management on large acreage. Wild deer move around a lot during the breeding season. There is a good chance that bucks spending a lot of time on your property do not breed the does that spend a lot of time on your property. Furthermore, does can get bred multiple times during an estrus cycle. They can have twin fawns with different sires.

Avoid High Grading Bucks

The standard operating procedure outside of a deer management program is for hunters to shoot the bucks with the most antler points. Under this scenario, these good bucks get harvested early and are not allowed to pass on their much-desired genetics. Under a managed scenario, high-quality young bucks should be protected for later harvest.

Only in high deer density situations should bucks with lower quality antlers be harvested. Again, the objective is not to change the genetics of the deer herd, only to reduce the deer herd and save some young bucks for later harvest. Most small acreage deer management programs will want to protect all young bucks.

Deer Management & Buck:Doe Ratio

I’ve covered t the importance of buck to doe ratio in the past, so review the article for more in-depth information. Buck to doe ratio is very important in determining fawning dates and small acreage managers should shoot for about a 1:2 buck to doe ratio. Larger and/or game-fenced properties can shoot for a more equal buck to doe ratio (1:1), but smaller ranches should carry a few more does than bucks.

In the case of a 1:10 buck to doe ratio, the number of bucks compared to the number of does is not likely not that bad. It’s difficult and rare to have a ratio that skewed. However, do collect deer survey data in late-summer and early-fall. Develop harvest recommendations based on those estimates based on the goals and objectives of the small acreage deer management program. Since it does sound like the land manager has many more does than bucks, it’s high time to trim down the female segment of the deer herd.

Removing excess does (and bucks) will improve fawning dates. The remaining female deer will get bred earlier, during the first estrus cycle. As a result, this will increase fawn survival by providing less competition and more summer food for nursing does. This works perfectly if the property is providing high quality deer habitat. Better fawn survival means more bucks in the future. Better habitat means bigger bucks and a healthy deer herd.

Deer Management on Small Acreage: Part 1

Managing Deer on Small Acreage

Deer management is challenging. Attempting to manage deer on small acreage can be down right frustrating. When I say small acreage, I am referring to properties from 500 acres on down. Simply said, it is very difficult to manage white-tailed deer on small ranches because neighboring properties can influence an area’s deer population. Game-fenced ranches are a different story.

Don’t give up just yet if you own or hunt small acreage. There are still a few things you can do to manage and improve deer in your area. Favorable results can result from a focus on deer habitat improvement and harvest management.

Question: “I am a new hunter who has access to a small (85 acre) piece of property in Edwards County, Texas. I want to improve the quality of deer on the land that I hunt. Due to the very rocky terrain, food plots are out. I also need information on estrus cycles and need to know if the second and third cycle can degrade the quality of offspring. This land has a large number of 2-3 year old spikes and the buck to doe ratio is about 1 to 10. I am seeking any and all information to improve quality of deer.”

Small Acreage Deer Management

Small Acreage Takes Focus

First of all, food plots are fine if the land will support them. However, food plots are not necessary for the management of deer. They are not a cure-all for poor habitat either. Food plots are most important for managers attempting to support deer populations just at or slightly above the carrying capacity of the habitat found on a property. Small food plots are good places to attract deer for harvest., but small plots are not providing supplementation.

Providing supplemental foods will help deer on a ranch, but the first goal of any deer management program is good habitat management. Here is one thing to remember about food plots, especially spring food plots: When deer really need them, they will not grow. When they do grow, the deer do not need them. Small acreage tracts really can not afford to give up space to annual food plots.

Small acreage land managers must focus on good habitat. Manage the plant communities found on the property correctly and then you’ve got native vegetation that produces forage year-round for deer. A white-tailed deer eats about 2,000 pounds of forage annually. Consider managing existing vegetation to improve the growth and quality of foods. This can include brush management, forest thinning, prescribed fire, overseeding of pastures, and the addition of fertilzer. Prescribed harvest will keep deer numbers in line with the habitat, but first you need to know how many deer use the property.

Deer Surveys on Small Acreage

The next objective of a manager is to estimate the current deer population. Deer surveys can estimate the number of acres of habitat available for each deer. After the deer density is estimated, the manager can determine herd composition and harvest objectives. Now, this is where you need to think outside the box, outside property’s boundaries. Habitat management and deer surveys will only get you so far. The next component of a small acreage deer management program is harvest management.

I mentioned earlier that it is very difficult to manage deer on less than 500 acres because of the influence of neighboring properties. Deer have annual home ranges that average about 600 acres or more in size. More often than not, the number one reason management programs fall short is because of heavy harvest pressure on young and middle-aged bucks. The premature harvest of good, young bucks by neighbors is a morale killer of any property’s management program. Just the thought prevents most landowners or lessee from even attempting any type of deer management.

Multiply Deer Management Efforts

We generally discussed what a small ranch can do to benefit white-tailed deer in-house. But what about when deer are not on your property? Another important step outside of providing good habitat and estimating deer numbers is to contact neighboring land managers. This is good for many reasons and may determine if a small acreage property will attempt to manage deer.

First, let surrounding property owners that you are interested in improving the quality of deer. Most landowners are not opposed to better deer. Secondly, ask if they lease out their land or hunt it themselves. If the landowner hunts the property themselves, ask if they would be interested in forming a wildlife cooperative. Multiple properties could be managed under a single management program.

If the landowner leases out the hunting rights, ask for information so that you can contact the lease coordinator. Most hunters that lease land for deer hunting already have some type of deer harvest rules in place. Simple modifications of harvest strategies may be all that is needed to improve the quality of the area’s deer herd.

Managing More than Deer

Some hunters blame “the neighbors” for shooting everything that walks. In turn, they themselves shoot young bucks believing that if they do not—their neighbors will. This often is not the case, but it likely comes from a place of fear or it’s merely a way to justify their own actions. It’s rarely as bad as one thinks although there are some horror stories out there. Communication can provide you the information you need to make an informed decision. Communication between neighboring properties can get everyone on the same page.

Most landowners want better quality deer and are open to forming a wildlife management cooperative. However, some will have no interest in deer management or simply will not want to be restricted in any way on their property. If this is the case, there is nothing you can do except to continue to contact the owners of the other properties surrounding your property. It only takes one neighbor with similar goals to increase the area under management by 2 to 20 times.

Small Acreage, Huge Potential

Many of the issues facing deer management on small acreage ranches have been addressed above. Although the list of issues and solutions is not all-encompassing, the biggest issue is overcoming the lack of land size. Ideally, the best way to manage deer on small properties is to join with neighboring ranches to form wildlife management cooperatives, also known as wildlife management associations. This groups smaller properties into a larger unit and allows for a single, comprehensive management program.

Although not a perfect system for overall deer herd management, wildlife cooperatives do provide the best avenue for harvest management on small acreage ranches. The remainder of the readers question is addressed in this second article, part two of managing deer on small acreage.