whitetail deer management

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.

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”

Factors that Influence Deer Harvest Rates

When it comes to white-tailed deer management—at any scale—the most important factors are deer density and buck to doe ratio. These two numbers are usually indicative of habitat condition and the reproductive potential of the deer herd. Most hunters continue to talk about buck harvest criteria, and although important, they fail to have a good handle on the deer density and buck to doe ratio in their hunting area! In addition, many landowners overlook habitat conditions and factors that limit fawn production and survival.

White-tailed deer harvest rates are important because they determine not only the number of animals you will shoot this year, but more importantly the number of deer that will survive into next year. This is especially important for the doe population because these animals, depending on deer density and sex ratio, can increase the total deer population prior to the next hunting season by 50% or more. This article discusses population and environmental factors that influence white-tailed deer harvest rates on an annual basis.

Harvest rates can vary annually by habitat quantity, habitat quality, fawn production, and white-tailed deer management objectives. Hunters and landowners looking to maintain healthy age structure in bucks should never harvest over 20% of the buck herd. This holds true whether the buck to doe ratio is 1:10 or 1:1. Of course, if the deer density in the area is held constant, many more bucks can be harvested when there is 1 buck for every 1 doe compared to when there is 1 buck for every 10 does. Many hunters fail to realize that from a population standpoint the types of the bucks being shot is less important as the total number of bucks being removed from the herd. In short, limit buck harvest to less than 20% of the buck population.

Doe harvest management is more important in determining the overall dynamics of a white-tailed deer population in a given area. The doe population determines if a deer population declines, remains stable, or grows. However, the doe population is dependent on, as mentioned prior, habitat quantity, habitat quality, fawn production, and management objectives. Because the doe population in an area depends on these annual factors, so does the annual harvest rates.

Habitat Quantity

This is a measure of the total amount of deer habitat available. Does your property have 100 acres of deer habitat or 1,000 acres of deer habitat? Obviously, more deer habitat correlates with a larger population size. Hunters on 100 acres of habitat can not expect to harvest as many deer as hunters on 1,000 acres of habitat, assuming the deer density in that habitat is the same. If both ranches have the same harvest strategy in place, then the 1,000 acres of habitat can harvest 10 times the number of animals. It’s not because those hunters are greedy, it is just that the total deer harvest for a property should be related to available deer habitat, not just property size. In this example, both ranches could have been 1,000 acres in size. We only discussed available deer habitat on those properties. Property size will not effect the harvest rate, only the total number of animals harvested (because of available habitat).

Habitat Quality

Habitat quality is measured by an area’s ability to provide food, cover, water, and space for white-tailed deer. Deer found on high quality habitat have higher reproductive rates than deer found on low quality habitat. Here is an example of how habitat quality impacts harvest rate: Let’s say that there are two ranches 1,000 acres in size. One provides high quality habitat and the other provides low quality habitat. If we assume that the deer density is the same, then fawn production on the high quality habitat will be higher because there is more food per animal. This high quality habitat means more food per doe, a higher reproductive rate, a higher fawn survival rate, and more bucks and does available for harvest each year. In short, properties with high quality habitat must harvest does at a higher rate to keep the deer population stable.

In Summary

Without a doubt, both habitat quantity and quality impact the annual harvest rates of a deer population. Property size does not impact harvest rate, but smaller properties will harvest fewer animals than larger properties based simply on habitat quantity and differences in the sizes of the deer populations. Habitat quality can vary by property depending on habitat management practices (or lack thereof) and deer found on high quality habitat have higher reproductive success. Because of this habitat effect, properties providing high quality habitat must harvest does at higher rates than properties providing low quality deer habitat. Next week, I will discuss how fawn survival, density, and buck to doe ratio also impact white-tailed deer harvest rates.

Time to Rattle for Whitetail

Fall is here, food plots are in the ground and the deer hunting seasons are underway. Except for conducting a couple of controlled burns in the near future, the only thing left to do deer management wise for me is to harvest and record the deer we need (or would like) to remove. Though most deer hunters hunt whitetail by setting up over a food source, whether it be a feeder or a food plot, there are much more active ways to bag a buck.

When it comes to hunting there really are only two ways to go: Either you can go to the deer, or you can bring the deer to you.

Rattling for Bucks

Though many hunters have read about rattling bucks in, or have at least seen it on TV, many have yet to give this method of hunting a serious shot. Or maybe you tried it once, but didn’t feel confident, it didn’t work so you packed it in. Ratting for bucks can work, especially if you incorporate the technique into your hunting on a regular basis.

I suspect many deer hunters have picked up a set of shed or cut-off antlers and have at attempted to rattle up a buck, but their lack of success caused them to quickly dismiss the effectiveness of antler rattling. Those antlers then went back to collecting dust at camp. So as effective as rattling can be for whitetail, most of time it will not work and you are not going to bring in a buck on a string. It does work, however, and when it’s hot, it’s hot!

Best Time to Rattle?

Rattling can work at any time during the hunting season, but it is typically most effective just prior to the rut, during the pre-rut. At this time, antler rattling can be an effective way to bring whitetail bucks right up into spitting distance. I’ve seen bucks come running out of the brush with as little as two seconds worth of antler rattling!

Of course many, many times I’ve rattled antlers together only to attract the attention of area squirrels, or even worse, nothing at all. During the pre-rut, bucks are busy establishing dominance for breeding purposes, setting up territories, and working off an excess in testosterone. It is also during this time in which they are most vulnerable to rattling, so this is the BEST time to rattle.

Rattling Antlers Attracts Attention

When it comes to rattling, let me tell you that you never really know what you are going to attract. I’ve had all sorts of deer respond to rattling. I can only guess they all want to run over and see who is fighting — and who will win? Some bucks want to participate, some are just curious. I’ve had does, spikes, middle-age bucks and mature bucks all come to a set of rattling antlers.

All age classes of bucks will respond to rattling more or less at the proportion in which they occur in the population. Younger bucks probably respond at a higher percentage overall and mature bucks probably a little less overall, but it’s not easy to measure since mature bucks are smarter. Older bucks often respond to the sound of rattling antlers by moving downwind of the action and then creeping in. Younger bucks do not always take such precaution, so there is a chance some of those more experienced bucks are detecting us before we detect them.

If a good percentage of the local buck herd is made up of young bucks, then that is probably what you will bring in. If, on the other hand, there are a good number of older bucks in the area, then you have just as a good of a chance of bringing them to you as younger-aged bucks. In fact, you probably have a much better chance of bringing them to you rather than simply sitting and waiting to see them — because they may have stayed “brushed up.”

Rattling, Battling Bucks

A friend of mine spotted a huge whitetail buck last year on public land right as the season started. The buck showed up on a couple of his game camera photos before season, but he got a glimpse of the buck the second day of archery season as the animal walked by at 200 yards. At that point, he then made it his personal mission to hunt that deer for the remainder of the season, even if it meant he ended the year with no buck at all.

To make a long story short, he hunted long and hard with no success, but one cold morning a few weeks later he decided he needed to be more aggressive. He had decided that if he didn’t change then his success rate was not going to change. The best trick in his book: try to get near the buck’s core area and rattle him up for a battle.

The right day came: Temperature perfect, wind great and he was able to rattle that buck to within 25 yards and made a perfect double-lung shot. He said after his first rattling sequence he could see the buck, which scored over 170 Boone and Crockett inches, running at him from over 400 yards! Sometimes it helps to bring them to you.

So rattling can work, but don’t expect it to work every time.

Whitetail Rubs Revisited

Hunters that have been out in the woods early this fall have undoubtedly bumped into some fresh rubs created by white-tailed bucks. Often times, discovering a new buck rub is enough to get my mind thinking about the deer that left the sign. How big is this whitetail? When was the animal here? Does he prefer the habitat found on this part of the property more? Where is the buck now? And, of course, will he return?

The general thinking on deer rubs is that big bucks rub actual trees and small bucks rub on saplings. This line of thinking suggests that the bigger the tree rubbed the bigger the whitetail buck doing the rubbing. Is this true? I would have to say yes, at least most of the time. The majority of bucks rubbing on larger trees are in fact larger antlered bucks. Bucks with large antlers tend to be larger bodied, mature, stronger, and as a result of all these attributes, dominant animals. Continue reading “Whitetail Rubs Revisited”