Texas Deer and Land Management

[Tye]

anyone plnat anything around the DeWitt County area in that sandy soil??

The 10 acre plot in the pic above is almost pure sand. At the bottom of that field the sand is several feet deep. Planting in Sandy soils works but you definately have to have moisture since sand doesn't hold moisture like clays do. The picture of me sitting in the Lab Lab is the same plot.

What we have experienced though is you can also grow a good crop of Sand Burrs or stickers. We have had that field sprayed by a commercial company at least 3 times and we are still fighting them. The "burr" holds the seeds and they can stay dormit for 10 years or so. And when you plow the ground, they come to the surface and germinate.

Weed control is a very important phase of food plots. Almost as important as water. If you don't control the weeds, they will compete with your plot and steal the moisture that your plants need.

[gargetter]

ttt

[smokey]

The 10 acre plot in the pic above is almost pure sand. At the bottom of that field the sand is several feet deep. Planting in Sandy soils works but you definately have to have moisture since sand doesn't hold moisture like clays do. The picture of me sitting in the Lab Lab is the same plot.

What we have experienced though is you can also grow a good crop of Sand Burrs or stickers. We have had that field sprayed by a commercial company at least 3 times and we are still fighting them. The "burr" holds the seeds and they can stay dormit for 10 years or so. And when you plow the ground, they come to the surface and germinate.

Weed control is a very important phase of food plots. Almost as important as water. If you don't control the weeds, they will compete with your plot and steal the moisture that your plants need.

Tye, how long has the land been under management? The results look awesome! Do you invest in natural browse management or do you feel the food plots provide sufficient nutrients year round?

[BuckSmasher]

Tye, that is awesome!! What a great looking plot!! And great information!

x a million!

[Death from Above]

Without proper food, water, or cover, deer and wildlife cannot survive. Do you have enough water sources? What about beeding areas?

Lots of water year round. Lots of natural browse and proabaly 500 plus acres of some serious cover. Stuff so thick its a chore to just walk thru.

We will begin a new Wildlife Management plan in 2010. Some of the things we will be doing are:

Doe harvest
Fall food plots
Control burn
Cattle graze rotation
Beaver control(they are flooding us out)
Predator control
Wild hog control

Looking at:
Feeding protein
Erosion control to help natural browse
Tree planting and relocation

The place is 1250 total acres in East Texas. We have a very high deer population.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Brandon

[Tye]

Tye, how long has the land been under management? The results look awesome! Do you invest in natural browse management or do you feel the food plots provide sufficient nutrients year round?

First off, we are a high fenced place which is comprised of 670 acres. We have been managing the ranch since 1989 and it was fenced in 1995. The deer are all native other than some TTT does we have brought in. On the whole ranch we run protein feeders from Dec-Sept and we plant both winter and spring crops. We plant them both in the same fields even though you should keep them separate so you don't leech the nutrients from the soil. By planting peas in the summer, they will add Nitrogen back into the soil.

We, unfortunately, are not farmers. It has been on a learn from year to year basis. We started with older equipment that we bought from an auction. Bet some it was an antique. I have spent countless hours reading books, talking with seed suppliers, ag/chemical companies etc. Macy Ledbetter has been our driving force to make the herd what it is today. It has been a long, up hill battle. Chris Garcia, from MBS seed out of Denton has also helped in the food plot end of things. Have your soil tested. We grew our best turnip crop a year after we added Lime


We have tried fallow disking areas that aren't food plots but the results have been questionable at best. We have never fertilized natural vegetation either. I think the keep to a health deer herd is getting the buck to doe ratio as close as possible and try and keep the deer at or below the carrying capacity. I know this is hard to do under a low fence situation. Forming a co-op is a very good option if you can get your neighbors on board. The largest deer in Eastland county (that I know of low fenced) was killed a couple years ago on a Wildlife coop. There are now at least 2 in Eastland county that I know of. Also,IMHO, the AR's will start to improve the age structure of the bucks. Many areas have a very young herd and antler show that. Allowing bucks to reach at least 4.5 would be a huge success and antler sizes will reflect that. It all goes back to the 3 legged stool (age,genetics and nutrition). We can only change 2 of those in a short period of time. But it still takes many years to see the results. It has taken us almost 15 years under high fence to produce bucks in the 150"+ catagory. I killed the biggest buck we have ever produced this year which scored 169" gross and he was a native deer. Out goals when we started this ranch was to produce a 160"+ deer and we finally did it. That is another thing that needs to be brought up, set goals for the place you hunt or own. Keep the goals within reach though. And if you don't own the land, keep them as cheap as possible.

Also, try and do a survey of the deer herd on your property. Our place is extremely thick, so we do blind counts from July-Sept. on weekends. This will allow you to see what kind of bucks are showing up prior to bow season and it will also let you know the buck to doe ratio and fawn crop survival.


Sorry for ranting, just trying to help out with the knowledge I have obtained over the years.

[Tye]

Lots of water year round. Lots of natural browse and proabaly 500 plus acres of some serious cover. Stuff so thick its a chore to just walk thru.

We will begin a new Wildlife Management plan in 2010. Some of the things we will be doing are:

Doe harvest
Fall food plots
Control burn
Cattle graze rotation
Beaver control(they are flooding us out)
Predator control
Wild hog control

Looking at:
Feeding protein
Erosion control to help natural browse
Tree planting and relocation

The place is 1250 total acres in East Texas. We have a very high deer population.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Brandon

Looks like you are on the right track, I suggest trying to get a good survey of the deer herd and adjust your harvest accordingly. I would also put out 8-10 gravity fed protein feeders scattered across the ranch(It can get costly). We decided to use more smaller protein feeders(hold 7 bags each) compared to a 1 ton bulk feeder. It will help keep the deer from congregating in one place or two. Let us know how things turn out.

[Death from Above]

Looks like you are on the right track, I suggest trying to get a good survey of the deer herd and adjust your harvest accordingly. I would also put out 8-10 gravity fed protein feeders scattered across the ranch(It can get costly). We decided to use more smaller protein feeders(hold 7 bags each) compared to a 1 ton bulk feeder. It will help keep the deer from congregating in one place or two. Let us know how things turn out.

Thanks..we are going to have to do a spring survey and an early fall. Plus record all deer sightings thru deer season

[smokey]

Awesome information! Forming a Co-op is key part for the majority of us, if possible!

[smokey]

ttt

[txtimetravler]

The 10 acre plot in the pic above is almost pure sand. At the bottom of that field the sand is several feet deep. Planting in Sandy soils works but you definately have to have moisture since sand doesn't hold moisture like clays do. The picture of me sitting in the Lab Lab is the same plot.

What we have experienced though is you can also grow a good crop of Sand Burrs or stickers. We have had that field sprayed by a commercial company at least 3 times and we are still fighting them. The "burr" holds the seeds and they can stay dormit for 10 years or so. And when you plow the ground, they come to the surface and germinate.

Weed control is a very important phase of food plots. Almost as important as water. If you don't control the weeds, they will compete with your plot and steal the moisture that your plants need.

Thanks for the reply! I am thinking about trying BEP in the spring and then come back and throw oats out for a fall plot. Nothing too big, maybe an acre total along some areas that are sandy but have a little clay mixed in where the water holds. I am sure the 15 or so deer that I have will hammer the plot and wont let the plants get up past a few inches.

[macdad]

Has any body done any plots in or around the three rivvers area? I just got 200 ac.and plan on putting in some plots. Cow peas probably i the spring.

[smokey]

ttt

[canny]

Did the winter peas and turnips grow? Or did the deer not like it as much as the wheat/oat?

I typically dont recommend planting any type of brassicas in most parts of TX. This is because they are really bitter untill a good period of freezing weather, typically 2-3 weeks. Once the freeze has hit for a period of time the plants pull all the bitter tasting parts into their roots and leave the sugars behind in the leaves. This is the time in which deer will really hit them hard, but the only downfall is that when this time occurs its usually after deer season, if it occurs at all.

[TD2000]

TPWD info that should be useful for all in the Cross Timbers & Prairies Regions. Can't go wrong with native food supplies.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_w7000_1017.pdf

Great thread - keep it going - Challenge is keeping all the info by region - cheers to the cross timbers region - hope everyone improves the habitat in the area