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Deer Ecology 101

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    #46
    Originally posted by lovemylegacy View Post
    I always wondered about the selective feeding patterns of deer. How they may concentrate on certain plants of the same type. I planted soybeans this past Spring, they would eat the whole plot, but you could tell they were eating mostly in just one area about 20 yds long. Yall have any ideas on this?
    I've seen this on native browse also and have pondered why they consumed so much of a particular plant but consumed little of nearby plants of the same species. It could be that the eaten plant was selected earlier, and as that plant responded by developing new shoots, the deer selected that plant again as the shoots were newer and more tender than surrounding plants that were not browsed earlier.

    As for your food plot, was the concentrated area nearest to cover or the deers prefered entrance location to the plot? That is, there's no reason for the deer to increase exposure to danger by walking farther from cover if its getting plenty to eat nearest to cover. If not, are the soils uniform across the entire plot?

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      #47
      Awesome thread!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge fellas!!

      I am very curious/interested in what browse WTD eat in different parts of the state. Are there any books that you could recommend that might contain this type of information??
      Last edited by Pedernal; 12-10-2016, 05:14 PM.

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        #48
        Originally posted by Top Of Texas View Post
        I've seen this on native browse also and have pondered why they consumed so much of a particular plant but consumed little of nearby plants of the same species. It could be that the eaten plant was selected earlier, and as that plant responded by developing new shoots, the deer selected that plant again as the shoots were newer and more tender than surrounding plants that were not browsed earlier.

        As for your food plot, was the concentrated area nearest to cover or the deers prefered entrance location to the plot? That is, there's no reason for the deer to increase exposure to danger by walking farther from cover if its getting plenty to eat nearest to cover. If not, are the soils uniform across the entire plot?
        The plot has a creek on the East and West side running N and S. The creek bottoms have hardwoods in it with pine farms outside of the hardwoods. Pine thicket to the N and hardwood bottom extending to the S. The deer come from all directions, but tend to browse more on the E side of the plot. The E side tends to hold moisture longer, that is the only thing I can figure.

        FYI, I do not hunt the plot.

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          #49
          Originally posted by Pedernal View Post
          Awesome thread!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge fellas!!

          I am very curious/interested in what browse WTD eat in different parts of the state. Are there any books that you could recommend that might contain this type of information??
          "common woody browse plants utilized by whitetail deer in south texas" by Taylor, Hererra, and Rutledge

          "Range plants of north central rexas" by Ricky Lenix

          "Common rangeland plants of the Texas Panhandle" Natural resources conservation service

          Those are the actual books I know of off the top of my head.

          TPWD has some brief, value based guides in PDF format for several of the eco-regions (not all). Just google search "tpwd common browse plants utilized by whitetail deer". You'll get more info than you might care to read.

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            #50
            Originally posted by lovemylegacy View Post
            The plot has a creek on the East and West side running N and S. The creek bottoms have hardwoods in it with pine farms outside of the hardwoods. Pine thicket to the N and hardwood bottom extending to the S. The deer come from all directions, but tend to browse more on the E side of the plot. The E side tends to hold moisture longer, that is the only thing I can figure.

            FYI, I do not hunt the plot.
            I suppose that could be it. I dunno.

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              #51
              Originally posted by Top Of Texas View Post
              While the bucks testosterone levels are controlled by sunlight, as is estrus in doe, environmental conditions do impact when doe are receptive. The school of thought is that birth is timed to occur when habitat conditions are at the most optimal for fawn survival, thus estrus is timed in the fall to coincide with a period in the spring that the doe's body is telling it will be best chances for the fawn.

              Since Texas has a wide variety of climates we also have a wide variety of peak rut dates.

              Excellent idea for a thread Hawkpuppy.

              Best explanation I've heard. Thanks

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                #52
                Originally posted by Top Of Texas View Post
                Yes. But what the research has shown is that when range conditions are good the doe produce a higher percentage of female fawns (slight, but statistically significant in some studies), and 50/50 to more male fawns when conditions are poorer. In Texas, where our annual rainfall is either wet or dry (not many average years), the fawn production sex ratio evens out over the years. So from a mgt standpoint, we use 50/50 annually.

                Cause, I think (over 20 yrs since I sat in class), is still being debated. That is, in good years, are doe egg cells more receptive to buck sperm cells carrying female genes, OR, do doe fawns require higher nutritional needs from the mother, visa-versa, do buck fawns have better survivability in poorer years.

                Fun question to ponder, but doesn't really impact mgt decisions.
                Good to know. Thanks!

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                  #53
                  This thread is awesome guys. Please keep adding with your knowledge!

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                    #54
                    Originally posted by mooch View Post
                    Is there any trend related to this that shows ratio of males/females birthed each year? Maybe for "survival reason"? For instance - a dry year does might tend to drop more females than males, etc.
                    In my experience of pen raised deer, MOST years it is a pretty close 50/50 split on sex ratio of fawns. Fawn survival is another story though....

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                      #55
                      In reference to food preference, WTD have been shown to eat, I believe, over 300 different trees, shrubs, forbs and grasses. They are selective at times depending on season and availability. Some foods they eat are more desired such as hackberry, cedar elm and sumac. These are commonly referred to as "ice cream" plants. Easy to get, taste good, but not a lot of nutrition in them as compared to most forbs, legumes and other brush.

                      Oaks are typically utilized for mast (acorns) production and not leaf browsing. Yes, they do eat them, but many other plants are higher preferred. Oaks can have high concentrations of tannins in them. That can be good and bad. Too much can cause sickness and even death. Just enough has been proven to be almost like a natural wormer/insecticide.

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                        #56
                        Thanks for all the great information.

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                          #57
                          In...

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                            #58
                            From one biologist to another; I tip my Stetson to a great job on your part. Awesome thread.

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                              #59
                              Thanks guys, just trying to help out and maybe answer a few questions along the way...

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                                #60
                                Great thread!

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