Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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from 11 percent to 17 percent following fertilization (Stribling 1994a). Other plants, such as greenbriar, should respond similarly to fertilization. Lime and fertilizer should be applied during the growing season. The first application should be right at the beginning of spring green-up (late-March or early-April) and should consist of 400 pounds per acre of 13-13-13 and enough lime to bring the soil pH to the 6.5 to 7.0 range. A follow-up application of 100 pounds per acre of ammonium nitrate should be applied about two months later (Stribling 1994a). When identifying areas to be fertilized, look for patches that receive adequate amounts of sunlight and areas large enough to handle the additional browsing the fertilizer will attract. Deer feed heavily on these fertilized areas and sometimes use them almost to the point of ignoring the unfertilized patches. It is best to fertilize several patches throughout the property to reduce the chances of overbrowsing any one area. Other plants that should respond favorably to fertilization are mast producing trees, vines, and shrubs. It is reasonable to believe fertilizing oaks, persimmon trees, grape vines, and other mast producers prior to flowering each year should increase the number of flowers produced. If more flowers are produced, there is a potential for more fruit production later in the year. At the very least, an annual application of fertilizer should make these plants more vigorous and healthy, which should improve fruit production in future years. 114
WILDLIFE OPENINGS Of all the management practices available for improving whitetailed deer habitat, none is more popular in Alabama than planting agricultural crops in wildlife openings or food plots. Millions of dollars are spent on growing agricultural crops solely for the purpose of feeding deer. Most of these crops are planted to increase harvest and viewing opportunities. Others are planted in an effort to improve the quality of food available to the local deer herd. Regardless of the purpose of the The most popular habitat improvement tool used by Alabama deer hunters is planted wildlife openings. plantings, always remember no single crop is the “silver bullet” to solve all deer management problems. If done properly, planted wildlife openings can be an integral part of an overall deer management plan and can potentially improve the quality of habitat on the property being managed. Location and Size The first things to decide before planting is where to plant and how much to plant. On many properties, the options are limited. Small 115
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Biology and Management of White-tai
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Table of Contents PREFACE .........
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JAWBONE EXTRACTION ................
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors gratefu
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PREFACE White-tailed deer (Odocoile
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TAXONOMY The white-tailed deer is o
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darker winter coat. Fawns are born
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Deer have many glands that are used
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tiates antler growth. The secretion
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DEER BEHAVIOR VOCALIZATION AND COMM
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Among bucks, two males of equal sta
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out the Southeast have reported dis
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check their scrapes regularly to de
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The sex ratio of fawns at birth is
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(midges) are highest. To date there
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is extremely unlikely to fall prey
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and even fawn production—will be,
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and living body tissue. Many of the
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trace elements are important to a d
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are compatible with other objective
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tural crops may be used heavily as
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providing nutritious cool-season fo
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SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF HABITAT COMP
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Soil quality has a significant impa
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Determining CC for deer habitat can
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cycle of poor deer herd and habitat
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dam and her new fawns later in the
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POPULATION DENSITY The number of an
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determining exactly how many indivi
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searching for breeding opportunitie
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comes intense with improved buck ag
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the 1960s, deer were restocked in m
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sive quality deer management progra
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factors such as reproductive succes
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egulation of deer populations ensur
Page 73 and 74: The above graphs represent the hypo
Page 75 and 76: acceptable hunting satisfaction bec
Page 77 and 78: proportioned. Clearly, all the elem
Page 79 and 80: hunters to see numbers of deer whil
Page 81 and 82: In suboptimal habitats, body weight
Page 83 and 84: changes occur in herd structure and
Page 85 and 86: product of QDM and not a major goal
Page 87 and 88: offset the influences of dispersal
Page 89 and 90: Two controversial questions related
Page 91 and 92: It appears removing spike antlered
Page 93 and 94: guarantee the superior bucks hunter
Page 95 and 96: Perhaps the most common cause of di
Page 97 and 98: tivity of the property (Woods 1999b
Page 99 and 100: may justify a modification of the d
Page 101 and 102: ces and make management recommendat
Page 103 and 104: A method for removing jawbones that
Page 105 and 106: extractor towards the deer’s nose
Page 107 and 108: spread, basal circumference, and ma
Page 109 and 110: LACTATION Checking a doe for the pr
Page 111 and 112: deer seen into more specific classi
Page 113 and 114: and harvest recommendations for the
Page 115 and 116: of the year as a comparable type fo
Page 117 and 118: during the spring and summer, but t
Page 119 and 120: HERBICIDE TREATMENT Another techniq
Page 121 and 122: TIMBER HARVEST Periodic removal of
Page 123: foods in any area. Fertilizer incre
Page 127 and 128: areas. Very few of the crops common
Page 129 and 130: samples. These boxes are usually av
Page 131 and 132: ag of fertilizer, while soil test r
Page 133 and 134: Applying the Seed Seed should be ap
Page 135 and 136: cult. Many of these new crops show
Page 137 and 138: acre), and wheat (one bushel per ac
Page 139 and 140: using small portions of the opening
Page 141 and 142: able weight loss at the conclusion
Page 143 and 144: trace minerals. Another considerati
Page 145 and 146: Number 8. P-R Project W-35, Alabama
Page 147 and 148: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Volume 2, Page
Page 149 and 150: ings of the Role of Genetics in Whi
Page 151 and 152: APPENDICES 141
Page 153 and 154: Appendix 1: AVERAGE BODY WEIGHT, AN
Page 155 and 156: Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 157 and 158: Appendix 3: AGING DEER USING TOOTH
Page 159 and 160: Appendix 4: SELECTIVE ANTLERLESS DE
Page 161 and 162: Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 163 and 164: Appendix 5: GUIDELINES FOR AGING LI
Page 165 and 166: Appendix 7: FIELD OBSERVATION FORM
Page 167 and 168: Appendix 9: COOL-SEASON PLANTING GU
Page 169 and 170: CRIMSON CLOVER Planting Date: Septe
Page 171 and 172: RAPE Planting Date: August 15 - Nov
Page 173 and 174: SUBTERRANEAN CLOVER Planting Date:
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Appendix 10: WARM-SEASON PLANTING G
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COWPEAS Planting Date: May 1 - July
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RAPE Planting Date: April 15 - June
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Appendix 11: CONTACT INFORMATION FO
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Appendix 12: SUGGESTED READING AND
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chris Cook receiv
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Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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