Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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log-loading decks, turn-arounds on dead end roads, or utility company rights-of-way may be the only options. In cases where space is limited, it is best to plant all possible areas in the fall. These small openings usually will not provide much food for the deer, but they greatly improve the chances of reaching established harvest quotas. If the number and location of openings are not limiting, then plantings should Ideally, wildlife openings are irregularly shaped and evenly distributed across a property. be well dispersed over the entire property. Planted openings should be located away from public roads and property lines. This will lessen the chances of poaching in these areas. It also will reduce the number of confrontations with neighbors who like to hunt on the property line. Openings also should be irregularly shaped where practical. These irregularly shaped openings have more edge than a square or circular opening of the same size. Since deer tend to feed close to the edge of a field, the irregularly shaped openings should get more use (Griffin and Jacobson 1994). A typical winter in Alabama is very wet. For this reason, openings planted with cool-season crops need to be located in well-drained 116
areas. Very few of the crops commonly planted in the fall for deer can survive several days of flooding. Flooding also makes these openings useless for hunting. Upland sites usually are great locations for fall and winter plantings. On the other hand, summers can be very dry in Alabama. Openings planted during the spring and summer should be located on sites that will retain some soil moisture, even during the dry times. Upland sites should be avoided during this time because they are generally the driest areas during the summer. Another factor that will determine the size and number of wildlife openings is the purpose of the plantings. Openings planted solely to attract deer during hunting season do not have to be numerous or big. Under the right situation, a one-half acre opening placed in the right location works great. If the purpose of the plantings is to provide a supplemental food source for the deer, then larger, more numerous openings usually are better. To get the most out of the plantings, at least two to three percent of the total acreage should be planted with high-quality crops. For example, a 2,000-acre property should have a minimum of 40 acres of planted wildlife openings. Even one percent or less of an area planted in high-quality crops improves deer diets and enhances reproduction, growth, antler development (Johnson et al. 1987, Vanderhoof and Jacobson 1989), and harvest (Kammermeyer and Moser 1990). As a rule, most wildlife openings planted during the cool-season should be one to three acres. Crops typically planted during the cooler months can handle a substantial amount of grazing pressure. A 117
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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
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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 and 124: foods in any area. Fertilizer incre
Page 125: WILDLIFE OPENINGS Of all the manage
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:
Page 175 and 176: 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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