Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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Much of the food provided in troughs or other types of feeders is eaten by non-target wildlife, such as raccoons. This photo shows 25+ raccoons in a trough filled with soybeans and corn intended for deer. Photo courtesy of Jamie Banks. food can help deer survive stressful times. If done properly, this practice can be an important part of a deer management program. Anyone initiating a feeding program on his or her property should do so with caution. To be effective, feed should be available throughout the year in quantities sufficient to increase the carrying capacity of the habitat (Kammermeyer and Thackston 1995). Providing this much feed will be extremely expensive on most sites, with no guarantees of positive results. A study conducted by Auburn University on two sites in Alabama produced mixed results from supplemental feeding of free-ranging white-tailed deer with soybeans. Kearley and Causey (2001) found does on one site showed measurable weight gains and does on the second area showed measur- 130
able weight loss at the conclusion of the study. They also found no measurable improvements in antler size from the beginning to the end of the project. A risk associated with feeding is the potential spread of diseases and/or parasites. Troughs, or even spin feeders, bring many deer in close contact with each other. In these situations, diseases or parasites can be easily transmitted from sick deer to healthy deer. If supplemental feeding is utilized, hunters need to be aware in Alabama it is illegal to hunt deer with the aid of bait. To avoid any problems, feeding should be suspended during hunting season. Just as planting agricultural crops will not make up for poor herd and habitat management, supplemental feeding is not a cure all for poor management. Proper herd management, as well as management of the natural habitats, should take priority over supplemental feeding. This practice should only be viewed as a management tool to be used in conjunction with other, more important, deer management practices. MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS Like all animals, white-tailed deer require a certain amount of a wide array of minerals in their daily diet. In most situations deer are able to get their required doses of these minerals in their normal daily diet (Griffin and Jacobson 1994). Regardless, many deer hunters and managers provide mineral supplements, in block or granular form, to deer on their property. Many do so to try to improve antler size on bucks using their property. Yet, no research shows a positive effect of 131
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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
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acceptable hunting satisfaction bec
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proportioned. Clearly, all the elem
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hunters to see numbers of deer whil
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In suboptimal habitats, body weight
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changes occur in herd structure and
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product of QDM and not a major goal
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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 and 126: WILDLIFE OPENINGS Of all the manage
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: using small portions of the opening
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
Page 177 and 178: COWPEAS Planting Date: May 1 - July
Page 179 and 180: RAPE Planting Date: April 15 - June
Page 181 and 182: Appendix 11: CONTACT INFORMATION FO
Page 183 and 184: Appendix 12: SUGGESTED READING AND
Page 185: ABOUT THE AUTHORS Chris Cook receiv
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Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

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