Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

In suboptimal habitats, body weights and antler development
may not respond as desired under a QDM program. If these indices are
the only measures of success, then QDM must be considered a failure in
some areas of Alabama. Often the successes of this approach cannot be
measured in pounds and inches since there are many other benefits
associated with QDM. Many times, the gains made under QDM come
in the form of increased sign associated with the breeding season (rubs
and scrapes), timely and compressed breeding/fawning periods, and
greater reproductive output. In short, QDM can produce a deer herd
that behaves and functions naturally, with all animals afforded the full
benefit of the habitat’s nutritional plane. This alone makes QDM a
worthwhile endeavor.
Under QDM, greater sustained harvests of deer can be achieved.
These deer herds are typically maintained at 50 to 75 percent of the
habitat’s carrying capacity (Woods 1999a). At these densities, reproduction
and recruitment rates are highest. Consequently, more deer
are produced and can be harvested. In fact, at least 35 percent of the
herd must be harvested annually to maintain proper herd density. Ideally,
about 50 percent of the annual harvest would be comprised of does
to maintain balanced adult sex ratios. Often, doe harvest must be considerably
higher to offset the heavily skewed sex ratios resulting from
restoration deer management or MHDM.
QDM is not a panacea. This approach is based on sound
deer management principles and it requires deer hunters to
become active deer managers through their harvest decisions.
Often, QDM requires several years of an extremely heavy doe harvest
to correct sex ratios and to bring total densities to a level more compat-
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