Biology And Management Of White-tailed Deer In Alabama

the population each year to produce a sufficient buck cohort. This heavy
harvest of does produces sex ratios that favor bucks and ensures these
bucks will be afforded the full benefit of the habitat’s nutritional plane.
Under TDM, no bucks should be harvested until they reach at
least 5-1/2 years old or older. Bucks do not begin to express full antler
potential until reaching these ages. Yearlings and 2-1/2 year bucks
cannot accurately be judged for antler potential and should not be culled.
Mature bucks that do not produce the desired antler characteristics
should be removed from the herd. The difficulty with selective removal
of undesirable bucks is most hunters cannot tell an exceptional quality
2-1/2 or 3-1/2 year old buck from a lesser quality mature buck. Techniques
such as observing body conformation can aid with culling
undesirable bucks, but these skills take time to develop. Many times
undesirable antler characteristics result from an injury during antler
growth. Such deformities or deficiencies may disappear after a year or
two, thus, making effective culling all the more difficult.
In addition to intensive herd management, significant habitat
improvements must be implemented and maintained under TDM. Some
of these improvements include prescribed burning, timber stand manipulation,
and large-scale supplemental plantings, particularly
warm-season forages. Large-scale supplemental feeding programs are
often employed as well. All these improvements demand tremendous
labor and capital resources, as well as the ability (through ownership of
the land) to implement these improvements. Land base size is another
major consideration when evaluating a TDM program. Only large blocks
of land, generally 5,000 acres or more, lend themselves to a successful
attempt at TDM. Smaller tracts do not provide the buffer necessary to
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