Havesting does after a drought/EHD

[String Music]

I am a firm believer in harvesting does to help manage a healthy herd. My question is, should we lower the number of does we harvest after coming out of a drought for 3 years? EHD is also another factor thrown into the mix.

I'm sure this topic will vary depending on demographics and property size, but the drought has hit just about everyone.

I'm a little afraid killing too many does would put the deer herd in a recession (sound familiar?).

Any thoughts?

 

[BSK]

See this thread:

http://www.tndeer.com/tndeertalk/ubbthr ... ost1086102

 

[BigGameGuy]

All properties should be managed individually according to their management plan and decisions should be based each year on their data. If you need to lay off on does, go for it. If you haven't seen a change in your herd, keep hammering them. In other words, there is no one-size fits all management scheme. It's your decision alone.

 

[BSK]

All properties should be managed individually according to their management plan and decisions should be based each year on their data. If you need to lay off on does, go for it. If you haven't seen a change in your herd, keep hammering them. In other words, there is no one-size fits all management scheme. It's your decision alone.

To add to what BGG posted, you will need the best "input data" possible to make sound biological decisions. Often, observation data won't cut it. What hunters see while hunting may not be representative of what deer are in the local herd. You really need good trail-cam data to make good management decisions concerning herd composition.

 

[String Music]

All properties should be managed individually according to their management plan and decisions should be based each year on their data. If you need to lay off on does, go for it. If you haven't seen a change in your herd, keep hammering them. In other words, there is no one-size fits all management scheme. It's your decision alone.

To add to what BGG posted, you will need the best "input data" possible to make sound biological decisions. Often, observation data won't cut it. What hunters see while hunting may not be representative of what deer are in the local herd. You really need good trail-cam data to make good management decisions concerning herd composition.

I have been running trail cameras since this spring. I have a ton of pics, but it became extremely time consuming sorting out the data. I still have bucks without a name and number. I cant imagine trying to sort out all the does.

How exactly do you set your doe harvesting goals after a summers worth of pictures?

 

[BSK]

total deer sightings are a fraction of what they've been for that of the last 10 years on both farms I hunt in Montg Co. More like it was in the mid 1980s. Maybe not scientific in method but I know what my eyes are telling me...

The problem is, your eyes might not be telling you the truth. I'm not saying your population isn't down, but I wouldn't base much on observation data. It often displays completely contradictory trends to reality.

 

[BSK]

To add to what BGG posted, you will need the best "input data" possible to make sound biological decisions. Often, observation data won't cut it. What hunters see while hunting may not be representative of what deer are in the local herd. You really need good trail-cam data to make good management decisions concerning herd composition.

I have been running trail cameras since this spring. I have a ton of pics, but it became extremely time consuming sorting out the data. I still have bucks without a name and number. I cant imagine trying to sort out all the does.

How exactly do you set your doe harvesting goals after a summers worth of pictures?

I wouldn't feel comfortable setting goals only from pictures up into spring of last year. That won't tell you what the fawn production was like this fall. In addition, deer can move around. What deer were uing your property in spring may not be the same deer that are using your property during the hunting season.

Yes, sorting the data is time consuming. But don't worry about trying to identify individual does. For herd composition, what you want to look for in the data is 1) the number of unique bucks in pictures; 2) the ratio of doe to buck pictures; 3) the ratio of doe to fawn pictures.

The number of unique bucks and the ratio of buck to doe pictures will give you an idea of your doe population. The ratio of doe to fawn pictures will give you an idea of fawn production and survival.

The very best photo census data you can collect is during the hunting season, as bucks often shift patterns during early bow season and many bucks expand/shift their range right around the rut. A summer census won't account for those bucks.

 

[BSK]

stovepipe,

I think the entire region took it in the shorts from EHD last year. Even if few deer were found dead on an individual property, the pockets of high die-off were so widespread that it appears "normal" movement and dispersal patterns were disrupted this year.

In addition, the low fawn production observed in many locations this year has me a little concerned. It will definitely take an extra year or two before those hardest hit populations bounce back. We hunters can usually harvest as many deer as we do each year because huge fawn crops replace all the adult deer killed by hunters. However, without a big fawn crop, there are few replacements for harvested adults. And that's why I'm urging caution with doe harvests in areas that were both in the worst EHD areas last year and where fawn production is way down this year.

 

[muddyboots]

I hear alot of my buddies who hunt Wayne County Grumbling about lack of deer sightings.

 

[Boone 58]

with the strong acorn production of this past fall there would tend to be an ample amount of fawn recruitment in the "making" since i have read the two do tend to compliment one another. No guarantees of course but at least the acorns do help with the winter nutrition.

 

[BSK]

with the strong acorn production of this past fall there would tend to be an ample amount of fawn recruitment in the "making" since i have read the two do tend to compliment one another. No guarantees of course but at least the acorns do help with the winter nutrition.

Absolutely true. But I want to see those fawns first before I start pounding does again. I don't want to count my chickens before they are hatched.