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Rut question
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<blockquote data-quote="BSK" data-source="post: 5492922" data-attributes="member: 17"><p>Lots of research projects have shown southern whitetails (which have a more "pliable" estrus timing than northern whitetails) estrus timing is heavily influenced by individual deer health. The healthier a doe is, the earlier she can enter estrus. Very nutritionally stressed does may enter estrus several weeks later than normal. The West TN and KY drought this summer and fall had the habitat in terrible shape. It also killed the acorn crop. With poor-quality food sources all summer, and no acorn crop in fall, deer went into the normal breeding season in poor shape. With the camera censuses I do, I found properties where the deer were in such poor shape that I had trouble aging bucks. Their musculature was so poor their body conformation wasn't what it should normally be for this time of year. I was aging bucks at 2 1/2 that are probably 3 1/2, and definitely seeing bucks now that I believe to be mature that in October I labelled as 3 1/2. I've also noticed much lower than normal antler production per age-class in the region.</p><p></p><p>From what I am seeing on trail-camera, it appears the rut was about 7-10 days late in western Middle TN. That's not a huge difference, but considering for 21 of the last 23 years, estrus timing was on almost exactly the same dates year after year. The one exception was 2007, when we had the late spring hard-freeze that killed the acorn crop, followed by severe heat and drought during the summer, and a record-breaking EHD outbreak. That fall, the deer were in such poor shape the rut was about 2 1/2 weeks late.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BSK, post: 5492922, member: 17"] Lots of research projects have shown southern whitetails (which have a more "pliable" estrus timing than northern whitetails) estrus timing is heavily influenced by individual deer health. The healthier a doe is, the earlier she can enter estrus. Very nutritionally stressed does may enter estrus several weeks later than normal. The West TN and KY drought this summer and fall had the habitat in terrible shape. It also killed the acorn crop. With poor-quality food sources all summer, and no acorn crop in fall, deer went into the normal breeding season in poor shape. With the camera censuses I do, I found properties where the deer were in such poor shape that I had trouble aging bucks. Their musculature was so poor their body conformation wasn't what it should normally be for this time of year. I was aging bucks at 2 1/2 that are probably 3 1/2, and definitely seeing bucks now that I believe to be mature that in October I labelled as 3 1/2. I've also noticed much lower than normal antler production per age-class in the region. From what I am seeing on trail-camera, it appears the rut was about 7-10 days late in western Middle TN. That's not a huge difference, but considering for 21 of the last 23 years, estrus timing was on almost exactly the same dates year after year. The one exception was 2007, when we had the late spring hard-freeze that killed the acorn crop, followed by severe heat and drought during the summer, and a record-breaking EHD outbreak. That fall, the deer were in such poor shape the rut was about 2 1/2 weeks late. [/QUOTE]
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