STRESS

younggun308

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I'd *think* that wide open, flat agricultural areas such as define Middle and West TN provide less stress on deer. They have zero food insecurity, can see predators from far away, and have adequate cover for the daytime.
Whereas more mast-dependent herds in mountainous areas are the other extreme. More easily surprised by potential threats that terrain obscures until it's close. More travel needed to eat.
 

BSK

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No doubt comparing wild deer verses high fence deer is not realistic....but the concept of reducing as many stressors as possible makes sense for the health of the herd.... increase cover, increase nutrition and decreased pressure can all contribute to a healthier herd and a better hunting experience.
Agree.
 

BSK

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I'd *think* that wide open, flat agricultural areas such as define Middle and West TN provide less stress on deer. They have zero food insecurity, can see predators from far away, and have adequate cover for the daytime.
Whereas more mast-dependent herds in mountainous areas are the other extreme. More easily surprised by potential threats that terrain obscures until it's close. More travel needed to eat.
Correct. As I've said many times, in the ridge-and-hollow hardwoods that make up large sections of Middle TN (and also pertains to the Plateau and Eastern Mountains), getting a 7 1/2+ year-old buck on camera rarely if ever happens. Why? Because the stresses of life in that habitat/terrain prevent bucks from living to that age. However, a 7 1/2+ year-old buck in the ag regions of the southern Nashville basin or far western TN isn't that out of the question. Less stress where food is readily available year-round and the terrain is relatively flat.
 

BSK

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No doubt comparing wild deer verses high fence deer is not realistic....
Honestly, even high-fencing doesn't do THAT much for bucks, other than the ability to control predators, such as coyotes and free-ranging dogs. But some of the things I've seen or know about when it comes to breeding facilities and penned deer would blow your mind. Back when I was working with a group that was deeply into deer nutrition, my boss visited a breeder who wanted to talk to our group about maximizing nutrition. The breeder was part of a very successful cattle-breeding family. They had 50+ years of detailed records on their highly successful cattle-breeding program, and just for fun, decided to try some of the same techniques on deer to see what would happen. As my boss drove up, the first deer enclosure he encounters has a bunch of bucks in the 140s and 150s. My boss thought, "Oh great, here's someone who is just seeing what many whitetails will grow if they simply remove the stresses of life and provide good nutrition year-round." Imagine his surprise when he found out those were just the yearling bucks. Yes, yearling bucks growing 140s and 150s. The breeders would remove a buck from the breeding program if he didn't break 200 gross inches as a 2 1/2 year-old. This is no joke. They grew a bunch of 300+ bucks at maturity. Below is a thumbnail picture of one of their 2 1/2 year-old bucks.
 

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megalomaniac

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I would add dogs to the stressor list.
That would fall under my 'minor' stressor category of predators. I think human hunting pressure, dogs, coyotes, etc are far less stressful to deer than lack of adequate nutrition and overcrowding.

While it absolutely sucks to see deer being run by dogs... and is no doubt a source of stress to a deer... its far less stressful to a deer (esp a buck) than one who is overcrowded with a dozen bitchy does squabbling over feed and bedding.
 

BSK

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That would fall under my 'minor' stressor category of predators. I think human hunting pressure, dogs, coyotes, etc are far less stressful to deer than lack of adequate nutrition and overcrowding.

While it absolutely sucks to see deer being run by dogs... and is no doubt a source of stress to a deer... its far less stressful to a deer (esp a buck) than one who is overcrowded with a dozen bitchy does squabbling over feed and bedding.
Everything is relative to location and situation. overpopulation is definitely a major stressor. However, in my area, that's not much of a problem. It's extremely rare to get pictures/video of more than 5 deer in a food plot at a time. In my area, the big stressor is dogs/coyotes. I get almost daily pictures/videos of coyotes cruising the food plots and following/pestering deer. Having that occur day after day all winter, when deer are trying to greatly reduce their energy expenditure, is extremely harmful.
 
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