Herd Management

Herd Management | Habitat Management | Hunter Management | Herd Monitoring

Managing the herd is an important task of quality deer management. Figuring out the right herd size depends on much healthy deer a habitat can support. The desired herd size establishes the harvest requirements.

Establishing the correct herd size for a property can be hard to do. This is because the right herd size is not a consistent value. The right herd size depends on a deer habitat that changes constantly itself. Changes in the way owners use land on the property influence the whitetail deer habitat. How neighbors use land in nearby properties also shapes the quality of the deer habitat.

A deer herd size can exceed the habitat’s ability to provide enough forage and cover. In that case, the herd’s overall health will decline.

The following indicate habitat quality:

• Deer body weight (especially in young deer)
• Average antler measurements in bucks (within the same age class)
• Average number of how many fawns per doe
• How many does are in lactation (in milk)

Antlerless Deer Management

When deer herds are at or above a property’s optimal density, stabilizing the herd is necessary. Harvesting female deer manages the deer population. Harvesting of deer without antlers is vital when managing deer herds.

Customarily, due to their reproductive role, does are protected from harvesting. But in areas with above optimal densities, a higher doe harvest benefits the herd’s health. Done the right way, doe harvest does not jeopardize the herd stability. More information about harvesting does is available from the Quality Deer Management Association.

Hunters can avoid the accidental harvest of button bucks by:

• Paying attention to body shape and size
• Paying attention to head shape and size
• Watching the fawn’s behavior

Harvesting button fawns accidentally is a valid concern in deer quality management. However, worry over harvesting button bucks should not stop antlerless harvesting. In fact, during the beginning of this type initiative, achieving the right antlerless harvest for the area may involve accidentally harvesting a button bucks. Using a target like harvesting less than ten percent button bucks of the antlerless harvest is a good starting point. A lower percentage is desirable.

Harvesting does with fawns is another concern in the antlerless harvest. Hunters worry that taking a doe may result in the fawn’s death. If the fawn’s age is between sixty to ninety days as established by a minimum weight of forty pounds, the fawn’s survival rate is not affected. Many states establish their antlerless white tail deer season to give fawns enough time to develop.

Antlered Buck Management

Setting the right harvest limit for bucks is also critical to proper deer herd management. Many factors determine the restrictions for buck harvesting, often on a by property basis. These factors include:

• habitat size
• property size
• hunter objectives
• how neighboring properties manage their deer herds

Quality deer management programs need to protect yearling bucks. The problem often lies with what to use to restrict antlered deer harvesting. Body and antler characteristics help distinguish between yearling and older bucks. Antler points are often used. Popular because they are simple to measure, antler points can be a poor indicator of age. As such, hunters should not only use antler points as a harvest restriction. Other antler characteristics are better age predictors. They are antler spread and antler length. The problem with these white tail deer characteristics is they are hard for novice hunter to gauge.

The appropriate restriction should protect almost all yearling bucks. Deer herd managers should try to protect the largest-antlered yearling bucks. State wildlife agencies can give appropriate beginning restrictions. A state deer manager may also have general data that can help determine restrictions. Each year, property managers can adjust restrictions based on the property’s harvest data.

QDM followers frequently expand harvest restrictions to protect other age classes as well. Mature bucks’ antler sizes vary significantly. This makes it possible to let too many small-antlered but mature bucks breed. The mistake is setting a minimum harvest restriction too high. In this case, not enough mature bucks reach harvestable status. Then what happens is small-antlered bucks end up breeding. This can reduce the herd’s overall antler size over time. Instead, deer managers recommend harvesting small-antlered mature bucks.

Experience is required to estimate deer age and antler size correctly. Most hunters do not have this level of experience. Hunters should not harvest bucks until they are at least 3.5 to 4.5 years old. Culling smaller-antlered mature bucks is usually reserved for experienced hunters. Typically, this would occur only on properties managing trophy deer.