Have you ever found a fawn? This is the time of year throughout most of the whitetail’s range that fawns are born! Does typically have fawns in areas of low cover if such habitat is available. This includes areas where turkey hunters might expect to see late season toms trolling for hens. Good turkey nesting habitat is usually good fawning habitat. If such cover isn’t available in an area, does will fawn in fields, yards, along trails, etc.

These are areas that folks frequent and therefore find fawns. I receive a lot of questions each spring about what to do if a fawn is found. Rarely will the doe be seen near the fawn so it’s a logical assumption that the fawn has been abandoned.

Does leave their fawns for hours at a time only returning to nurse.

That’s rarely the case! Does leave their fawns for hours at a time and only return to the fawn to allow them to nurse during the first few weeks after giving birth. This reduces the amount of scent and movement around the newborn fawns and scientists assume this serves to reduce predation of fawns.

If you find a fawn, snap a quick picture if you please and then simply leave the area. The doe may be watching you, but will rarely show herself. Your scent could serve to attract predators so do the same as the doe and leave the area.

It’s illegal in most states to possess wild, free-ranging living wildlife. In addition, fawns do best when they can feed on their mother’s milk. If you find a fawn at the edge of your yard, keep your pets penned up and it’s likely the doe will move the fawn soon due to the amount of disturbance in that environment. If you find a fawn away from civilization, simply keep moving.

I really enjoy watching all ages of deer. However, when it comes to newborn fawns, I take a quick look and picture, then back out of the area. That’s the best action that can be taken!

Enjoying Deer together,

Grant

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Remember the saying “April showers bring May flowers?” Early spring showers bring more than flowers. Early spring showers bring antlers!

There is some neat research in south Texas that monitored the amount of rainfall during the early spring months and the average size of antlers produced by each age class of bucks that fall.

Native vegetation after a summer burn.

The results clearly demonstrated a positive relationship between spring rainfall and antler growth. The smallest average antler size per age class occurred during the two years that the least amount of rain occurred during the early spring months. The years the average antler size per age class was the largest was when the most rain occurred during the early spring months!

Clearly, ample high quality forage during the first portion of the antler growth cycle is strongly related to antler production during that year! This certainly applies to the Texas example where the majority of the land is covered by native vegetation.

I read a report the other day that only 7% of the corn and soybean crops have been planted due to the fields being too wet. The percent of these crops that are planted is way behind the previous two years. In the corn and soybean belt deer are literally forced to consume these cultivated crops as native vegetation is very rare. It’s the only thing on the menu! A wet spring in the corn belt may have the opposite effect on antler size compared to areas where native vegetation can take advantage of the spring rains.

Deer with the largest antlers are from areas with ample soybean and corn production.

Deer with the largest antlers and body weights are from areas with ample soybean and corn production. However, if the area where those crops are grown remains bare ground during the early spring, there’s not much for the local deer to eat. In these areas spring showers may have the opposite relationship on average antler size per age class compared to an area with quality native vegetation. 2013 is shaping up to be an interesting year for deer hunters and researchers!

Growing Deer (and learning about them) together,

Grant

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This time of year I receive lots of questions about planting warm season food plots. Recently it has been raining or snowing throughout much of the whitetail’s range. It’s literally too cold or wet to plant in many regions.

Large, soft seeds readily absorb water as part of their germination process.

Most crops that are planted this time of year have a relatively large and soft seed, such as Eagle Seed forage soybeans, corn, sunflowers, etc. These large and soft seeds readily absorb water as part of their germination process. In addition to needing water to break dormancy, they also require a minimal temperature to begin the germination process and a higher temperature to stimulate rapid germination and development.

Cold water without an increase in soil temperature will often result in the seeds simply swelling but not germinating. The longer a seed, especially a relatively soft seed, remains in the soil without germinating there are more chances for insects, diseases, or funguses to attack.

The result of delayed germination of soft seeds is almost always a reduced seed and/or plant vigor. It’s common for 50% or more of large soft seeds that are planted during bad conditions (especially when it’s too cold and wet) to die in the ground before they germinate. The surviving seeds can have reduced vitality even as a maturing plant (like a fawn that received poor nutrition during development or the first few months of life).

Even though it is time to plant based on tradition, the real indicator of when it’s time to plant is based on local conditions. For example, soybeans have the best germination rate when there’s adequate but not too much soil moisture and the soil temperature is a minimum of 60 degrees.

The real indicator of when it’s time to plant food plots is based on local conditions.

The soil temperature at my place has just reached 60 degrees at 9 am. Soil scientists monitor the soil temperature at 9 am as this is usually the coldest time of day at 2” deep in the soil. The soil cools all night and begins to warm once the sun is at an angle that its radiant heat impacts the soil.

If you plan to plant food plots soon, don’t count on going by traditional or published planting dates. Give your crops the best chance of success and plant when the local conditions are appropriate. As we’ve all seen recently it’s vitally important to keep an eye on the extended weather forecast!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

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Removing stress from wildlife allows them to express more of their genetic potential. As managers we don’t improve genetics of free-ranging wild creatures. That requires knowing the pedigree (the sire and dam for several generations) which is totally impractical in free-ranging wild populations.

The best we can do is manage the population and habitat so each individual can express their full genetic potential. For example, a mature buck that’s limited to consuming hardwood twigs and fescue won’t produce as large of antlers or body size as that same buck if it was consuming soybean forage during the summer and soybean pods (and other forages) during the winter.

Managers can reduce the stress deer and other forms of wildlife experience by improving the quality of food, cover, and water and reducing the number of predators (should the predator/prey populations be out of balance). The natural world is dynamic. That is to say the balance of the number of critters in relation to the amount of quality food, cover, water, and predators is always changing!

Freezing wet conditions will make survival very tough on newborn fawns.

We’re expecting a significant change later this week at The Proving Grounds. There’s a good chance of snow in the forecast! I heard on the radio that snow hasn’t been recorded in May in my area for more than 100 years. The cold conditions that are associated with this storm will certainly be very stressful for deer that have begun to shed their winter coat and replace it with the shorter, thinner summer coat. Staying warm will cost critters a lot of energy.

There are probably a couple of newly born fawns at my place. Most fawns are born during late May/early June, but there are always those that are born a few weeks earlier or later than “normal.” Freezing wet conditions will make survival very tough on newborn fawns.

Most fawns are born during late May/early June but there are always those that are born a few weeks earlier or later.

Likewise there are probably a few turkey poults that have hatched already. Cold wet conditions will likely result in a 100% loss of those early born poults.

We can’t change (or even accurately predict) the weather. We can manage the habitat to provide quality food, cover, and water to help wildlife survive such storms. It’s critical to manage the wildlife populations so that there is more food than required during good conditions – as bad conditions will always occur.

We manage for very high quality native forage and cover at The Proving Grounds. There’s plenty to eat, fresh water to drink, and great cover for wildlife to seek during this arctic blast. Such storms have probably occurred before weather records were kept and they’ll probably occur again. That’s why quality habitat management is critical for allowing wild, free-ranging deer to express their potential. As managers, we can have an impact on the habitat quality and the amount of genetic potential the local herd expresses. We can’t impact the genetic quality of wild, free-ranging deer. I’m glad we can’t – that’s what makes them wild!

Growing Deer together,

Grant

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