Whitetail Fawns

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“SAW THE FIRST FAWN on May 6th, same day as last year.” Said my brother Glenn while we visited about what he had planted for spring food plots.  For the past three years, we had estimated a 60 to 80% fawn crop on our adjoining properties in northern Colorado County.  Those fawn crops had been reflected in the number of yearling bucks we had seen the past hunting seasons.  We talked too about the several older bucks we had seen before the hunting season began, but then not again until post-season.  This past hunting season it seemed deer simply and totally disappeared.  Our properties are small, but we do much to encourage the production of natural deer browse species by fertilizing yaupon and green briar, as well as around the drip lines of persimmon and the ancient live and white oaks on our properties to encourage soft and hard mast production.  On my property I also spend much time planting trees; persimmon, oaks and bois-d-arc.

Our acorns, this past fall, started really slow, but then late fall, early winter the trees produced a tremendous crop; good for the deer and other wildlife, but not so good for hunting. My daughter and son-in-law who hunt my property told of corn piling up under feeders. “So many acorns, even the hogs are not coming to corn.”

Back when I was part owner of the Los Cazadores Hunting Headquarters and Deer Contest, research we conducted through Texas A&M Kingsville and ADM which owns Moorman Minerals, we learned energy is extremely important to a healthy deer.  Acorns, while not high in protein, are high in fats and carbohydrates, high energy. The result of a good acorn crop is does are in good body condition going into the breeding season. When this happens does produce healthy and numerous fawns.  Bucks quickly repair from the rigors of the rut and grow good antlers the following fall.  That happened in certain areas of Texas.

 

In other areas, range conditions were and are a bit more “trying”. Fall and winter moisture was lacking.  In these areas fawn crops will likely be “light.”  The same happened this past year in many areas of Texas resulting in very low fawn survival rates, 20% and considerably less.  That means that we are essentially missing a cohort. Put another way, in five years those low fawn survival areas will have very few five-year old bucks!

Realize much of Texas is essentially a desert, has been for ages and will likely continue to be.  Proper range and habitat management becomes paramount in dry years.  Some hunters/managers have a year round feeding program to supplement the deer’s natural diet.  This is certainly one way to insure deer have sufficient feed on a daily and seasonal basis.  However, whether there is supplemental feed or not, good range management practices should be followed to insure a healthy habitat.  That means too, do not forget about water for drinking.  If a rancher pulls cattle out of a pasture, it is important the water troughs remain active and available to wildlife, not just deer, but all wildlife on the property.

During dry periods, efforts should be made to reduce predators especially going into the spring/summer fawning times.  It is also important to put pressure on wild hogs during dry times.  They compete directly with other wildlife for food and water, and can be predators on fawns.

Fawns? If we desire to have a healthy deer herd, one that is interesting in that it produces bucks with nice to impressive antlers, we need to insure, by whatever means, the survival of fawns!

 

Email Larry Weishuhn at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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