Outdoors Central – The Outdoors Lifestyle

November Deer Management

By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors

The Primary Breeding Phase, Post Primary Breeding Phase and Rest Phase

By early November whitetail deer scraping may have already peaked. From early to late November the majority of the does should be in estrus, and the bucks should be cruising, chasing and breeding does, which causes scraping and rubbing to tail off. But, the bucks may still be scraping and checking scrapes near nighttime food sources, and in travel corridors. Scout to locate buck rub routes and feeding areas, back track rub routes to locate buck core areas and bedding sites. Hunt all day. By mid to late November many of the older does have been bred, and some of the older bucks may return to their core areas to rest, where you can hunt them during the day. Some older does may still be in estrus and some doe fawns may come into estrus. Some older bucks may continue scraping and some younger bucks may begin scraping as they look for does. Hunt all day.

How Nutrition and Health Affect Breeding Activity

It’s not often talked about, but researchers have discovered that poor nutrition can affect not only the timing of the rut, but also the activities of the rut. During one of Karl Miller and Larry Marchinton’s studies in Georgia it was found that the number of rubs in an area were related to the mast (acorn) abundance, and that during years of little mast production, rub densities were reduced by thirty to sixty percent. Rubs were less common in pine and mixed pine-oak stands than in oak or primarily oak and pine stands. It was thought that the presence of rubs in mast producing areas was because of the type of food, not necessarily because of the type of trees in the area. Regeneration areas and cove hardwood types were avoided as rub sites on all the Georgian study areas, and old field situations were highly favored as rub sites. I find this to be true in the upper Midwest too; bucks rub more near oaks when they are dropping acorns, and near agricultural and old field edges, than they do in dense hardwood forests. But, I have seen numerous rubs near old clear cuts and old fields that have begun to regenerate with saplings. I suspect that rubbing in agricultural areas may be dependent on not only the amount of acorns available, but also on the type and amount of other preferred food sources in the fall. Because the condition of the deer in the Georgia study was highly dependent on acorns, and their physical condition was poor because of low acorn production, it resulted in a less intense rut. The deer were simply not healthy enough to be as active as they would normally be during the rut. If the deer in your area suffer from poor nutrition, because acorn or other mast production is down, or because agricultural crop production is low, you may see less rubbing (and possibly scraping) than normal. Poor nutrition may also result in less daytime trolling, chasing and breeding activity, resulting in a longer than normal breeding phase.

There is also evidence that poor nutrition and health may cause does to come into a later than normal first estrus, or not come into estrus at all. Poor nutrition can affect late born doe fawns (which might breed during their first year if they are healthy), older does, and does that bred late the year before. Does that breed late, give birth late and wean their fawns late, which means they may be nutritionally stressed during the fall. Any doe that nurses is stressed, and the more fawns the doe has the more stressed it is. Studies of over 1,600 does in Minnesota show that 15-20 percent of the adult and yearling does may be bred after the third week of November, and that up to 50 percent of the yearling does may breed after December first. It has also been stated that poor nutrition in a doe may result in later development of her fawns, and of her fawns eventual offspring. What this all means is that the timing of the rut, winter survival of adult deer, reproduction rates, and fawn survival are dependent on good herd nutrition and health. If the deer are nutritionally stressed, during any one year, it may affect breeding activity and survival rates for the next few years, and for the next few generations of the deer.

This article is adapted from T.R. Michels’ Deer Managers Manual ($9.95), and from the Deer Addict’s Manual, Volume 1 ($9.95).

If you are interested in more whitetail hunting tips, or more whitetail biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.’s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about whitetails log on to the T.R.’s Tips message board. To find out when the rut starts, peaks and ends in your area click on Whitetail Rut Dates Chart.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict’s Manuals. His latest products are Hunting the Whitetail Rut Phases, the Complete Whitetail Addict’s Manual, the 2006 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict’s Manual; and the 2006 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict’s Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com.