In fact, just the other day I was sitting at my oldest
daughter’s dance competition and… OK, I don’t live vicariously through my
daughter when it comes to ballet (I was never graceful enough); but both my
girls are involved in sports and I can’t help but picture myself in their shoes
many years ago. The other day one of my daughters came home from softball practice
and told me her coach said that the team could not drink soda for the rest of
the softball season. She also said that the coach was recommending a
protein-rich, energy-filled diet low in sugar and other sweets.
To a kid, this is akin to summer school sentence. She asked
me, “Daddy, why is she being so strict with what we eat and drink?” I told her
that if she expected her muscles/body to perform at an optimal level, she had
to feed her body with the proper nutrients. If she was sitting on the couch
watching TV, she wouldn’t need to be so particular with what she eats because changing
channels doesn’t require much performance from your body. But if she is trying
to beat out a slow roller down the third base line she needs to get everything
she can out of her muscles, which is assisted by the right nutrition.
Whitetail deer experience their own kind of high stakes
competition. This competition however, has nothing to do with scoring points or
breaking records, but rather involves survival and proliferation of the species
— in particular the proliferation of their own genes. There are times in the year
when deer are merely trying to survive which requires a certain level of
nutrition. However, during the breeding and rearing period, deer need to be at
optimal body condition in order to improve the odds that their genetics are
passed on as many times as possible (bucks) or that they successfully conceive,
gestate and then raise their offspring (does).
In reality, deer undergo a yearly cycle that should be
approached as such in a nutritional management program. Because each phase of
the cycle affects all other phases, management plans need to be holistic in their
development, realizing that what you do in the fall and winter will affect the
success of your spring/summer management practices. Of course, the specifics of
each phase may be different, but they all should work together to accomplish
the greatest result.
SPRING AND SUMMER
In order to explain management based on a yearly cycle, we
are going to break up a year in the life of a whitetail deer into three
categories. In the first cycle we will take a look at spring and summer. The
months of April through September are months of plenty in many regions of the
whitetail world. Extreme southern regions that experience excessive heat and
lack of moisture may cause this time frame to be nutritionally stressful. But
for the northern two-thirds to three-quarters of the country, the spring and summer
months are a period when more food sources are available than any other time of
the year.
The timing of this bounty coincides with the birth and
rearing of fawns which is unquestionably a great natural design, as lactation
is one of the most nutritionally demanding phases in a doe’s life. All of us
have seen trail camera photos of does that are nursing young fawns and often
times the does look malnourished or even sickly. Does not only have to consume nutrients
to maintain their bodies but also to produce milk that is more nutrient dense
than cow’s milk during lactation. Furthermore, they are just coming out of
winter when food sources were at their lowest, and the gestation of the unborn
fawns eats away at what little fat stores the doe had in late winter. So even
though food may be in abundance, the doe may have a hard time overcoming the
negative nutrient balance caused by the high nutritional demand of lactation.
Poor body condition during lactation can cause a doe to
produce less milk and therefore supply less nutrients to her fawn(s). In some
cases, malnutrition for the fawn can directly lead to premature death.
Indirectly, a malnourished fawn is more likely to be killed by predators.
Furthermore a malnourished doe is less capable of protecting her fawns from
predators. In worst case scenarios, does in extremely poor condition will
completely abandon their offspring in an innate attempt at self-preservation.
This was witnessed many times last year in the severely drought-stricken
regions of Oklahoma and Texas. Bucks fare much better during this time frame
but they still have increased nutrient demands as they begin to regrow antlers.
Antler growth requires energy, protein and mineral levels that are much higher
than maintenance levels, at least if you want to achieve maximum antler growth.
The key word here is “maximum.” Bucks will still grow antlers much like does
will still produce some milk, even with lower levels of available nutrition.
But the goal for most is to maximize antler growth and the productivity of the
fawn crop via the doe’s ability to rear large, healthy fawns.
So if summer is a time of plenty, why would it be necessary
to supply supplemental nutrients to your deer herd? The answer is that while
the nutritional plane may be at its highest during this time period, it does
not necessarily mean that deer are getting the ideal amounts of specific
nutrients needed to maximize genetic potential. This is especially true in
areas where the natural food sources for deer are limited due to the lack of browse,
such as in mature forests or properties filled with planted pines. Even in
agricultural country, deer may fall short of receiving optimal levels of
certain nutrients.
The nutrients that are needed most during the spring and
summer months are energy (carbohydrates, fat, etc.) protein and minerals. Typically,
two different management practices should be implemented to supplement the
availability of these nutrients. First, a solid food plot program rich in
digestible protein and carbohydrates is vital. Many people plant food plots
that are designed to attract deer during hunting season for harvest purposes.
There is nothing wrong with that other than if you ignore supplementation of
nutrients during the antler-growing, doe-lactation time frame of spring and
summer, you may be disappointed with what comes into the harvesting food plots
in the fall. I rely heavily on nutrient rich perennials for my spring and
summer food plot programs. Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack Plus and
Extreme form the backbone of my overall food plot program as they provide
highly digestible protein and energy throughout this vital time frame.
However, mineral needs are also at their highest in the
spring and summer. Keep in mind that bucks are in essence re-growing a large
part of their skeletal system and they require massive amounts of minerals to
support this growth. Minerals are transported from the buck’s skeletal system
to grow antlers; and if there is not enough mineral in the diet to replenish what
was taken, a buck’s body will simply pull less mineral from the skeleton, thus
producing less dense, smaller antlers. Likewise, a doe’s mineral requirements
during lactation are also at their peak. For both bucks and does, the mineral
needs during spring and summer may be twice to three times higher than the rest
of the year.
While minerals are found in plant material and certainly in
the food plot vegetation, most soils are deficient in certain kinds of
minerals. Therefore relying on plants to supply enough mineral to maximize
productivity is not a wise management policy. The use of a quality
mineral/vitamin supplement such as Imperial 30-06, 30-06 Plus Protein or
Cutting Edge Optimize is the best way to ensure your deer herd is not suffering
from any mineral deficiency. All three of these products supply needed minerals
and vitamins, and Cutting Edge Optimize also supplies a 16 percent protein level.
FALL TO MID-WINTER
The
fall and winter time frame approximately covers the months of October through
January. The beginning of this time period (again depending on region)
encompasses the all-important breeding cycle thru post rut. Leading up to the
rut, both bucks and does are gorging themselves in order to put on fat stores
for the upcoming winter. Being in optimal condition is also important as bucks
and does in proper body condition will more likely have successful conception.
Bucks burn vital energy reserves during the frenzy of searching, fighting and
breeding that fills days between mid-October to early December. When the rut
dwindles, bucks once again spend their time trying to consume as many calories
as possible to replenish lost energy reserves.
During much of the fall/winter time frame, does are
gestating, and the nutrients they consume are used for both the doe’s body
condition as well as supporting fetal growth. A whitetail deer gestation period
runs for about six months. The fall to mid-winter time frame encompasses the first
and most of the second trimester of gestation. While the majority of fetal
growth does not occur until the third trimester, adequate nutrition is
none-the-less needed for healthy fetal growth. If a doe is in poor condition or
has limited access to quality nutrients, it is common for one or more of the
fetuses to be reabsorbed by the doe’s body as a self-protection mechanism.
Available natural nutrients are normally available during
the early part of the fall/mid-winter time frame but gradually deplete as the
days move deeper into winter. Most of these food sources are finite in that
once the growing season is over, all you are going to have is whatever was
produced in the spring and summer.
For example, an oak tree will produce a certain amount of
mast, but once it has been consumed, it is gone and the oak tree is not going
produce more mast until next fall. The same goes for most browse and forages. Once
the cold weather stops plants from growing, there will not be any regrowth
until next spring. For the northern half of the U.S., winter brings about harsh
conditions such as bone-chilling temperatures and deep snow. These conditions
deplete energy supplies even faster as deer burn energy to maintain internal
body temperatures and expend calories for locomotion. So you now have a double
negative, a finite and ever-dwindling food supply with conditions that call for
energy demands.
Food plots can be used to help manage the nutritional needs
of this time frame by planting forage types that will provide
carbohydrates/oils/fats (energy). Winter-Greens (brassicas) are a great source
of carbohydrates as well as tubers such as Tall Tine Tubers. These food plots
are especially useful during the weeks that immediately follow the rut as deer,
especially bucks, need to build fat stores. However, annual food plots designed
for fall and winter cannot be replenished and contain a finite amount of
nutrients. If the food plots you planted contain a total of four tons of forage
or tubers, then that is all you have.
Depending on your deer density and the amount of available
land you have to plant food plots, it is often difficult to plant enough food
to get all the way through winter. In these circumstances, a nutritional
supplement such as Cutting Edge Sustain, can be implemented into your
nutritional management program. Sustain is designed specifically for the fall
to midwinter time frame and is formulated to be extremely energy dense. What that
means is that just a small amount of Sustain will provide deer with a lot of
calories. Sustain is also unique in that the energy found in Sustain comes from
sources that help to maintain proper rumen function. Many “winter” supplements
found on the market are not much more than glorified corn mixes.
A deer’s digestive system and more specifically its rumen,
is geared to derive energy from carbohydrates from fibrous material. Corn is
high in carbohydrates but they are from starch instead of
cellulose/hemicelluloses (fiber), and a deer’s digestive system must adjust to
the high-starch diet for proper digestion and utilization. Sustain is designed
to supply energy but does so from sources that do not require a shift in rumen
microbial populations from what is needed to digest fibrous natural vegetation
and browse. Also, Sustain contains minerals and vitamins at levels needed to match
whitetail needs during fall and winter. Sustain also contain protein but again,
only at levels needed at that particular time of the year. Finally, Sustain contains
special nutrition-enhancing ingredients such as an ingredient that has been
scientifically proven to increase the volatile fatty acid production which in
turn increases the energy supply to the animal.
LATE WINTER AND EARLY SPRING
Late winter and early spring (February to early April) is
likely the most nutritionally stressful period for whitetail deer that live in
the northern two thirds of the U.S. Food sources have all but been exhausted
and yet deer are still dealing with harsh winter conditions for much of this
time period. If bucks entered the winter with limited energy reserves, this is
the time frame when many of these bucks will succumb to harsh weather
conditions, predation or starvation. Likewise, this is the time frame with the
highest death loss of fawns that enter the winter in poor body condition. Does are
entering their last trimester of pregnancy which is when 60 percent of fetal
growth occurs. This rapid growth results in a higher nutrient demand for does;
and if these nutrients are not available, it can lead to both poor body
condition for does, and lower birth weights for fawns. Both birth weight and
doe body condition are key factors to fawn survivability. Fawns that are born
at a small body weight are far more likely to die within the first few days or
even hours after birth. Further, if a doe is in poor condition prior to giving
birth, she is less likely to supply adequate milk for healthy fawn growth and
far less likely to raise her fawn(s) to weaning.
Aside from the worst case scenario (death), poor nutrition
during the late winter to early spring time frame can have negative effects
that are not as easy to see. For example, bucks coming out of winter must
rebuild their bodies with the nutrients they consume before the nutrients will
be largely utilized for antler growth. Antler growth is secondary to body health
and condition, so the longer it takes to regain lost condition, the longer it
will be before more nutrients can be used for antler growth. Therefore, if a
buck comes out of winter in poor condition, he will have decreased antler size
the following fall since early antler growth was stunted. Also, a lack of
quality protein during early antler growth has also been shown to stunt antler
growth. Fawns born from a doe in poorer condition and supplying less milk may
survive to weaning but they will likely be lower in body weight than their
fellow fawns born to does in good condition that supply large quantities of
milk. Lower weaning weights often result in lower yearling weights which can be
a predictor of eventual mature weights. In other words, if a fawn gets stunted
the first few months of its life, it may affect what that deer will look like
at maturity.
Food plots have their challenges for this time frame because
deer have been utilizing the plots all winter and much if not all of the food
plot forages may have been consumed. This is true unless you have planted enough
food plots to supply the deer herd food all the way to spring. But in most
cases this is fairly difficult to do. However, having quality perennial food
plots as part of your food plot scheme can be extremely valuable especially a
cold-tolerant perennial that will start growing early in spring. Imperial
Whitetail Clover for example is very cold tolerant and is one of the first
things on my farm to turn green and start growing in the spring. A few warm
days in March and Imperial Clover plots are once again providing high amounts
of protein and energy for the deer herd. But even with cold tolerant forages,
things don’t always green up as fast as you need them to, so for the
late-winter/early-spring “pre-green-up” period, a nutritional supplement designed
for that period is a great management tool.
Cutting Edge Initiate is specifically designed to provide
the right nutrients for the pre-green-up, late-winter/early-spring time frame.
Initiate is energy dense like Sustain but contains a higher protein level to
support early antler growth and late gestation fetal growth. Initiate also
contains vital minerals and vitamins that are formulated in amounts to supply
the specific needs of deer during late winter and early spring. Finally,
Initiate contains the same specialty ingredients found in Sustain to maximize
energy utilization in the deer’s diet.
CONCLUSION
Deer are out there on your property 365 days a year. They
are there when you’re stopping by the convenience store to buy your last minute
(forgotten) Valentine’s Day present and they are there when you’re hunting Easter
eggs and watching the July 4th fireworks show. We may not be thinking about
them then, but they are there and the nutrition available to them during all of
these times will affect the quality of deer you see when you get back into your
stand in the fall. Nutritional management should be approached from a 12-month
perspective in order obtain the full benefits. If you are going to run a
marathon, you must train for more than a few weeks prior to the event if you
want to expect the desired result. It is no different with whitetail deer
management. While the thought may seem daunting at first, some good planning
and using the right products can make it relatively simple, and once you start
you will probably find it to be pretty fun. Plus, the results you will see come
your first season after you have managed your deer for an entire yearly cycle
will undoubtedly make a believer out of you.
