Healthy mule deer herd

[brutus]

Just curious what people constitute as a "healthy mule deer herd" as opposed to a non healthy mule deer herd? Is it a constantly growing herd? Is it a herd of fat and happy deer? Is it having an over abundance of deer? Is it a deer herd with 10/100 buck to doe ratio? Is it 25-30/100 buck to doe ratio? Is it a herd that has 40plus fawns per 100 does? Everyone is talking about "having a healthy deer herd". Just curious what people think is a "healthy deer herd"? What will people be satisfied with?

Dont think having deer at carrying capacity applys as DWR deer counts arent reliable IMO.

 

[2_Point]

My idea of a healthy herd would be lots and lots more doe and fawns than bucks. There would be 80 fawns for every 100 doe. There would be more than enough bucks to breed the females, maybe 15-20 bucks for every 100 doe. People would control the herd population, not cougars or coyotes. A healthy herd would not have to worry about people hunting them 365 day a year. Too many people equate a healthy herd with the number of bucks they see.

 

[dillon]

I consider a healthy herd one that has a high recruitment each year. The animals that are harvested are fat.

 

[TheElitehornhunter]

I would have a buck to doe ratio of 10-15/100. I would want a lot of does that are giving birth to a lot of fawns so that my recruitment is very high. My ideal fawn survival rate would 80 fawns per 100 does. If 50% were bucks then I would add 40% to my herd while harvesting bucks at the same time. I would want bucks of all age classes. I would also see a need to harvest does because my recruitment would be high. I would manage my deer herd for quality and quantity.

 

[nv_hunter]

Nevada is my idea of a healthy heard!

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[Daxter]

In my ideal deer population I would probably say 15-25 bucks per hundred does, with at least 5 of those buck being mature bucks. That is probably a few more than is needed biologically, but I want a little bit of quality in my deer herd. Fawn to doe ratios greater than 50/100 would help the population maintain itself. If you are trying to grow a herd it might look different than if you are just trying to maintain a herd.

Even if you don't agree with the DWR's population estimates, it is hard to argue that UT's deer herd isn't at carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is more of a concept than a fixed or set number. It could be totally different from one year to the next based on varying weather conditions. Carrying capacity can be affected by weather, habitat, predation, roadkill, hunting, etc. I would argue that sport hunting isn't keeping mule deer from reaching carrying capacity in UT. Increasing carrying capacity should be the main goal of those that want to see more deer. That means habitat work, predator control, reducing roadkill, etc. We aren't killing so many does that it keeps the population from growing, it is other factors that are holding numbers down. Despite all the money and effort that have been thrown at those problems, mule deer still just don't seem to be rebounding. It isn't for lack of effort, I just think mule deer are a fragile and complicated species. I hope we can figure out some strategies that work and translate into real increases to mule deer carrying capacity and populations.

Dax

There is no such thing as a sure thing in trophy mule deer hunting.

 

[brutus]

My idea is pretty much the same. I would like to see fawn recruitment at 60 plus and does that need to be harvested to get to objective. Buck/doe ratio at 20-25 cause I to would like some quality in the herd and think it is important to have mature bucks doing the breeding. I think if fawn recruitment is at 60 plus your doe's are probably in good health.

Dax, I dont know about northern, it seems like those herd #s are maybe a little closer than southern. But i live in southern so thats what i know. The DWR have most of the units i live by at or over objective wich it could'nt be further from the truth. I've never seen less deer on summer and winter but thats just my observation.

It seems as though even if we dissagree on whats the #1 or #2 problem causing the deer herd to suffer we all agree what the deer herd should look like in the end.Even if we dont agree on the method that will take us there.