Our pen studies have shown that younger does tend to produce larger-antlered bucks than older does. We do not know why at this time, but it is a fact, nonetheless. Furthermore, if you are protecting young bucks, the best bucks tend to do the breeding, and young does in these herds are more likely to be the offspring of the best bucks.
Consider this: If you happen to shoot an 8-year-old doe on your property now, what were you doing for management nine years earlier at the time she was conceived? Or maybe I should ask what were you not doing? Through good management, does conceived under your “watch” should be physiologically and genetically superior to their older relatives.
“ALL DOES PRODUCE TWO FAWNS”
I have saved this particularly irritating belief for last. With both the general, non-hunting public and many seasoned hunters alike, there is an incredible perception that each doe has two fawns, and they all live to maturity. I’ve already shown above how we do not see this demonstrated in the wild. In a sound management program, success generally is measured by having each doe successfully add one fawn to the herd each year.
Yes, does should have twins (some even triplets), but twinning is an adaptation to ensure that at least one fawn survives. We measure this by checking whether does harvested are “in milk,” meaning they successfully nursed at least one fawn. Does that lose their fawns during the summer rarely have milk in their udders during the hunting season. A doe that weans at least one fawn is also more likely to have that fawn recruit into the population the following spring. Do me a favor. Next season, keep a record of all the deer you see. Write down the number of does and the number of fawns you observe during the season. If the number of does and the number of fawns are not equal (or nearly so), your herd is not realizing its full potential.
Doe harvest is a critical component to modern deer management. Since does tend to live longer than bucks, even in the absence of hunting, you always have to remove at least as many does as you do bucks from your property. This keeps the sex ratio in balance, and increases recruitment of new fawns -- half of which are bucks. Resistance to doe harvest is slowly declining, as more and more landowners become actively involved in management. Publications like North American Whitetail have done much to spread the message over the past 25 years, yet there still are “die-hards” out there who resist change. Hopefully, this column has given you some ammunition to use against that old way of thinking!
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