The Importance Of Doe Management - Should You Harvest Does?

Are you planning to harvest a few does off your property this season? Helping to manage the local deer population is an important role every property owner should take seriously. If left unchecked, an overpopulated deer herd can pose a serious risk to both the local habitat as well as the overall health of the deer herd. In this video we talk about several reasons why you might want to consider taking a few does off your property before the end of the season as well as a few ways for you to figure out if a doe harvest is needed.
The Importance Of Doe Management - Should You Harvest Does?
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[@menumlor9365]

I laugh when people say “hunting should be illegal because it’s not right hunting for sport” to some degree they’re right if you’re wanton wasting and only looking for a trophy. However this video is another prime explanation if we don’t hunt them deer and other prey animals will start to compete with our food source.

[@whitetailevolution]

You're absolutely right. If hunting was made illegal then we'd have to pay for sharpshooter to go out and reduce the population.

[@aggies_EST.2024]

I'm hunting on property that is bow only. It's approximately 515 acres. Once gun season starts the deer congregate in two fields on this property. I counted 68 deer in one field. 3 bucks and 65 doe at one time on opening day of gun. I don't know where to begin. The surrounding lands hunt with guns. They also trespass.

[@aggies_EST.2024]

I have gotten pictures of 7 different bucks.

[@classicrocker889]

Good video.

[@whitetailevolution]

Thanks!

[@larrydooley1472]

This will be an interesting topic of discussion for my property visit. Seems like there are more deer and turkeys than I can shake a stick at around here!

[@whitetailevolution]

Absolutely! Can't wait to get up there! We definitely want to discuss doe harvest and check out the browse pressure. Just from the pictures you've sent, you better have put in for a turkey tag!

[@bobw7305]

Well, here in WI they’ve been giving 2 extra doe tags with every license both gun and bow for over 10 years. Not to mention selling extra ones after that. The herd has shrank to the point where public land is next to worthless to hunt. Those of us that don’t own land and plant food etc get discouraged.

[@whitetailevolution]

Unfortunately applying a management strategy to an area with a low deer density that's the same as an area with a high deer density is poor management. If you are at or below the carrying capacity, there is no reason to have to harvest more doe.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

I thought thats what " hunting " is all about.......hunting ! Not going out the first day and shoot a deer ! In other words... like shooting fish in a barrel ! More or less.......its called week end hunting.

[@thomasjohnson7282]

We worked on thinning out our doe numbers that past 4 years and we're seeing a lot better b/d numbers which was the goal but also seeing was less crop damage on the fields

[@whitetailevolution]

That's awesome! Sometimes we forget about the factors outside of hunting and crop damage is definitely one of them. Glad you guys are on the right track!

[@tomcurran1538]

Not to mention wiping out your crops in the off season.

[@whitetailevolution]

Exactly. In those cases hopefully you can apply for crop damage permits to address the population issue. If they are wiping out crops to a point where it's impacting you financially, the population is likely too high.

[@randyjohnson8262]

Depends on your property. If you have a few, take only a couple. If you over run. Wear them out.

[@whitetailevolution]

Spot on Randy, every property is different. Everyone needs to evaluate their property and determine how many deer, if any, to harvest.

[@scottclark1168]

Very good topic,I'm still undecided on taking does off our 170 acre lease don't see as many as I would like to but the 3 food plots we have are getting hammered

[@whitetailevolution]

They might be coming in at night. Couple things to take into account besides the visual sightings, doe numbers on trail cameras? how big are the plots? is there other food in the area? If you're plots are the only game in town a few deer came wipe them out so having bare plots doesn't always mean you need to reduce the doe population.

[@scottclark1168]

@@whitetailevolution our plots are like 1.5 and 2 are .75 acres and the property is cuttover and mainly rows of pines and not any food close and by we have the best looking food plots I've ever seen hopefully we can pull some deer over this winter and call it home very adverse peice of property,cover water and food,and very hilly.

[@Camera1931-p5v]

My coyotes bobcats and bear handle my doe and deer management! I trap as much as i can but fawns get destroyed in the spring in my area! So i do not shoot my does!

[@whitetailevolution]

Not all properties need to. Just need to know if you're one of the properties that does. Keep at that predator control!

[@gregorycharlton9016]

I had my first Iowa shotgun hunt in 2021, a trip I wanted to have for many years. I have hunted whitetail deer for 44 years. I was shocked to see 3 hunters with (YES) 10 deer in their truck bed, some as small as 40 pounds. It this the norm there? Doe management? They said nothing of FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY.

[@whitetailevolution]

I am not sure on that particular location, every area is different and some neighborhoods do need to harvest that many deer per season in order to keep the population in check. You do want to be careful not to over harvest where it's not needed.

[@evanmatthews11]

Very interesting topic. I like this conversation on how to make the entire herd healthier. What deer density do you estimate on your 40 acre parcel? What density do you think it could hold with all of your habitat improvements?

[@whitetailevolution]

It's pretty interesting how many different things we can do to make the entire herd healthier. Population control is one of many! So this past season on our 36 acre property I THINK we had 14 deer using the property consistently. 5 anterless deer. 2 doe, one with 1 fawn, one with 2 fawns. We had 9 bucks. Two 3 year olds, Two 2 year olds and five 1.5 year old bucks. The neighbor who has 30 acres of cover next to us maybe had 3 antlerless deer based on personal observation. Now those bucks would go from our place to their place depending on wind / preferred food etc. So I think combined we had 17 deer using 70 acres of cover out of 500+ acres of open field. Our property and our neighbors property make up about 70% of the cover in the square mile surrounding the property. It's really tough to know what the DPSM is but I bet it's somewhere between 17-20. That's below average when you have as much food as we do around here. But it's because our neighbors take out a lot during the summer with crop damage permits. For context, we might have 20 deer in the square mile surrounding this property, but one our other property I saw 20 deer from one stand last Monday. Definitely too many and we need to harvest more does. I bet our property with our neighbors could support 25 comfortably with the amount of food / cover we provide.

[@evanmatthews11]

@@whitetailevolution I can tell you really know your stuff on this! I forgot to ask how many cows per square mile your property supports 😂

[@whitetailevolution]

@@evanmatthews11 Those damn cows! Those suckers eat nonstop. But we supported 15 calves all summer long lol.

[@evanmatthews11]

@@whitetailevolution sounds like veal is on the menu!

[@JayN4GO]

I have 1 old doe that has twin buck fawns every year on 50 acre. There’s a 3:1 b/d ratio here. Plenty of cover and food. Still very slow visual experience for me but seeing the young bucks mature has been a blessing

[@whitetailevolution]

It can be a challenge but a 2:1 b/d ratio might help if the visual experience. Make those bucks work. If you have the food and the cover, just make sure you're also managing your hunting pressure. Good luck Jay!

[@ricks7432]

I am getting a cut on my property in north central Mi this winter. My forester says that he does not like to cut under 20 acres due to a higher deer density in the area. He is concerned that the regeneration will be hampered by over browsing. There was snow on the ground for opening day and much of the gun season. People shot the hell out of the deer so I guess that is a good thing for me this year anyway. I hear it is even worse when you cut hardwoods that do not regen as fast.

[@whitetailevolution]

He's absolutely right. You will get regeneration but if your area has a high deer density they can wipe that out. Over-browsing to the point where they kill the new growth. If they do that enough, they'll clear out the seed bank of the desirable species. The more you clear out the more browse you'll have, giving it a better chance of surviving the deer when they move through. Harvesting a bunch is another way to give your new growth relief.

[@MegaBraunie]

LOVE your video's. Keep the food plot land habitat video's coming....

[@whitetailevolution]

Thanks! Will do!

[@JimHerman-o3q]

Carrying capacity ? Nothing stated about diseases and too many deer in an area ! In most areas there are too many deer ! And this is why we now have more new disease !

[@jeremysilcox9362]

To the best of my ability, my count came up to a 1-3 or 1-4 ratio. We have a good bit of browse and some food plots. I am thinking of shooting a few does that have fawns that are later born. It is in December and I still have a couple fawns with spots on camera. Here in Alabama our rut can go from Mid January to March, but it is not intense at all.

[@whitetailevolution]

Those longer ruts are tough because they are not as intense like you said, but the plus side is they last longer to maybe keep those bucks moving.. Keep at the doe harvest! Very important to try to get that ratio down. I'd shoot for 1:2

[@stndpenguin]

You said your neighbors take care of doe harvests in the summer? Crop damage permits?

[@whitetailevolution]

Yeah they are issued crop damage permits. Would be nice if they gave it a rest for a season or two. More difficult to build a population when a majority of the does are shot every year.

[@DOGFOODACTUAL8541]

You just answered the question I had before I had a chance to ask it. On my small property in Genesee Co, I'm only seeing two mature does and their yearlings. Actually there have been more bucks on my trail cams during the rut, (one already harvested). I was wondering if I should just leave them be for next year and try to hunt elsewhere until the end of the year. It won't be as convenient, but if I'm helping my future hunting, I don't mind. They are all still hitting my brassica plot, along with 30 some turkey every day. They're fun to watch. Thanks for the lesson!

[@whitetailevolution]

Anytime! Sounds like you do not need to harvest any does this season. Just keep monitoring them!

[@freemock]

Very Informative man. I need to get working on our doe management. We have a herd of 9, herd of 7, and a couple others bouncing around, with only around 6-9 bucks that roam.

[@whitetailevolution]

That's not terrible. Could definitely take a few out but having a 2:1 doe to buck ratio isn't bad. Some areas are 5:1 or 6:1. I'd take a few out if you feel you have too many but don't go crazy. Take a few and see how the herd responds next season to see if you need to take more next December.

[@russellallen9648]

Doe management is fine done correctly...meaning harvesting does before the rut, but trophy hunters don't want to hear that for obvious reasons. Waiting to late season to harvest does is killing bread does.

[@hauk22]

What's the difference? If you harvest before rut you're eliminating a doe that would have been bred, same result.

[@whitetailevolution]

Some years we have an early doe season which is a great time to work on population control. However I do have a hard time pressuring a small property to take a doe early in the season and risk educating one of the older bucks on my property. Hopefully she falls close to the stand but anything can happen.. I normally do my doe hunting in mid-late December.

[@rustinpeace7466]

My father and I had a good year last year on our property in Shiawasee. We took 2 mature bucks, 1 immature (mistook for a doe), and 4 does. I thought taking 7 would pressure our herd but a recent sit this year saw a dozen antlerless deer with only one antlered. I think we still have some work to do.

[@thomaschambers5711]

You maybe playing musical chairs with the doe herds. Some say some property’s are set up as “doe” property’s and if you take out your doe herd, you may find that the does 400 yards away, will come take their place. It can be a losing battle.

[@whitetailevolution]

Congrats on the great year last year! And keep at it, most properties need to take a few deer off each year to help with overpopulation.

[@JimHerman-o3q]

A basic rule....... 1/2 a deer per square mile is nearing too many deer ! A county that is 600 square miles......should not have more then 300 deer. Basic logic..

[@simpleman4196]

If your like me and have more deer then bugs I shoot 5-6 doe every year. Iam not the only one either. Haven't shot a buck in 15 years.

[@robertayoder2063]

To busy blasting doe

[@simpleman4196]

@@robertayoder2063 yep plus I hunt for meat and I haven't found a recipe that makes those antlers tender yet

[@robertayoder2063]

@@simpleman4196 or old buck

[@robertayoder2063]

@@simpleman4196 like meat myself but shooting my biggest 6 year old buck this season and seen tons of doe i will go out late season get a good eating doe

[@whitetailevolution]

Having too many doe in the area can make it more difficult to see a lot of buck movement during the rut. Those bucks don't have to work to find their next mate. I will say that I don't start targeting does until after my 'buck hunting' is done. I don't want to jeopardize my opportunity at a nice buck to shoot a doe. Some states have an early doe season which is a great time to thin the herd and also the late season is great time to hunt does. Just try to keep at it and make sure try not to over pressure your land hunting does because those bucks will notice and go nocturnal.

[@yoholmes273]

2 second answer.....Smoke them does.

[@whitetailevolution]

Brown down lol