I was looking over the thread in regards to the Texas antler restrictions and saw the point CHC made about too many deer for the current range conditions.
This is the first year out of the last 15 or so that I've not been able to be afield much.

I was speaking with a friend of mine who has a 3K acre ranch north of Vanderpool off SH-187. He stated that on his ranch, between October of last year and the first of June this year he got a total of 3/4" of rain.
Considering the price of corn and protein, taken with the economy I wonder if there is quite a bit less supplemental feeding of the Texas deer herd?
Have any of you Texas guys that keep your ear to the ground heard whether to expect a large die-off this summer and fall?
If you've been afield how do the deer appear. Being as this is July, the bucks should be heading toward full growth of antlers. What are ya'll seeing?

GWB

I have not seen any evidence of a die off in this area. The fawns I have seen appear in good shape, but I have not seen any twin fawns so far. I have only seen one pair of quail that had a few young chicks, a week to 10 days old with them.

We are running both corn feeders and free choice protien feeders and the deer/hogs/turkeys are hanging around those and any available water.

I am seeing a lot of deer middle of the day, along with turkeys and hogs. The area I work and live in is something like 10 or 12 inches below normal in rainfall, with no forecast of rain for the near future. I am seeing tanks go dry that I have never seen dry.

I am sure some smart mouthed S.O.B. will come along and tell everyone what a SMF Liar I am.

If you'll look at this map

http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/pdfs/tx_dm.pdf

you'll see that over 97% of Texas is in drought, and 75% of Texas is in the most severe category of drought that exists. Whitetails are amazingly adept at survival, but with drought of this magnitude there will undoubtedly be an impact on the population. Just the number of roadkills is probably an order of magnitude greater than normal simply due to deer grazing the borrow ditches where a sprig or two of green is available.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:


I am sure some smart mouthed S.O.B. will come along and tell everyone what a SMF Liar I am.

Won't be me. I operate under the premise that friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. I can use as many of the former and as few of the latter as possible, so that is not my style. I appreciate the info.

Best

GWB

I saw several deer in West Texas that were in great shape, including two nice bucks.

This area is next to a River with water in it year round.

However, there are a lot of big burnt areas in this part of the state.

From The TEXAS TRIBUNE, July 6, 2011

Lengthy Drought Takes Toll on Texas Wildlife

by Kate Galbraith
11 hours ago

Texas is now nine months into one of the worst droughts in recorded state history, and it shows no signs of abating. That's bad news for city dwellers who must use ever less water for their lawns, but it's worse for many wildlife and fish, which find their habitats drying up.

The drought has made things "very difficult in lots of ways for wildlife," says Kirby Brown, an official with the Texas Wildlife Association, a landowner and hunter group. Even if they can find water, the animals may have trouble getting enough food, as trees and plants suffer from the lack of moisture. In West Texas, one of the areas of the state worst hit by the drought, local newspapers have reported animals creeping into cities in search of bugs that reside on lawns, and other nourishment.

Wild turkeys are in trouble, Brown says. So are quail, and deer. It's fawning season for deer around the state, and they won't get much to eat. "We'll see very low fawn production," Brown says.

Deer hunters should also expect less spectacular antlers this year, when hunting season begins. "I suspect most of the folks that are hunting deer for trophies won't be seeing those trophies," Brown says. However, he added, hunting may be especially beneficial this year, to "take a few more mouths off the range."

Hunters will see the impact in September, when the Texas dove hunting season kicks off. Squirrel hunting in October will also be tough.

Fish are in trouble, too. "We're expecting we're going to lose a lot of trout this season," says Mark Dillow, president of Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited, the largest arm of a national anglers conservation group. Higher temperatures in the Guadalupe River, and less water flowing through it below Canyon Dam, have hurt the fish, he says. His group asks anglers not to target trout in waters over 68 degrees; these days the water temperature is more like 75 degrees. Some fish will find cold-water springs that feed the river and survive, but plenty more will struggle. Trout Unlimited encourages catch-and-release practices, but even that might tip an already stressed fish over the edge.

Dillow says that he fished over the Fourth of July holiday last year but did not venture out this past weekend. Campgrounds and tubing venues and other river businesses are hurting, he says.

One bright spot amid the terrible dryness may be the impact on feral hogs, which are such a nuisance that the Legislature voted this year to approve the "pork chopper" bill, allowing landowners to hunt them down by helicopter

"Anytime you have drought conditions like this, the young piglets and sows do suffer and they tend to go down, which most of us are very glad about, I've just got to tell you," Brown says. "We will see a reduction in the pigs. The problem is the next time it rains, you've got a litter of seven, and eight should survive."

The place I am fortunate to get to hunt is in between Alice and George West. Bone dry and damn hot to put it mildly.
I've been hunting this place for 16 yrs and have noticed a strange development this year. Despite no rain to mention since January, my mesquite and wajilla (sp) trees have gone batshit producing both new growth and beans. I mean CRAZY growth. My deer are not inhaling my protein and the only conclusion we have come to is that they are doing just fine w/ the natural growth. I do not have a fawn report yet, but my fawns are generally born later in the year. Last year produced almost 100% twins, so we'll see if the conditions decrease the fawn crop.

In our area, the extreme NE corner of Tx, we're quite dry but compared to the rest of the state we're in pretty good shape. Both of the counties I'm in are one of the handful that are not under the near statewide burn ban, but anyone burning anything outside had better be EXTREMELY careful. We have lots of rivers and lakes that have plenty of water, so actual physical water is not a problem and very locally we've had more rain than most so we're in pretty good shape but damn hot. Additionally, it has been just about as windy in the last few months as I can recall, which sucks moisture out of the ground. Hay is becoming a major concern of local cattlemen. I was driving towards Dallas the other day, stopped to rest near Sulphur Springs and heard a tree whistling for a dog.

Yeah buddy,

the jackrabbits are carrying canteens at my bud's ranch.

GWB

Nobody has any hay in this area and many folks are hauling cattle to the sale, hoping to be able to hang on to part of their herd. All the ponds in the area are drying up, spent this past weekend trying to seine some of the tanks on the properties I work on and moving fish to the ponds that still have some water in them.

Seeing deer all day long, even during the hottest part, hanging around the feeders or the ponds that still have water.

Fawn crop/survival will be low in south TX due to lack of cover. Coyotes will eat most of them. We put in water pipes to all our tanks 3 years ago and that has paid for itself. Levels are low but water is always present. Horns will be off this year but not awful as we have gotten 1.5" rains in Apr/May and again in June. We are low fenced but have put protein in the feeders just to help the herd out. Pigs will for sure die off in huge numbers. Lots of mesquite beans dropping right now and good new growth on all the guajillo/black brush from the rain 2 weeks ago.

Second CHC

Here in Central TX stock water is becoming a problem. Lots of cattle selling and Hay over $200/ton. Same as other reports-seeing lots of deer during middle of the day. They are moving looking for water. However those I see are still in good shape.
The browse is alot better than the grass.

Pray for a hurricane--

SSR

IM SURE FAWN SURVIVAL WILL BE LOW THIS YEAR. A DOE WILL PROTECT HER BODY BEFORE HER FAWN BY NOT PUTTING HER BODY THROUGH ANY ADDITIONAL STRESS (PRODUCING MILK) THIS IS NATURES WAY OF ENSURING SURVIVAL OF A SPECIES. STRENGTHENING THE MOTHER FOR THE FUTURE INSTEAD OF 2 WEAK CREATURES THAT WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE IT IF THE CURRENT SITUATION CONTINUES. IM ALSO SURE THAT THE OLDER POPULATION (6.5+) WILL BE AFFECTED. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST THE YOUNG, OLD, AND SICK ARE THE FIRST TO GO. ANTLER QUALITY WILL GO DOWN. THERE ARE SEVERAL STUDIES THAT HAVE PROVEN A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO. THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MANAGEMENT IS ALWAYS MANAGE FOR A DROUGHT YEAR THAT WAY THE DEER HERD IS NOT AS AFFECTED AS AN OVERPOPULATED PROPERTY WHICH WOULD PROBABLY HAVE VERY POOR OVERALL PRODUCTION. SUPPLEMENTAL FEED WILL DEFINITELY HELP IN A YEAR LIKE THIS BUT THEN SUPPLEMENTAL FEED IS JUST THAT "SUPPLEMENTAL" NOT "REPLACEMENT" AND WITH THE RISING PRICES OF CORN AND SUPPLEMENTAL FEED IM SURE SOME LANDOWNERS WILL HAVE TO REDUCE THEIR PURCHASING AMOUNTS. HOPEFULLY THE RAIN SITUATION CHANGES SOON!!!

Welcome JHL, might want to look at taking off your caps lock. Using all capitals when posting something or making a response appears as though you are shouting at folks.

It is one of those pieces of "Forum" etiquette that takes time to get used too.

You are correct with your post and it is a good post. This is the worst I have ever seen it up in the area where I live, and that from over 40 years experience in this area.

I saw my first set of twin fawns today for the year. Seen lots of single fawns and right now they appear okay, but if it does not rain soon they will go down hill fast.

Turkeys and what few quail we have are also hurting. Everytime we get a forecast for rain, as iot gets closer the chances dwindle away to nothing.

Sorry Crazy for the caps lock and screaming at everyone by accident! hahaha

Its bad im sure once we start flying ranches im sure we will see fawn crops in that 5% range this year. Very sad. Hopefully we get some rain soon!

Best,

-J

I hope we do to, because as you said, with the price of feed supplemental feeding is going to be reduced. Add that to the heat and the shrinking water supplies, and some parts of the state may lose a good many deer this year.

I am pretty sure antler quality is going to be really affected.

My evidence of the deer populations in Deep East Texas is solely anecdotal, but I will tell you that they appear to be doing well this year. I see them at all hours of the day (and night) and generally see 8-15 every day on my way 17 mile trek to work. Most of what I see in the open are does and/or does with fawns, but I have seen a couple bucks with velvet antlers in the last week. Yesterday I also clipped a doe with two spotted fawns when they crossed the road in front of me.

I live on top of a fairly tall hill and there aren't any ponds or running streams up here. I'm not sure where the deer are going for water but there is plenty of forage for them to eat. They ate all my low-hanging pears, deer will eat green briar vine and poison ivy if need be and there's plenty of bahia grass for them to munch on in everyone's yard. I am presently looking forward to a decent deer season this year; drought notwithstanding.

I am ready for it to cool down and start raining again. Enough of this nonesense is enough. Sheesh!

observations from the southern branch of the Hill Country and then deep S. Texas.

Hill Country, live on a golf course and people love to feed the deer. Most doe I have seen have twins BUT they are leaving them on their own much sooner so many will die. They feed or try to find food 24/7 and will approach humans with tongue out and hands out, so to speak. Way too many animals for survival expectations. Golf course going a lot without ample watering in order to conserve the precious litte we have - not good!

Deep S. Texas - most recently read notice to quit feeding protein due to the heat and lack of water leading to die off due to too much protein in the diet. Not a deer nutritionist so that information worth what you paid for it. Will confirm that from South of Freer to North of Laredo the mesquite is going nuts with bean grouth although they will be all but gone soon. Overall S. Texas is begging unless you got your check for your Eagle Ford oil/gas minerals and then you just really could care less! yeeeeeeeeha, just normal for this area of our great state. Hunters leasing land to hunt in the Eagle Ford area will be sucking air for a lease and the landowners no longer need the measly $10-15 an acre as they just put $5-8,000/acre in their pockets and are kicking hunters off the acreage - go figure!