Nutrition in the off-season
Scott Kuhn • January 29, 2020
Herd health in the winter months
With winter in full swing, keeping an eye on the whole deer herd is vital to their survival. We don't want the deer herds to rely entirely on our protein, but use it to help them make it through the tough times when the snow is a foot deep or when the temps dip well below zero. The does also rely on the extra protein to help them to support the fawns that are growing inside of them. With the cold and snowy winters the protein adds the extra layer of protection needed to fight off any disease or minimize the winter kill . The deer food source is also limited to the areas that haven' t been grazed too hard during the summer months. With an increasing water level, the mule deer as well as the whitetail deer are forced to higher ground. In some cases the deer are moving out of the lower portions and living in the hills to escape the rising aquifer. The mule deer diet is a big variety of plants and vegetation as well as a need to roam a huge area unlike the whitetail deer. The predators also play a huge part of the mule deer range and the stress that comes with the everyday survival. The ability to thin down the coyotes is very important as the coyotes in packs can and will devour a deer a night. When you start doing the math on how many deer they consume that might be part of the answer as to why you are not having the deer numbers at home that you used to have. The mule deer are usually a very healthy animal, but sometimes they just need a little boost to help make it through the winter. Shed season will soon be upon us so stay tuned to my next blog for tips on where to look and where not to waste your time.
With summer finally showing itself , the Nebraska Sandhills are alive with green grass and lots of wildlife. Timely rains have produced ample grass and growing conditions for wildlife and prime grazing conditions for the cattle. The whitetail as well as the mule deer are now having offspring and fawns are all over the pastures. The Sandhills are a unique area to the rest of Nebraska, as the region resembles looking at the moon with its many hill ranges and big open meadows. This remote area is home to the mule deer as well as the whitetails, in a region that stretches as far as the eye can see. Follow us on instagram or Facebook under Deer Meadows Outfitters and watch the deer grow from week to week. Hope your having a great week and until next time...Talk to you later!!!
The Nebraska archery season kicked off this month and the rewards for those dedicated enough to brave the heat were great. The sought after velvet giants were out and we were out spotting and stalking the monster mule deer in the sandhills of Nebraska. The days were hot, but the rewards were great as seen in this photo of this giant mule deer. The spot and stalk method is the preferred method, but we can also use natural ground blinds to help the hunter be successful. With the days hot and long we take a break during the midday hours to eat and catch a nap energizing for the evenings hunt. We harvested this buck inside 30 yards after a stalk that had the heart beating. Being up close and personnel is the most exciting way to hunt these giants and the most rewarding also. We have a few slots available for next year so don't get left behind !!! With over the counter tags, if you book you will hunt. Call for pricing and make sure you get in on one of our giants!!!Talk to you later !!!
With the days starting to cool off in the evenings, the feel of fall is getting close, and we all know what that means...hunting season is right around the corner. The antlers are still growing and the velvet is still attached, but it won't be long until archery season will open in Nebraska. The antler growth this year is better than the antler growth the last couple years due to the grass quality being better due to less moisture. I know it really doesn't make sense, but the grass grows slower on drier years with more nutrients than a wet year when the grass grows quickly with less nutrients. The mule deer numbers on all our private leases are up and the herd health is great!!! The whitetail numbers are always good and there are going to be some really nice bucks taken this year. We still have some openings for fall archery next year and for fall muzzle hunts also. We are booking fall 2022 rifle hunts with over the counter tags and with a super high success harvest rate the hunting couldn't be better. Hope everyone is all set for this fall and best of luck hunting!!!
The mule deer and whitetail deer antlers are growing very quickly this year. With all the rain and the warmer temperatures, the year has been ideal for the antlers to grow and also for the does to fawn going into early summer. The deer numbers are very good for the mule deer and also for the whitetail deer coming off a easier winter and a wetter than usual spring. With the grass quality very high in the northern Sandhills and the abundance of water, the deer and antelope have prime conditions to thrive. This leads to a very successful hunting season for the archers as well as the rifle and muzzle hunters. Nothing better than hunting in a target rich environment to try and fill your tag for this fall. Take time to get outdoors and enjoy what God has put on this earth for you and leave the scouting and the rest of the work to us.
The antlers are growing in the Nebraska Sandhills and the grass is turning green. The spring showers are really making the grass start to grow and all the wildlife is returning to the Nebraska Sandhills. The antler growth is slowly starting to show and the hair on the mule deer and whitetail deer is starting to shed. Soon the hair will be slick and shiny and the deer will be separating to have their fawns. The Sandhill lakes are all filled with ducks, geese, swans, and all the other flying birds that call the Nebraska Sandhills home for the summer. The water level in this part of the Sandhills is very high, causing flooding on all the meadows. Soon it will be time for the little goslings and not far behind that the antelope fawns will start appearing in the hills. Beautiful landscape and wide open spaces define the Sandhills of Nebraska. Enjoy the great outdoors!!!!
With the cold winter coming to an end, the mule deer and whitetail deer are starting to spread out chasing green grass. The warm weather has the green grass growing up in the meadows first, and then the hills, to provide the mule deer and whitetail deer new soft green grass to graze on. The grass is a welcome site after another cold winter that didn't dump as much snow on the Sandhills as last year. The mule deer and whitetail deer spread out over a very big area between their winter ground and there summer ground only to return to the same locations for the November rut activity. The regrowth of the antlers is taking place and the mule deer have the longer winter coat that is starting to shed in preparation for the warmer temps yet to come. The whitetail deer are also shedding their winter coats but don't have as much hair as the mule deer have , so they don't appear to look as shabby. Plenty of moisture has the grass growing quickly and food will be plentiful this spring and summer for optimal antler growth for the mule deer as well as the whitetail bucks. This will be another fun year to monitor the bucks and watch the antler growth and their summer patterns. Hope everyone is staying safe and when you get a chance, make sure and get outside and enjoy the great outdoors and what it has to offer.
Some people ask why we protein year around? The mule deer are a lot slower at repopulating than the whitetails but with proper diet and a higher dose of protein, we can also get the mule deer to repopulate faster than we can without the year around protein. The protein not only helps the bucks grow bigger racks but the health of the whole herd increases greatly. The does also produce twins more often than a general mule deer herd without protein. We have been feeding protein to the mule deer and whitetail herds on our leased properties for about nine years now. What we discovered is that the mule deer repopulate more quickly than normal and that the bucks develop bigger racks and more stickers and extra tines also. Ultimately the health of the herd is the most important and the numbers today reflect where we have been feeding protein verses where there has been no protein offered. The cost is always a big issue and we spend a great amount on protein but the results speak for themselves. If it is possible to protein where you are , you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference protein makes. Have a great week!!!
The bucks in the Sandhills area of the state are in the process of shedding their antlers now. This is a great time of year to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. The whitetail bucks always shed first out here in western Nebraska, and the mule deer bucks will usually shed a month to a month and a half later in the year. This time of year you want to concentrate your efforts where the deer are bedding or where they are feeding. Depending on the little critters that will chew on the antlers, sometimes it's best to get out early before the little critters devour them. We pick up the antlers as soon as possible so we can measure them to see how much they grew from year to year and also to see what kind of genetics that they are carrying on. Shed hunting is fun for the whole family and it definitely feels good to get out in the great outdoors for some fresh air. There are lots of acres of land out there so pick a weekend and cover a few miles and see if you can find some antlers. Best of luck shed hunting and remember that it doesn't cost a thing!!! Happy hunting!!!
With winter in Nebraska in full swing, we really focus on the deer health as well as getting a really good inventory on the bucks that are on our leases. We look for age, health, genetics and anything else we can find to help us document the health of not only the herd, but the bucks . We document every buck and have a file for every buck on our leased private properties documenting health, genetics, and the growth of their antlers every year, examining every buck for age, and to see what genetics that buck has to see when that buck will reach his full potential. Some bucks have the genetics to go to the 200 class range where as some bucks only have the genetics to reach the 160 class when mature. Out here we don't just go out and look for any deer, we only hunt the ranges where a mature buck lives so you aren't wasting any of your hunting time. Bottom line is that we are going to do everything possible to make sure you have opportunities at that mature buck numerous times during the hunt. Patience and listening to your guide is of the utmost importance as we know the movements and habits of the buck your hunting. Remember the offseason is the perfect time to practice shooting and preparing for this falls hunt.
With the cold Nebraska winter in stride, the Nebraska mule deer and whitetail deer are in survival mode building themselves back up from the November rut and December post rut. The mule deer bucks as well as the whitetail bucks rutted really hard this past year covering many more miles than usual. I think this is due to the increasing populations of deer on our leased land and the product of protein year around making the deer herd healthier and continuing to increase in number. The quality of bucks this year also was better due to our management practices and by keeping track of all bucks running the properties leased by Deer Meadows Outfitters. The mule deer really seem to be spreading out with the onset of the warmer weather but there is still a lot of winter to go through. We usually start to see the bucks bachelor up this time of year and then in March the bucks start to drop their antlers. This upcoming season looks like it's going to be a stellar year with the bucks we left for next fall and just the population numbers. If you don't have a archery hunt or a rifle hunt set up make sure and give us a call to help you harvest that buck of a lifetime. Happy New Year everyone!!!!