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Old 10-26-2010, 02:24 PM
Rancher_49
 
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Default Whitetail buck to doe ratio?

I watch about fifty whitetails morning and evening from my deck. The hunting here is watched pretty close. Besides myself there is one other guy who has permission here. It is pretty isolated here so the deer are are not bothered.
Some even bed down in the field during the day.
My question is for any biologist types. The buck to doe ratio is one for one
here. The bucks are of all sizes. I see quite a few spikes. I have been told by hunters from Texas that they cull out the spikes because of poor genetics.
I have hardly ever seen a spike whitetail in my life till now.
Does this mean that we have too many bucks for the doe population?
Just wondering? Any feedback would be appreciated. This has been bugging me.
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Old 10-26-2010, 03:09 PM
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aulrich aulrich is offline
 
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It depends if the spike is over 1 1/2 then maybe, a first year spike is not a forsure to bad genetics.

I think I can count on one hand the number of older spikes/forkhorns I have seen.
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Old 10-26-2010, 04:26 PM
Rancher_49
 
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Default Size of spikes

Some of the spikes are 6-7" long and some have forked a tiny bit but the forks are hard to see. They show up at 40 power.
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  #4  
Old 10-26-2010, 07:41 PM
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mulecrazy mulecrazy is offline
 
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a 1-1 ratio is ideal as it ensures good competition between bucks for breeding purposes. It allows the genetically superior animals to pass on their traits. If there are too many does competition is less and inferior animals pass on their traits. I wouldn't worry about the spikes. A 1.5 year old deer has not even started showing his potential. If the texans are shooting them for poor genetics, they may want to ease up on the itchy trigger finger.
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Old 10-26-2010, 08:08 PM
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walking buffalo walking buffalo is offline
 
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Piles of research and doctorates have been done on this issue.

Cull the spikes? Maybe, maybe not.

Taking your observation of not having seen spikes in the past, brings the questions:

Is the overall population in this area higher than in the past?

Is the habitat and food sources becoming degraded locally?

Did the deer have difficulty overwintering last year?


There are many possibilities as to why you are seeing below average horn growth in the yearling bucks, they all relate back to understanding the environmental conditions and population dynamics this herd has experienced recently.

Regarding the sex ratio. A ratio of 1:1 will likely increase the natural buck mortality in the next few years, due to the increased stresses the males will go through in a very competitive rut. Nothing to worry about, some will die, some will live.

To cull for genetic reasons..... Nope.
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Old 10-26-2010, 08:08 PM
addicted addicted is offline
 
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IMO you should keep watching your little paridise, lol. One would have to assume that in a well stratified population of bucks those spikers that you are seeing won't even have a chance to breed until they are much older, because of the mature bucks in the area. Now, if all the top dogs were shot up then the lesser bucks may have a free for all but to be honest I read one study on a fellow who followed 4 or 5 bucks over 6 years I believe. All these bucks began as spikes and matured into respectable bucks, some really nice.

Who knows maybe your bigs bucks that are running around now started as a spike!
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