SuperMn106 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I have been wondering lately how many deer is too many for one square mile? I know right now in the winter they are all hearded up and there is a different count than there would be in the summer. Would it depend on how much forage they have out there to eat? Would it also depend on the type of terrian? Lately I have been driving around our block (1 sq mile) and seeing anywhere from 70-100 deer each night, 70-80 of them are in one herd. I have also noticed that most of the deer are young. I am no expert or anything but i have been trying to get better at guessing the deers age by their back, belly and size of the head and overall body. I would guess that looking at the ones tonight, out of 77 deer maybe 5-10 were 3 1/2 yrs or older. That is just a guess though. Anyone have any input? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malikai Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: How many is too many? Well I am gonna say you are the luckiest man on earth, and that you should get hunting! Though, it probably is bad to have so many deer, food sources may dwindle so I guess you better kill a bunch off! Cheers, Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: How many is too many? all depends on carrying capacity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: How many is too many? What Todd said, depends totally on the carrying capacity of the land. For figuring the carrying capacity, think biologists look at available food, water, and cover to supply deer year round. My guess the reasons you are seeing a high number of deer concentrated to one area is because they "yard up" in areas in the north in the winter. Would not confuse a seasonal higher number of deer with the number of the year round deer density. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: How many is too many? Think I read somewhere that Ohio has a carrying capacity of 60 deer/sq mi. Why that number is sticking in my head, I don't know. I could be way off. Seems to me, on average in the state of Ohio our density is 12/sq. mi, which is a bit of a misnomer because the northwest part of the state doesn't have as much deer as the southeast part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: How many is too many? Densities will vary greatly from one part of a state to the next. Here the estimated density in this county is like 15 deer per square mile, the next county over is estimated at over 45 deer per square mile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 Re: How many is too many? One of the best ways to tell if you are over the carrying capacity is to study the land. Take a good look at the browse in the wooded areas. Is there still a sufficient amount left? Or, is it cleaned out over a deer's reach? What about the open spots? Are they eaten down to dirt or do they still have good feed left in them? Like has been said deer yard up in the winter. To see a large number in a herd this time of year is not unusual. They will soon disperse and you will be saying there aren't any deer left. Every state and area is different. Don't just pick a number and go with it. Looking at deer and checking their condition this time of year won't tell you much. They are pretty much living off their fat reserves now. At least up in the northern areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMn106 Posted March 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2007 Re: How many is too many? Thanks for the replys, it is kinda along the lines i was thinking. The local farmer leaves his crops on untill usually the first of the year if not longer which helps with the health of the deer. In the summer the herd that we usually see when together is 20-25. The browse still looks good because of the farmers crops that they eat i believe. We usually cut down between 4-7 aspen trees and let them eat the tops off from them also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 13, 2007 Report Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: How many is too many? [ QUOTE ] all depends on carrying capacity. [/ QUOTE ] Yep and carrying capacity changes throughout the year too absent of any major change to the property. Hard to say what a right number really is. Most biologist I know prefer deer populations to be less than the average carrying capacity of the land in order to reduce the risk of overbrowsing. Overbrowsing reduces carrying capacity and can reduce it for a long period of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest anderson3 Posted March 15, 2007 Report Share Posted March 15, 2007 Re: How many is too many? If you shoot too many deer, they can recover the population very quickly...just a few years, especially since there will be more food per deer with fewer animals. If you don't shoot enough deer, they can do browse damage as Rhino says...and it could take decades to recover. It is very hard to get a good measurement of deer per square mile, so I would not worry about a perfect number too much. I share Letmgrow's philosophy about evaluating practical deer density with impact on the habitat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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