The property I hunt on has no more than 6 acres of thick woods, the rest is grass fields and tall crp. I dont see many deer bed on the property and they dont seem to utilize it during the day. What can I do to make the property attractive to them such as creating bedding areas, food, and staging areas? Any advice will help, thanks!
Check out qdma.com forum! Good info. I'm going to look into EW egyptian wheat for cover....look it up on the forum page!
The Quality Deer Management forums are a great resource. How much land are you working with? The big problem you probably have is you'd need the crp/grass to be the bedding area since I'd bet the main area you're able to hunt is the 6 acres of woods which doesn't allow for a sanctuary. I don't know how thick the 6 acres are but maybe hinge cutting small areas to make it even thicker could create small bedding areas that you don't enter, maybe acre in size. What are the properties like around you and is the woods an island or connected to ajointing property woods? There are a lot of things that you can look into, one being planting shrubs & pines. If you look on the qdm forums there is "The Brush Pile" thread where a guy took a field and is turning it into cover. A lot of information there. I've been looking into ninebark, this is a shrub that would be native to your area that will hold leaves well into and after season, a great cover producing plant. I have a few areas of evergreens on the property I have access to and the deer utilize it for bedding/travel routes through the property. The next think would be items like switchgrass, deversity is the key to good whitetail property.
Thanks for all of the great information! My property is about 40 huntable acres. And id say 10-15 acres are wooded mixed with swamps, the rest being tall hay fields and a grass/ alfalfa field.
I'd try some spruce seedlings planted some what thick in clumps(for bedding) and wind rows(for travel corridors) ...they are pretty cheap, hardy, tolerant(variety of soils, acidity,and moisture) and fast growing for thick cover, and spread fast, esp in open areas...if you have access to them-we have transplanted many 3-4 ft tall and about 80% survive but it is alot of work without a machine. The deer avoid browsing spruce because the needles are sharp and not a high energy food. They can grow from 8in. to 5ft in about 10yrs and some will grow 1.5ft in a year depending on conditions(water,nutrients, and soil type). If balsam will grow down your way it is also a fast growing cover evergreen but normally a northern snowbelt tree and deer will browse occasionally as a last resort food source.
i guarantee there are deer bedding in the CRP, you probably just never see them. Deer wont jump in native grasses till youre almost on top of them. The forbes mixed in with the native grasses are also high in protein and are desirable food for deer. There are probably also deer in the swamps you mentioned. For the wooded areas, i would just clear cut or hinge cut some small pockets. maybe 20 sq. yards. Let it grow up a season, then do another one. Diversify your property. Sunlight hitting the ground is the key to forage on the forest floor. You dont NEED food plots and trees to plant, you can increase the tonnage on your property in cheaper ways.
Thanks for all the tips, we actually planted some spruce and pines back to one side of the crp. I also would like to plan some sawtooth oak, i heard it grows fast and produces a ton of acorns.
one thing to make sure of is when the spruces grow up, routinely cut the tops off so they stay low to the ground and do not block the sunlight reaching the ground. once evergreens reach maturity and block the sunlight, it becomes what managers call a ecological desert.
