Take care of your does and the horns will come. That has been my mantra since I started my protein program years ago. In the field, it seems to be working but as to why... I've been flying by the seat of my pants, relying mostly on common sense and a lifetime in the cattle business. Recently, I ran across an article by a nutritionist who used a term that was new to me. Epigenetics. Never heard of it but he compares it to a light switch that can be turned on and off during gestation as a doe's nutritional needs are met or not met. Bingo! Maybe common knowledge to everyone else but this is the most concise description as to why it is important that we ensure that our does have adequate nutrition during gestation that I've read.

Nurtrition For Whitetail Does

Comments please.

Interesting read.

It is especially important in texas where drought can really hammer a deer herd.
The concept of the light switch is right on, and it is essentially turning on or turning off phenotypic expression of the genetics inside. Being able to see that having less healthy doe means the animals that less healthy doe will drop are going to be less healthy makes sense from a long term survival stand point, since why would a doe want to drop a deer fawn that “is programmed” to grow big and will eat all the forage the mama doe has available. This would create a situation where both fawn and doe are going to be even less healthy and possibly die from starvation/stress.

But the converse, when situations warrant and a mama doe can be essentially fully fed and have a healthy life, that mama is going to be able to drop fawns that will grow bigger, stronger, and more likely to survive. Over several generations of this type of “genetic regulation” (what we call epigenetics) we see a very healthy herd of deer.

We have to remember that nutrition is just a part of this formula. We need to realize it is reducing stress on the herd that will have the largest impact. Stress factors for deer are normally nutrition number 1,2,& 3, but in some places habitat or predator control will a bigger stress factors than nutrition. It is just that nutrition is the easiest part to manipulate for study purposes.