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| Creating cover; Creating cover | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 22 2014, 11:08 AM (1,289 Views) | |
| Donnie7 | Nov 22 2014, 11:08 AM Post #1 |
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Just wondering if anyone has tried creating cover for deer? Either bedding areas or travel corridoors? Our property was logged about 45 years ago and raped of all trees. Alot of oak and especially iron woods have grown back and now are 30' tall and only 3" thick. The entire property (400 acres) is very open in my opinion which I believe leads to less daytime traffic. Would love to do something about this but not really sure where to start. Any thoughts or suggestions or projects that you have undertaken yourselves? Thanks Donnie |
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baydog
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Nov 23 2014, 08:46 AM Post #2 |
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Half my land was cut 15 years ago. and it's now regenerated with poplar. I've been purchasing norway and white spruce, red and white pine over the years and planting in areas that need it to try and add diversity. I started with cover across the road front, then planted bedding cover in the openings in the young poplar. I've also been adding northern hardy fruit trees as an attractant. Check your local conservation authority to see if they have a landowner seedling assistance program. Unfortunately, I don't have a short term solution. Norways seem to be the fastest growing and don't get browsed like white pine. This year, I'm going to establish white cedar in some low areas but it will be costly because I'll need to protect them with fencing . Also trying to get hybrid oak established along with fruit trees. Small steps should pay off in the long run. Sounds like a good step for you would be to establish a core bedding area within your acreage and leave it as a sanctuary. Have you thought about dropping a bunch of trees to crate a nasty area where new saplings and tree tops create,cover? The new growth will create browse too (something you're probably not getting much of with the age class of your trees now). And you can plant some conifer as well. I've got.another quarter section that was logged three years ago. Unfortunately it was cut in summer and is not regrow ing very quickly with poplar. I'm going to plant the cutover with a mix of conifers and go from there. |
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| Donnie7 | Nov 23 2014, 09:50 PM Post #3 |
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Hey Baydog, thanks for the reply. You are spot on with a number of things on the property, the biggest being the lack of browse. Taking a real hard look at where the bedding areas should be and what can be knocked down. Interesting about the norway spruce, where did you get them? I have never noticed pines being affected by deer. |
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| Partikle | Nov 24 2014, 08:37 AM Post #4 |
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
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Transplant some small cedar trees in the low areas where it is wet. They grow quicker than seed and they will grow a foot a year if you water in a bit of miracle grown once or twice a year. Deer love them for cover and they feed on them in the winter. |
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| Donnie7 | Nov 24 2014, 11:11 AM Post #5 |
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Hey Partikle, we are tossing around the idea of cedars in low areas right now. Wondering if they will survive as seedlings with deer liking to eat them? Still thinking the fired up chain saw will be our best friend. Also looking at how to create travel corridoors? Deer naturally want to walk either into the wind or at a cross wind. Can you alter that slightly with providing the right travel routes? Our winds used to be be predominately from the North or North West. Last few years most of the wind has been from the south and south west. Changes things alot. Donnie |
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baydog
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Nov 24 2014, 07:45 PM Post #6 |
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Pine seedlings get browsed around here (tbay). I get the norways from the conservation authority seedling assistance program. Cedars will get browsed without protection too so planting a large number for me is out of the question. I'm going to start with a few and fence them off. |
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| Ikantski | Nov 25 2014, 11:33 AM Post #7 |
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I think you're on the right track with the chainsaw idea. You can create a lot of cover a lot faster with that than by planting things. You probably don't need to worry too much about planting thermal cover where you are. If the deer leave to find warmer bedding, they'll do it later in the season. Check out some videos on hinge cutting, a quick way to make cover and browse. If it's all that open, it's really a blank slate. I like the wagon wheel, where the center is a large, secure sanctuary and there are a few pockets of food and bedding towards the outer edge. The does will generally bed close to food and if they feel threatened, they can retreat into the sanctuary rather than the neighbour's. You access along the outer edges and hunt the outer wheel, the trails between the outer pockets of food/bedding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7EXKVu0egA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAEu6RQQEbE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIJZ0lANB5Y This is a good article, http://www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/blog/whitetail-habitat-lines-of-movement/ lots of other good ones there too. You can go pretty overboard on whitetail habitat if that's your thing. Edited by Ikantski, Nov 25 2014, 11:36 AM.
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baydog
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Nov 26 2014, 06:48 AM Post #8 |
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Good advice ikantski
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| Friggs | Nov 26 2014, 09:46 AM Post #9 |
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Really enjoyed the videos, thanks for sharing. Its got me thinking about next year. |
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| Partikle | Nov 26 2014, 10:51 AM Post #10 |
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Team Ontario Trophy Bucks
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Go for both the chainsaw route and get some cedars. Just dig them up from a crown land area in the early spring or late fall and transplant them. Early spring might be better as the deer won't touch them in the summer and they will have some time to grow. But yes, you will have to fence them off for a couple of years to get big enough to survive the deer eating them. I dug up and transplanted some pines and cedars in the fall of 1988. They were about 12" tall. They were over 10 feet tall within 7 or 8 years and they are huge now. |
![]() Population Control Specialist 00 Buck - Licensed to kill | |
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| Donnie7 | Nov 27 2014, 08:17 AM Post #11 |
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As others have indicated great videos thanks for the ideas and posting. I have spent the last couple of days rambling around the bush trying to get a feel and layout and thoughts. There is virtually no cover on the entire 400 acres. There are several swamps but mostly water no real dark nasty holes. Nieghbours on two sides have substantial cover. It is now making more sense why we get pics of bucks, but always at night. I am not sure if we can compete with established cover and the clear cutting that the nieghbours have done, but I think we are going to try Talked to my brother in law that hunts property last night and basically told him we have two options either give this a try or settle for shitty hunting. He is in, now just have to convince a couple more - should be easy. With planting the trees (cedar /pine) would you plant to make a nasty area thick or try planting in a straight line so to speak to create a travel co oridor? Oh and thanks for the input and suggestions everyone - keep em coming this is great. Donnie |
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