Drought Question

[redfish76]

This is more of a curiousty question.

Does drought have a noticeable effect on a high-fenced herd that has heavy supplemental feeding? Food-plots, on-demand protein feeders, etc. Also assuming decent sized water sources that don't dry up, but below-average rainfall, affecting the native vegetation.

This could apply to a low-fenced herd too, but I said high-fence since you usually don't see the same level of supplemental feeding of low-fence herds.

Also, I was wondering mainly about antler production.

[huntsynapse]

I can speak to the fact that it has a very noticeable impact on a low-fenced, small acrage plot with very little supplemental feeding.

[cosmiccowboy]

I think it depends where you are. I always felt that in the brush country the racks were better in dry years...No rain, no tender young weed shoots (ice cream) and they were forced to eat higher protein but less tasty brush (meat and potatoes). And you can't really generalize on high fence operations either...many people manage for different things and have radically different deer densities and programs...Heck, I know of a ranch in the oak country south of Garner State park that has 500+ deer on 1000 acres and the "natural" browse line has been decimated, but they have 120 acres of irrigated food plots and produce multiple 170+ every year with native genetics rain or shine.