Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Purchase land for your homemade deer habitat. Finding land that has diverse vegetation, dense forests, open fields and access to water such as a lake or river are all necessary to create a thriving deer habitat. The more acreage of land you purchase, the larger the deer herd you will be able to support. The amount of acreage needed to support a herd of deer varies based on the deer species, location and available vegetation on the lot. For example, an individual white-tailed deer will use between 60 to 1,600 acres annually, according to a study done in the Cross Timbers deer habitat in Texas. If land is completely isolated from any other wildlife areas, there should be at least 2,000 acres available to the deer population.
Research and document the types of vegetation on the land. Deer can forage a variety of plant species throughout the year, but also require vegetation for cover. The type of vegetation deer prefer varies by species; for example, in the summer, white-tailed deer prefer green plants, acorns and aquatic plants, but eat mostly grasses and evergreen plants in the fall. Introduce more plant species into your habitat for diversification by planting and monitoring the vegetation as it grows and spreads.
Post "No Hunting or Trespassing" signs along the perimeter of the habitat to prevent hunters from depleting the existing deer herd.
Monitor existing deer in the habitat by placing wildlife cameras throughout the habitat. You can also create deer stands for observational purposes. Keep a record of the size of the herds observed to track growth over time.