| White-Tailed Deer/Water Requirements |
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White-Tailed Deer:
Their Foods & Management in the Cross Timbers
Table of Contents & Preface
Introduction
Habitat requirements
General concepts
Food requirements
Methods
used to gather data
Overall
use of forage classes
Seasonal
use of forages
Specific
seasonal deer diets
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Summary
Cover requirements
Water requirements
Space requirements
Habitat management
General concepts
Food management
Cover management
Water management
Space management
Population health/evaluation
Introduction & aging deer
Body size & antler characteristics
Fat deposits
Reproductive success
Population management
Introduction
Population inventory
Harvest
records
Deer
surveys
Population regulation
Potential
mng't goals
Appendix A:
Plants of the NFWU
Appendix B:
Deer diets on the NFWU
Appendix C:
Pictures and descriptions of
important deer food plants in the
Cross Timbers region
Glossary for Appendix C
Habitat Requirements:
Water Requirements
Like all animals, white-tailed deer require water to survive. Water is necessary for important bodily functions such as metabolizing food for tissue and energy production, temperature regulation, and waste excretion. Deer readily drink free water from ponds, creeks, rivers, springs, and seeps when it is available. However, compared to most livestock, they can go for extended periods without it. Besides free water, deer also obtain water from the food they consume. In times of lush growth (e.g., spring), consumption of free water is far less than during the hot summer when available vegetation contains less moisture and the body requirements for water to fulfill physiological demands are high.
Water is rarely the limiting factor of deer habitat in the Cross Timbers region. Most portions of this region generally receive an average of 30-40 inches of rainfall a year. In addition to the many creeks, rivers, wetlands, and puddles that occur naturally, there are also numerous man-made ponds, lakes, and stock water troughs throughout the area that serve as water sources for deer. These man-made water sources commonly average 1 or more per quarter section (160 acres) in many areas. Water sources averaging 1 per half section (320 acres) should be adequate for deer habitat, so water sources as they exist throughout the Cross Timbers generally fulfill the necessary requirements. The primary exception to this is during extended periods of drought if most natural and man- made water sources dry up. Droughts of this magnitude are relatively uncommon in the Cross Timbers however.
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