Help Your Herd

[Steve D]

Enhance Deer Habitat

February is the shortest month, but it can feel long and cold.  Deer don't have cozy fireplaces to keep them warm; they fuel their internal furnace with fat stored during the fall and woody browse through winter. Thus, February is a great month for habitat management projects that involve cutting trees to provide new food and cover for deer and other wildlife.

Felling trees for firewood or forest thinning makes the tops immediately available to deer.  Later, stump sprouts and new plant growth caused by the gap in the tree canopy may provide additional browse opportunities.

Hinge-cuts are also a popular method of enhancing deer habitat and can often be accomplished with just a handsaw. Hinge-cutting involves cutting two-thirds through a small tree and pushing it over so that the uncut portion remains attached.  This method allows the tree to stay alive, but the top and the new growth are within deer's reach. Hinge-cutting can also be used strategically to improve bedding and fawning cover or create natural screening for woodland openings and food plots.

To maximize benefit and preserve future timber value, learn to identify preferred winter deer foods and consult a forester or biologist for guidance.

[corydd7]

I'm at my cabin to do just this tomorrow. First time so I hope it goes well, I hope to take a couple pictures depending on the patience of my wife.

[stubborn1VT]

I checked on an area where I stacked a bunch of tops for the deer.  They rabbits have been after them hard, but the deer have not.  They must have other food, because they haven't touched the maple, yellow and white birch tops I left for them.

[Rebel Darling]

Dropped a few maple trees over the past two weeks, but there are still a lot of acorns around the oaks here, and the deer are there daily/nightly.

That's a lot of acorns...


I'm all thumbs when using Tapatalk

[ncountry]

We dumped 20+ larger poplar trees today on a friend's property today.We stopped mid-afternoon for a bonfire and hotdogs. Before we left the deer were already eating on the tops less than 150 yds away... Typically  , when we cut trees in the winter the deer are eating the tops within hours. 

[land 1]

i got to get back to camp and do the same maybe a day trip wednesday with these warm temps if its not raining i imagine the deer have gone threw the trees i dropped a lil over a month ago

[dbHunterNY]

22 hours ago, stubborn1VT said:

I checked on an area where I stacked a bunch of tops for the deer.  They rabbits have been after them hard, but the deer have not.  They must have other food, because they haven't touched the maple, yellow and white birch tops I left for them.

there's a lot they'll eat over birch in my experience. is there much sign nearby and are they browsing something else? those are questions i guess i'd be getting answers too.

[dbHunterNY]

if i could give input to hinge cutting it'd be know what and why you're cutting it. don't worry about overhead canopy, as it'll just collapse and the deer won't use it as intended. last don't think you need a chainsaw.  you can do a ton of hinge cutting needs with a good cutting hand saw.

i know where this original post came from. honestly i'd cut flat not angled. to flat surfaces together is more stable and predictable. also you're cutting a lot less.

[corydd7]

8 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

there's a lot they'll eat over birch in my experience. is there much sign nearby and are they browsing something else? those are questions i guess i'd be getting answers too.

Deer haven't touched birch near me either. Maples are ate down, I have some cool video but can't post it. I took my first shot at hinge cutting trees and had success on about 10 of 13 trees. 

[stubborn1VT]

12 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

there's a lot they'll eat over birch in my experience. is there much sign nearby and are they browsing something else? those are questions i guess i'd be getting answers too.

In my experience they like birch just fine.  They also aren't browsing soft maple.  They are spending time in a deer yard across the road.  Low deer density, and very little snow cover.  I think there is just lots of food then can get to since we haven't had deep snow.

[dbHunterNY]

15 hours ago, corydd7 said:

Deer haven't touched birch near me either. Maples are ate down, I have some cool video but can't post it. I took my first shot at hinge cutting trees and had success on about 10 of 13 trees. 

the more you can force the tree down the better. usually means you're leaving enough of the outer vascular system to keep the tree alive longer, so long as the things isn't tipping over into darkness. i usually hinge spots with lots of young growth that's close together. they're not growing straight or won't in the future. to do so i'll just cut a couple out right to make room to hinge the other trees over.  trees don't grow fast so know why you're cutting one.

[LET EM GROW]

I stopped into my camp while predator hunting a few weeks ago. I feel the deer have "adequate" winter foods in my area with all the recent logging, clear cuts, food plots, and hay fields that were never 2nd cut and the cut ones.. On my stroll I found a lot of browse on White pine, and spruce trees. as well as their downed branches. I piled up some white pine i cut back in September, they ate nearly all the small branches off 

When i can fnid some time i plan on going in and tipping over a bunch of poplar and hinging some maple to open up the canopy and rejuvenate the forest floor some. As well as releasing some apple trees and blue berry, and elderberry  bushes.