found a great buck on the property today that suffered from a post-rut exhaustion death. Was just watching him run does last week, all day long...

What, if any, measurements do you guys take to give the bucks the best chance of survival in the January-March window when they are down in body weight and recovering from chasing does, and fighting injuries etc?

Shoot enough does in September and October.

We used to just make sure they had access to a good source of protein. If temps turned very cold we would put out some alfalfa hay and even some sweet feed to help them have some energy and able to produce body heat…..in addition to the supplement protein.
Mixing 20% protein and corn for the carbs at 50/50 is good in the cold and helps rebuild some of their lost body fat.

How did you determine the death was due to post-rut exhaustion and not other factors?

Not questioning your assessment; rather a genuine question.

That is a good question. Age would have a lot to do with it as well. Some older bucks on a decline just don't have the reserves to make it after a hard rut. Range conditions factor as well. Poor range with depleted browse and forbes this time of year is often adding to the problem as it may force them to eat crappy groceries.
That and like humans, sometimes they just get sick and die.

Yea good question SanAntone, and I'm not 100% certain. I just saw him doing well and running does the past couple weeks. I did notice him running one day, all day, which I thought was crazy at the time so seeing him die it's not really surprising based on that alone. We have free choice protein feed and a corn feeder running and ample water sources. Best of my knowledge, he was 5 1/2 which is mature but not old. Coyotes are under control for the most part.

I'll also add that if your WT population has a near buck/doe ratio of 1:1 the competition is greater and the bucks fight more. You will have a greater instance of broken antlers and injury the more your population dynamics approach that 1:1 ratio.

Great point. I think we're around a 1.5 bucks to 1 doe ratio

Sometimes a non dominant animal will not have access to the feed as much as the dominant animals that oftentimes "control" the feeders. They don't have the opportunity to eat as well so they get run down quicker and susceptible to disease etc. He could have been one of those in the herd.

Man that's good. You guys are doing a good job. Sometimes it's just heartbreaking to lose a good buck but sometimes it just can't be helped. I've experienced that too.

Gunny456 said:

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I'll also add that if your WT population has a near buck/doe ratio of 1:1 the competition is greater and the bucks fight more. You will have a greater instance of broken antlers and injury the more your population dynamics approach that 1:1 ratio.

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True,

But as I understand it a 1:1 is still much preferred over 1:2 or 1:4 or whatever. That's a main contributor to these late ruts and over exhaustion.

barnag said:

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Great point. I think we're around a 1.5 bucks to 1 doe ratio

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If you are there you are doing really good.

heartbreaking for sure! Especially when we do everything we know to do and can to try to help.

Yes 1:1 buck/doe or even a slightly higher on the buck side is ideal. Sad thing is on most low fence ranches in Texas, especially central Texas and the hill country the ratio approaches 4 does to 1 buck in some counties.
Having a place that's close to 1:1 like OP, shows good management in the right direction for sure.

Yes sir. All you can do is what you are doing. It's evident it's working for you guys.

Where was this? I presume S Texas given how late the rut was (running does a week or two ago) but not sure. With how hot it had been, maybe heat exhaustion had a factor in it? Doesn't sound like a doe problem either... you sure he was 5.5 and not older?

I know our bucks drop between 20-30lbs from pre-rut to post-rut based on historical harvests. They'll absolutely run themselves into the ground chasing ladies, which is why their condition heading into rut is extremely important. Doesn't mean they won't die but sure does give them a better chance if they have sufficient fat built up for when they don't eat for a week and chase tail 20 hours a day.

We saw a buck bedded down with a doe on Lake Belton about a week ago. I have never seen rutting activity that late in Bell County. By a long shot.

I imagine normal rut for Lake Belton is probably early November, right? Perhaps this was last years yearling come in for first cycle late or maybe just 2nd/3rd rut?

Cottonseed. Cottonseed. Cottonseed.

That's right. It is usually full on opening weekend and pretty much peters out by early December or so. Some of it is probably yearlings just chasing each other. We have seen that as well. But the buck and doe we saw were older.

To contradict myself a bit, we don't have a lot of hunting in this immediate area. Some but not enough to throw off the buck/doe population. So I really don't know what the hell is going on. It was definitely a late year. Maybe times are just a changing.

The whole year has been out of whack… hoping for some normalcy in 2026

A buck/doe ratio of 1:1 or higher means there is 1 buck for every 1 doe. Higher than that like 1.5/1 means more bucks than does. At 1:1 or higher buck/doe ratios, the competition between the bucks will be much higher than a ratio of 1:2 (1buck/2does). At a 1:1 or higher buck/doe ratio the bucks will fight more and travel farther.....this also causes a much more intense and active rut. At a 1:1 buck/doe ratio or higher you will typically see more injuries, higher buck mortality and broken antlers than at a ratio of say like 1:3 (1buck/3does) or 1:4 (1buck/4does) simply because there is more ladies to go around. If you kill lots of does pre rut you will increase the competion between the bucks because there is less ladies to go around and have a more aggressive rut.

Yes a low buck/doe ratio, where you have an over abundance of does will cause inconsistent rut activity or late/multiple ruts.

Central Texas! Never seen the rut this late here. It's always first of November and maybe into Thanksgiving at the latest

Gunny456 said:

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Yes a low buck/doe ratio, where you have an over abundance of does will cause inconsistent rut activity or late/multiple ruts.

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Agreed. Happens all over the place around here.

I'm exhausted.

Had a big 8 pt in my back yard with a doe yesterday afternoon about 3. Never seen rut this late.

Could be inbred doe back into heat 30 days after the first cycle.

interesting what makes you say inbred doe?

Kerr Wildlife did some studies years back as to the possible physiological effects of fawns losing their moms from hunting early in the season. There was strong evidence that those fawns would not physically mature at the same rate as fawns that had their moms until they were yearlings or shortly after.
The YO ranch did similar studies with the same end findings. The result was late born fawns that matured later, and consequently bred later……that in turn resulted in later born fawns even more……starting a cycle that was then thought or speculated to possibly have very negative effects on the deer herd long term.
I attended a seminar back about 20 years ago at Kerr Wildlife and that research and data was a main topic discussed. Lots of discussion about the actual best times to harvest your does. Interesting theory to say the least.
Perhaps we are seeing some results that was speculated back then?

Adding to my above post…..That research I spoke of above was prompted by wildlife biologist that were managing ranches that were noticing that fawns who lost their moms from harvesting in October under MLD's did not mature or fair as well physiologically as their counterparts that had their moms till they were at least yearlings or beyond.
The management practice then most taught was to harvest does as early as possible to get them off the range for the coming winter months.
The ensuing research and its results prompted lots of biologist to question killing does that early….as many hunters would harvest does unaware that the doe had fawns.

barnag said:

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interesting what makes you say inbred doe?

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Pretty sure that is a typo and he meant unbred.

haha makes a lot more sense thanks

Bit of a paradox then. If you don't shoot does early, bucks expend more energy chasing them all around, you have more does getting bred and not shot (more on that in a second) which then can lead to doe overpopulation and you get the same problem of late born does because your ratios get out of whack, or you kill enough does late which saves your numbers, but bucks are still run down.

I think the behavioral part of hunters has to be taken into account too when talking about taking doe early vs late. I see too many guys who don't shoot cause they are "waiting for a buck first", then they either get a buck, or don't, but holidays come around, etc. and they never get around to shooting those does.

That's why I like to make sure does are taken in archery season if at all possible on my leases. I also don't try to shoot the big matriarchs of the groups. I tend to stick to the 2-3 year olds. Taste better anyway. I wonder what the fawn affect would look like in cases where the matriarch doe was shot vs not. Seems like some of that fawn affect could be attributed to doe groups splitting up / changing patterns with a new lady in charge.

Either way, I think there is a risk of putting too many variables in the pot on this topic, and perfect is the enemy of good. In a vacuum, shooting does later might be better, but I'm gonna keep pushing for more doe down sooner.

Oh also, the more you shoot early, the less there are to bust you later!

Good thoughts. You are good that you have the knowledge to age does on the hoof. The average hunter does not do well at that unless it's a definitive small young doe or yearling. This is especially challenging if said hunters don't have a group of does to do comparisons. Thats why there is so many nubbin bucks killed by hunters thinking it was a doe.
I can also say that very few hunters can pick out the "matriarch", as you call it, out of a group of does and even less so if the doe is solitary feeding, which they often do.
I've worked/managed with a lot of landowners ranches, including my own, and it's been my experience that the average joe hunter really has a lot of trouble aging does on the hoof.