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Home range size for white-tailed deer can be from 60 to800 acres or more.

Quail need vegetation less than6 inches tall for roosting.

Turkeys prefer to nest in rangelandin high conditions.

Many wildlife enterprises today areinterested in managing for morethan one species. However, when

managing for more than one species, no onespecies can be maximized because somehabitat needs cannot be provided simultane-ously. To be successful in multi-species man-agement, land holders must understand thehabitat needs of all desired species and plancarefully. With proper management, white-tailed deer, bobwhite quail, and Rio Grandeturkeys can be integrated into one wildlifeenterprise.

White-tailed deer Habitat

Good white-tailed deer habitats containthree key elements:

Water;Nutritious forage in the form of browse(tender shoots, twigs and leaves oftrees), forbs (herbs other than grass),and mast (hard fruits such as acornsand mesquite pods); andCover.

Deer select their home ranges to includeall of these key elements. Home range sizefor a single deer may be as small as 60 acresor as large as 800 acres or more. Does typi-cally have smaller home ranges than bucks.

Integrating deer, quail and turkey habitatRobert K. Lyons and Tim F. Ginnett*

*Assistant Professor and Extension RangeSpecialist; Assistant Professor, Wildlife Sciences,Texas A&M University System.

WaterOf all the nutrients important to

deer, the most critical is water. Deerobtain water from three majorsources: vegetation, metabolism andsurface water. Vegetation may containas little as 10 percent or as much as75 percent water, depending on thekind of plant, temperature, time ofyear, and amount of recent rainfall.The metabolism or breakdown of car-bohydrates, fats and proteins insidethe animal also releases water. How-ever, deer rarely can meet their waterneeds solely from vegetation andmetabolism.

A good deer habitat contains acces-sible, well-distributed, reliablesources of surface water. The amounta deer needs each day depends on theoutside temperature, the animal’sphysical condition, and the amount ofwater it gets from vegetation andmetabolism. For example, lactatingdoes can require more water thanbucks or non-lactating does.

ForageThe diet of white-tailed deer in

Texas is varied and changes with theseasons (Figure 1). They prefer forbsand mast, which are highly seasonaland can vary greatly from one year to

the next, depending on precipitation.Throughout the year, however, thenutritious shoots and leaves of woodybrowse plants constitute the stapleportion of the diet.

Good deer habitat provides plentyof all three preferred food types,forbs, mast and browse. Becauseforbs produce better in open areas, thehabitat should contain a mosaic ofbrushy and open areas, with between40 and 60 percent in clearings.

CoverDeer need cover where they can

hide and escape from predators, andwhere they can be protected from theelements. Fortunately, the samebrowse species that provide deer witha stable food supply can also serve ashiding cover, particularly if there aredense mottes (scattered clumps oftrees or shrubs) or thickets. Largertrees such as mesquite or oak can pro-vide needed shade during hot weather.

Hiding cover is especially impor-tant during fawning season, whendoes leave their fawns hidden whilethey go off to forage for themselves.Water sources and clearings alsoshould have high-quality cover near-by. Good cover is essential alongdrainages and creeks, where deer trav-el heavily.

ManagementguidelinesWoody cover

To encourage forb production, tryto maintain at least 40 but no morethan 60 percent of your land in clear-ings. The best way to create clearingsfor wildlife is roller chopping.Although shrubs grow back faster

after roller choppingthan other methods, thisis really an advantagebecause shrub regrowthoffers better nutrition tothe animal and provideshiding places for fawnsand nesting sites forbirds.

Rootplowing is muchless desirable because itlowers the diversity ofshrub regrowth. If rollerchopping is not anoption, disking is proba-bly the next best choicebecause it encouragesthe regrowth of morekinds of shrubs.

Whichever method you choose, it’sbest to leave irregularly shaped open-ings no more than 200 yards wide atany point, as deer dislike venturingtoo far into open areas. Deer preferopenings of about 25 acres in totalarea. Leave brush intact in drainagesand for at least 75 yards on both sidesbecause these are often the mostimportant travelways for deer.

GrazingCattle grazing generally benefits

white-tailed deer because it createsopen spaces for forb production.However, there is potential for com-petition for these forbs. On a yearlybasis, cattle consume about 12 percentforbs in their diet, compared to 36percent for white-tailed deer. Inspring, cattle forb consumption mayincrease to 25 percent, compared to52 percent for white-tailed deer.

These percentages may not seem toindicate potential competition.However, this comparison takes on anew light if actual quantities are com-pared. In spring, a 1,150-pound coweating 2.5 percent of her body weightin forage consumes about 29 poundsof dry forage a day. If 25 percent ofthat forage is forbs, she would eatabout 7 pounds of forbs.

In comparison, a 100-pound deerconsuming forage at 3.5 percent ofher body weight eats about 3.5pounds of dry forage, of which about2 pounds would be forbs. If the cattleand deer in this example were eatingthe same forbs, the deer would be at adistinct disadvantage. To reduce thispotential competition, implement agrazing system that provides springrest to all pastures over a period ofseveral years or save 5 percent asreserve pastures.

WaterWater should be well-distributed

throughout the habitat. Under inten-sive grazing, fence off separate water-ers for deer and other wildlife tomaintain adequate cover around thewater source. Deer prefer to drinkfrom ground-level sources rather thanraised troughs. Small earthen ponds orshallow, concave concrete padsreplenished by a drip or float systemcan provide a water source easilyaccessible by all wildlife species.

FeedingSupplemental feeding, provided in

the form of corn or pelleted feeds, is apopular management activity inTexas. There is a potential problem ifyour goal is to encourage bobwhitesand turkeys also. Open-choice deerfeeders attract raccoons and otherpotential predators of ground-nestingbirds. There is evidence that placingfeeders in nesting habitats canincrease the rate of predation on quailand turkey nests because of the

Hiding cover is especially important during fawning season.

greater number of raccoons and othernest predators.

Bobwhite quailHabitat

Like all wildlife, bobwhite quailneed a diverse habitat: many plantspecies and cover types; small blocksof cover well mixed with small blocksof different types of cover; brush andtrees of several ages; and essentialcover types near each other.

Habitat also must provide food.For quail, the habitat must supplymany seeds and insects (Figure 1).

Breeding and nesting habitat During March, April and June,

males need whistling perches, usually6 to 12 feet tall and occurring at adensity of one per one-twentieth of an

acre (47 by 47 feet; about half the sizeof a basketball court). These perchesare used to establish territory andattract mates.

Perennial grasses provide excellentnesting cover. Early-nesting hens needdormant standing grasses. This resid-ual cover is even more important indry years. Nesting clumps should beabout 8 inches tall and 12 inches indiameter, with more than 250 per acre(one per 13-by-13-foot area; about thesize of an average bedroom).

Chicks need cover that allowsthem freedom to move at ground leveland provides overhead concealment.Ideal sources of this cover are single-stem forbs with bushy canopies, forexample, broomweed, ragweed, andcroton. This kind of cover is a havenfor insects, an important part of the

chick’s diet. Chick cover should belocated near midday loafing areas.

General habitat Essential to quail are loafing areas

that provide safe, comfortable restingsites between morning and eveningfeeding periods. Although they canuse taller grasses and forbs, quail pre-fer woody plants because they pro-vide cover all year. A good loafingarea has:

■ A dense, thorny brush canopyabout 1 foot or more above theground and with about a 6-to 7-foot diameter;

■ Ground bare or sparsely cov-ered with vegetation; and

■ Low-growing herbaceous plantsoutside to provide a view in alldirections.

Figure 1. Average seasonal diet composition by percent grass, browse, forbs (wildflowers, weeds, etc.), insects, and miscellaneous material for white-tailed deer (Edwards Plateauand South Texas), bobwhite quail (South Texas), and Rio Grande turkey on rangeland (adapted from Vallentine 1990, Lehmann 1984, Barnes et al., 1991).

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Wildlife Diets by SeasonWhite-tailed

DeerBobwhite

QuailRio Grande

Turkey

Warm- and cool-season cover dif-fer. In fall and winter, almost anybrush clump will do. But in summer,quail need tall brush species withdense canopies to help them staycooler.

For travel and feeding, bobwhitescan use tall and short grasses andforbs, and low brush and bare ground.This part of the habitat should besprinkled over the landscape.

Escape cover can be provided byeither moderately dense brush ortaller herbaceous plants. Frequentpatches of bare ground are neededthroughout the habitat, a concern inareas with more than 30 inches ofannual rainfall because of potentialgrass production. Bare ground makesit easier for quail to move and findseed. To avoid predators, quail needvegetation less than 6 inches tall forroosting.

Managementguidelines Woody cover

The amount of woody cover thatquail need depends on location. Moreis needed in areas with frequent dis-turbances, flat topography, heavygrazing, low food supplies, sparseherbaceous vegetation or brush withlow-quality cover. Coveys need to benever more than 50 to 75 yards frombrush, requiring a minimum brushcover of about 15 percent with well-dispersed plants (Table 1). Twenty-five percent brush is acceptable if it isnot too tall (mostly 2 to 3 feet).

Also important are brush patterns.Typical patterns include strips, blocksand brush mottes. Block treatmentpatterns, where large blocks of landare cleared, eliminating cover over awide area, can be the most detrimen-tal to quail habitat.

For quail habitats, choose brushtreatment methods carefully. Top-removal methods are best for main-taining the proper age of brush. Plant-removal methods are also effective.Even rootplowing is acceptable ifused cautiously.

Herbicides can be used with cau-tion. Do not use non-selective, broad-cast herbicide treatments: They candecrease loafing cover when fewbrush species are present. However,herbicides applied as individual planttreatments offer great selectivity andflexibility for brush management.

Herbicides affect forbs in differentways. Forbs may:

■ Decrease temporarily becauseof herbicide kill;

■ Decrease from increased grassproduction; or

■ Increase because competitivebrush has been removed.

Prescribed burning can also beused to manage quail habitat, butagain, with caution. Use the coolestfire consistent with brush manage-ment goals to reduce harm to quail.

Grazing Bobwhite quail need a mixture of

range conditions (poor to excellent)that provide food, cover, or both(Table 2). The right range conditionfor quail depends on location. In areaswith deep soils, a long growing sea-son and high annual rainfall (morethan 30 inches), range conditionshould be fair to good. However, forareas with poor soils, low and vari-able rainfall, and short growing sea-sons, it is better for range condition tobe good to excellent. Grazing can beused to manage these condition class-es for proper quail habitat.

If grazing is continuous, gauge itto rainfall. With less than 20 inches ofannual rainfall, grazing should belight. Grazing can be heavier in areaswith more than 40 inches of rainfall.You can use grazing systems toimprove range condition. However,the uniform grazing promoted bysome systems is undesirable for quailhabitat.

Rainfall and amount of brush alsointeract with grazing. Grazing must belight in areas with only 15 percentbrush, because herbaceous plants

For quail, the habitat must supply many seeds andinsects.

Table 1. Quail habitat structure guidelines and management suggestions(adapted from Guthrey 1986).

Structural component Amount Management practices

Bare ground 30 - 60%

Too little <25% Disk, burn, increase grazing pressure

Too much >70% Reduce grazing pressure, remove soil disturbance, seed cover plants

Brush cover 15 - 25%

Too little <15% Plant shrubs, build brush shelters, manage for shrub seedlings, let brush re-establish

Too much >25% Reduce with herbicides, fire, or mechanical methods

Brush height 1 - 5 feet tall

Too tall >5 feet Reduce height with top removal or burning; maintain 5-15% pasture in mottes or strips of older brush

Grass clumps 1 - 3 %suitable for nests cover of

pasture

Too little <1% Reduce grazing pressure, adopt grazing system, plant native or introduced grasses, half-cut brush

Too much >3% Increase grazing pressure, burn, disc

must provide more of the travel andescape cover. Heavier grazing isacceptable in areas with a diversity ofbrush species and height classes. Forareas with less than 30 inches of rain-fall, stocking rates must be light;above 30 inches, rates can be moder-ate.

Rio Grande turkey Habitat

Turkeys may be one of the bestillustrations of the idea that wildlifeneed variety in their habitat. Theseanimals need different kinds of habitatfor breeding and nesting; for brood-rearing; and in fall and winter. Theneed for habitat variety is illustratedin the turkey’s diet, which varies con-siderably by season. (Figure 1).

Distribution of turkeys in Texas iscontrolled mostly by precipitation (15to 35 inches) necessary for roost treegrowth. Two key factors in turkeyhabitat are trees and grass. Turkeyshave an annual home range of 370 to1,360 acres and often use the samewinter roost sites every year.

Breeding and nesting habitat Open areas are typically used for

mating; in about 80 percent of obser-vations, hen and gobbler matingoccurred in herbaceous vegetation 4to 8 inches tall. During nesting,turkeys need screening cover nearby,usually about 3 feet tall. Suitablehabitat can be found in small open-ings in woods, along wooded roads,and edges between grass and woods.

Annual production of South Texasturkeys fluctuates dramatically, appar-ently according to rainfall. Rain inAugust and September appears essen-tial to establish soil moisture andspring plant growth for food and nest-concealing cover. Poult survivalappears unaffected by low rainfall, butnest predation is higher in dry years.

Brood-rearing habitat During the first eight weeks after

hatch, three essential habitat elementsmust be available within a small area:

■ Plenty of insects for poults toeat;

■ Cover allowing turkeys to for-age frequently during the day;and

■ Cover to hide poults but allowhens to spot predators.

The weekly home range duringbrood-rearing is usually less than 75acres; the total summer home range isabout 250 acres. Key ingredients inthis kind of habitat are herbaceousand woody vegetation. Herbaceousvegetation should be 12 to 24 inchestall, or an average of 20. Poultsappear to forage most efficiently withgrass standing crops of 530 to 2,700pounds per acre. Trees are importantto poults for shade, escape cover, andshelter from rain. Poults begin roost-ing at 2 weeks old on limbs 6 to 9 feetabove ground. At 4 weeks, they arestrong fliers and go to taller trees.

Fall and winter habitat The key elements needed in fall

and winter are food and roostingcover. Roost trees tend to be thetallest trees available regardless ofspecies. The most common roost treesare live oak, hackberry, pecan, cedarelm, cottonwood and willow. Thereappears to be no preference for live ordead trees. Roost trees average about40 feet tall with a range of 8 to 50feet. They have large spreadingcrowns with spreading, horizontalbranches 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

Managementguidelines Woody cover

Turkeys use at least 30 woodyspecies for mast and 21 for roosting.Wide-crown, high-canopy species areused for loafing and shade. Shrubs,half-shrubs, and some trees are usedfor nesting cover. Woody plants alsoprovide escape cover.

Large cleared blocks are poor habi-tat. Conversely, turkeys do not thrivein dense, brushy areas or extensiveclosed-canopy forests. The upper limitof brush cover appears to be about 50percent.

Guidelines for woody cover man-agement include:

■ Do not remove mast-producingfood plants.

■ Do not remove known roosttrees.

■ Do not rootplow.

■ Do not leave openings largerthan half a mile across.

■ Leave scattered trees and smallstands on about half the treatedarea and blocks of brush withscattered openings on theremainder.

Grazing Improper grazing can affect

turkeys in many ways: Eggs can betrampled; nests can be abandoned;nest predation can be increased;turkeys may choose poor nest sites;the nest microclimate may be altered;less food may be available; and move-ment patterns may be changed.Trampling is not a practical concernunless stock density is less than 1 acreper animal unit (1,000-pound cowwith her calf for a production year).Nest predation results from lack ofcover. Hens usually choose ungrazedor lightly grazed areas for nesting.However, herbaceous cover canbecome too dense or tall for nesting.

Allowing some grazing appears tobe better than having none at all. Ithas been suggested that landownersprovide exclosures grazed every 4 to5 years in dry areas and every 2 to 3years in wetter areas. Suggested sizeof these grazing exclosures is from100 to 500 acres for every 3,000 to5,000 acres of rangeland. Other sug-gestions:

■ Restrict grazing in the exclo-sures to July and August. Usemoderate grazing intensity onthe remaining areas.

■ Leave vegetation 18 to 24 inch-es tall with adequate inter-spaces.

■ Roadside or railroad rights-of-way can substitute for someexclosures.

Table 2. Various range condition classes and their value for quail habitat illustrate the need for a mixture of condition classes (adapted from Guthrey 1986).

Condition class Nesting cover value Food valueExcellent Excellent Poor

Good Good Fair

Fair Fair Good

Poor Poor Excellent

� Protect low, thorny brush fornest cover.

� Adjust grazing intensity to localand individual range situations.Lighter grazing or no grazingmay be needed in drier areas orwhere range condition class isfair or poor.

WaterWater development guidelines for

turkeys include:� Provide ground-level ponds or

catchments.� Fence small, ground-level

waterings to exclude livestock.� Maintain water in deferred

pastures with rotationalgrazing.

� For short-duration grazing,maintain fenced waters atleast 0.25 miles from mainlivestock water.

� If ground-level water isused for livestock, fencepart to maintain groundcover.

� In arid areas, use waterssuitable for ground-nestingbirds, for example, gallina-ceous guzzlers.

Common habitat characteristics

White-tailed deer need more brushthan quail because their food supplycenters on it. Grazing managementgenerally should be less intense thanfor quail. Management for quail canbe expected to have a neutral to posi-tive effect on white-tailed deer.

It may be more difficult to managefor both quail and turkeys becausetheir habitat needs differ. Turkeysneed about the same amount of brushas deer, but brush management is agreater concern for turkeys becauseroosts must be preserved. Turkeys

need clearings near roosts to be ableto take flight. Brushy travel lanesshould be maintained into roosts.These lanes should be 30 to 60 yardswide and enter roosts from two direc-tions.

Turkeys do best with more maturestands of brush, whereas quail preferbrush less than 5 years old. Turkeysprefer to nest in rangeland in highcondition. Turkey hens need clumpsof residual grass about 2 feet in diam-eter and 1.5 feet tall; quail need 8x12-inch clumps. Nesting turkeys appearto seek ungrazed pastures or those ina grazing system.

Most management for quail favorsturkeys. However, disking and burn-ing should be used with caution.Although foods stimulated by thesepractices are not of great importanceto turkeys, the habitat structure creat-ed could be beneficial. If done onsmall, scattered plots, these practicescould increase diversity, benefittingturkeys.

Management for deer, quail, andturkeys requires careful planning. Tobe successful, this management mustmeet the minimum needs for eachspecies. This approach means about40 to 60 percent brush cover for deerand turkeys. The grazing programshould encourage taller grasses forturkeys, minimize competition

between deer and cattle, and providehabitat essential to deer and quail.Disking edges between standing brushand cleared areas will benefit all threespecies.

For more informationSome information in this publica-

tion is taken from these sources: Barnes, T.G., R.K. Heitschmidt, and

C.A. Taylor. 1991. Wildlife, pp179-190. In: R.K. Heitschmidt andJ.W. Stuth (eds.). GrazingManagement: An ecologicalPerspective. Timber Press.Portland, OR.

Beasom, S. L. and D. Wilson.1992. Rio Grande turkey, pp306-330. In: Dickson, J.G. (ed.).The Wild Turkey: Biology andManagement. Stackpole Books.Mechanicsburg, PA.Halls, L,K. (ed.). 1984. White-tailed Deer: Ecology andManagement. Stackpole Books.Harrisburg, PA.Guthrey, F.S. 1986. Beef, Brush,and Bobwhites: Quail Manage-ment in Cattle Country. CaesarKleberg Wildlife ResearchInstitute. Kingsville, TX.

Lehmann, V.W. 1984. Bobwhites inthe Rio Grande Plain of Texas.Texas A&M University Press,College Station.

Payne, N.F. and F.C. Bryant. 1994.Techniques for Wildlife HabitatManagement of Uplands.McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, NY.

Porter, W.F. 1992. Habitat require-ments, pp 202-213.In: Dickson,J.G. (ed.). 1992. The Wild Turkey:Biology and Management.Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg,PA.

Vallentine, J.F. 1990. GrazingManagement. Academic Press,Inc., San Diego, CA.