counting deer

Roe dan

Well-Known Member
After seeing the thread roe counting, i was wondering if any one knows the true way to count the deer on your ground? we can all see slots and droppings but one deer can make a lot of poop.
there must be a way of calculating it?
 
There is also an interesting article about using DNA sampling from dung to count specific deer in the latest issue of the British Deer Society journal if you can get hold of a copy
 
adjman can you tell me how much it might cost to DNA deer fewmits on my ground i am really interested i have 350 acres and i feel i have about 50 deer how dose it work.
 
adjman can you tell me how much it might cost to DNA deer fewmits on my ground i am really interested i have 350 acres and i feel i have about 50 deer how dose it work.

It's currently a "proof of concept" but has been scientifically proven to work. The majority of the work has been done in the states with whitetail deer I believe it was. They are looking at ways to make it cheaper and easier to do so that it can be used as a more accurate method of counting the deer on areas of ground. It'll be a while before it is commonly used but the BDS published the article looking at this as being a good way forward, considering the known difficulties in accurately counting deer at the moment.
 
Stag i don't need it for the dogs i know them personally and there owners poachers and dog walkers alike.
I would suggest Bunny Dan you stick to proven methods .Normally in quiet areas i run a lamp over the place a few times taking out a few foxes in the process . Keep a count going every time you get out mark down in the diary its not long before you not only roughly how many but start to get to know individuals
 
counting

There is an "easy" way of estimating deer density in woodland but many factors are in involved in other habitats.


As defined by (Mayel, 1999) DCS in 2008 with the Best practice guide the equation is simply

N (est number of deer) = (number of pellet groups per m2 x 1000,000) divided by
................................. ----------------------------------------
..............................(number of days between visits * defecation rate)

Can it be applied in anything other than a woodland habitat? maybe however accuracy will be poor unless the following conditions are observed:

Decay rate is calculated for .A) habitat type and .B) time of year (decay rate is important to know as if you dont know it you may visit your survey site and find that some of the dung has decayed before you estimate the population. If this happens then population estimates will be less than accurate)

Daily defecation rate (may vary depending on species, available food source, microbiota present, soil type etc etc needs to be factored into your model).

And ultimatley training in surveying technique. if you define a pellet group as 6 o >6 and have no value as to the mass of faeces an individual produces in a single defication event, then it is very possible that you will count a single defication or pellet group as more than 1 which will really skew your estimation ..

For example a Roe deer is likely to produce less volume of fecal matter than a Red deer due to the size difference between these species.


Current estimates recommend counting only groups with 6 pellets or more (DCS,2008) as a "pellet group". If pellet groups are separated by distance (animal is defecating while moving) then it is possible that several pellet groups are left in the survey area by a single animal during a single defecation event. If a pellet group from a single defecation event is distributed over a distance it is likely that each part of this pellet group will be counted as having been produced by either a different individual or at a different time which will lead to inaccuracies in the final calculation of population estimation (a higher number of individuals in an area).

other than the above, there is open range counting, infra red surveying or just observation ... they are all simple methods realy.

Skipp
 
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If you feed the same area on a regular basis , they will become accustomed to the sound of your truck & the sight of you. When the weather is cold 7C & below, they will even follow you in the snow tracks to eat !! Count them then ;) I feed the sheep in a harsh winter more regular, the wild life comes out following the sheep. sheep, ducks, pheasant, deer & anything else, if you sit back
 
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