January:

• Provide adequate shelter for all animals

February:

• Feed requirements for deer are reduced in winter as their metabolism slows down
• Bucks begin shedding antlers or buttons

March:

• Feed grain supplement mix
• Feed hay free choice
• Provide clean water at all times
• Take manure samples
• Deworm deer
• Start pasture control measures and check all fences

April:

• Continue fence control
• Deer begin to graze new green growth pasture

May:

• Make sure fences are fawn proof
• Buck roundup after all antlers or buttons have been dropped and before fawning starts
• Beginning of fawning season, do not disturb more than necessary
• Patrol fences for signs of coyotes and other predators

June:

• Fawning continues
• Bucks begin growing new antlers
• Yearling venison bucks need good pasture and supplements
• Provide good water, any necessary minerals
• Harvest hay early are possible for highest nutritional content

July:

• Deworm yearling venison bucks
• Bucks are still in velvet
• Good pasture is necessary to guarantee growth of fawns
• Bucks begin to gain weight, preparing for rut
• Harvest velvet

August:

• Start creep-feeding fawns in pasture with grain
• Bucks have developed antlers and will rub off velvet
• Fawns are growing fast, and need lots of good forage
• Bucks are getting heavy and fat, necks swelling
• Bucks may begin to get aggressive
• Begin your marketing strategy for October

October:

• Busiest month of the year
• Harvest first group of yearling venison bucks
• Prepare and begin roundup
• Count and wean fawns, process the later, keep in dry corral with shelter
• Process does, check for udders, make sure condition is good to ensure early conception
• Vaccinate and deworm does
• Take blood samples of all groups of deer, check for selenium
• Rut season begins, does will stimulate bucks
• Does go into breeding pastures after roundup
• Bucks go into separate breeding pastures
• Yearling goes in separate breeding pasture with older bucks
• Watch out for aggressive bucks, do not allow children into breeding pasture
• never go into breeding pasture alone or on foot, best to use vehicle
• Do not disturb mating more than necessary

November:

• Process the weaned fawns
• Count, weigh, vaccinate, eartag, tattoo and separate by sex
• Feed hay to fawns free choice and water
• Start fawns slowly on grain again and raise slowly to one pound per day
• Harvest of yearly venison bucks continues
• Segregate late fawns and runts

December:

• Harvest remaining yearling venison bucks
• Begin to separate bucks and does
• Bucks go into their own pasture
• Feed requirements of bucks increases to regain condition after rut
• Breeding does go into winter pasture
• Continue priority feeding of fawns