Doe Bedding Area

[MattDDO]

Ahhh...gotta love habitat season! Been doing some work on my small, SW Michigan property. This is a small doe bedding area (or hopefully it ends up being a doe bedding area), about 80 yards from my main food plot. This particular spot is a peninsula of higher ground that protrudes out into a large cattail marsh/creek system. More work to come after spring green up, but I'm liking the way it looks so far! Suggestions, comments, tips, thoughts...?

 

[Apple Junkie]

Looks like a beautiful mess!

 

[sandbur]

Good job on the video.

I see more emphasis on hinging and creating beds from your state.

I would plug in spruce all along the edge of that peninsula, then plug a couple of spruce in each of those tree tops in each specific bedding location.

Add a string of spruce for a travel lane to the upwind side of a good stand location.


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[Rit]

I have found for me that trying to create individual beds is a really big waste of time. If the deer don’t have adequate areas to lay down in thick cover then there is a bigger problem. Most natural beds that I find have little to no overhead cover unless it’s a bed I find after really inclement weather. When I first started trying to create bedding areas I did some of the things you mention with hinge cuts overhead and I found over time those overhead hinge cuts sag and drop down into the bed making that particular spot useless. I have found that cover down on the ground level is much more important than above.

 

[MattDDO]

I have found for me that trying to create individual beds is a really big waste of time. If the deer don’t have adequate areas to lay down in thick cover then there is a bigger problem. Most natural beds that I find have little to no overhead cover unless it’s a bed I find after really inclement weather. When I first started trying to create bedding areas I did some of the things you mention with hinge cuts overhead and I found over time those overhead hinge cuts sag and drop down into the bed making that particular spot useless. I have found that cover down on the ground level is much more important than above.

Good to know! I'll keep an eye on my area and see if some of the same things start happening. I hear mixed things about overhead cover, my thought was to try it while also providing good areas of horizontal cover, then monitor and see what the deer like best.

 

[MattDDO]

Good job on the video.

I see more emphasis on hinging and creating beds from your state.

I would plug in spruce all along the edge of that peninsula, then plug a couple of spruce in each of those tree tops in each specific bedding location.

Add a string of spruce for a travel lane to the upwind side of a good stand location.


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How do spruce do in wetter areas? This is "higher ground" but my property as a whole is normally pretty wet.

 

[Mortenson]

I think black spruce can do well in wetter ground. They supposedly grow slower than white and norway.

 

[MattDDO]

Update: The does are using the bedding area! 5 does have been in there the past few weeks and almost all of the beds we've found were in individual beds we created. I'm super excited and very happy its working! Here's an update video:

 

[blueKYstream]

I saw your video! Thanks for the update!