Born and raised?

I have had 2 of them.

I have had 1 so far. AXE 201@3 6X6 Mainframe. With more to come!



24:AXE.



25SC03175 - Copy1.

our doe herd is usually around 25, started with 4 does nine years ago, had our first three this year 224,218,201 and 196@2..... and 185@1 it just creates more excitement every year

From our foundation starter herd brought us PJ. 202"@3 Not a big background but is a producer. If he has a big name pedigree his semen would be sold out. Isn't that a shame.

We have 62 deer now. We were lucky enough to have a good breeder born on our farm (Deuce 222") the first year we had fawns (2001). His father only scored 148@3. Last year we had four Deuce sons score 205@4, 218@3, 236@3 and 254@2. They can be seen in my album.

We have usually between 15-25 deer total and have had 4-8 does fawning in the spring. In the last four years we have had Spider ,210 @6....Spiderman , 205 est. at two (187 inches on sheds no inside spread) 224 @ 3 , 227 @ 4 ( he was darted three times during antler growth for leg infection ...Trudeaux , 216 at three . We also had a 196 ,@ 4 .....and a 192 @ 3 . Three at over 200 and two knocking at the door with just a few deer. We have had a few years that our buck fawn crop is very few ...three years ago 14 fawns and only 2 were bucks. The next year 2 males from fewer does and last year 2 and loosing one of them. Never more than 5 or 6 males fawns in any year. I feel very foutunate and proud of what we have raised with what we have to work from. I don't have the room or money to have more deer and have kept the same lines for years so I could watch production and effects of breeding the same group of does to different bucks while keeping these two or three bucks so that I still have them when I see a good result and can follow through with that direction. A lot of people have so many deer go through their hands and sell button bucks and watch someone else raise the best deer "they " ever raised. Tim Majors bought 10 bred does from Curt Waldvogel around 99 -2000 and Spider was one of the buck fawns born so I know that the backround of my deer have a good footing and mixing him with daughtes from Harry Yoder's Briar Patch buck and some other blood , I have this result that per capita might rival many bigger and more highly invested breeders . I have no idea what ratio people are getting from their deer as far as numbers born and scores but it would be interesting to hear. Jim

Here's a thought: Take the number of head you have just before fawning and divide that by the # of 200 inchers that just shed (or got sold last fall) and that number gives an indication of the success of your farm. I use the term success loosely because there is no linear translation to profits and much of this "success" is the hit or miss nature of fawning and genetic slot machines.

This number represents the number of head you have to maintain to achieve one 200 incher.



My number is (as my math teacher would say) an empty set!



Hey Russell I miss the laughing icon we had on the old forum. Any chances???

Rusty here goes,



1 out of 4 three year olds in 2008, went over 200 inches.



2 out of 6 yearlings in 2008 were over 100 inches.

We had 1 @ 3 yrs old and then sold him. Hopefully more to come this year.

We had 1, but hopefully have more this year.

Gaylen, I guess what I was meaning was to use total head count (bucks and does). What I was trying to establish is what could someone's expectations could be for herd size before they should start to expect a 200" buck. I KNOW I KNOW before I get blown out of the water I understand a whole lot more variables like genetics, diet, genetics, preventative care, and genetics.



Maybe not very reflective of farm success b/c right amount of money can start you herd with a Maxbo son and Martygraw doe and Tada! Who couldn't succeed with those genes?



Anywho.. I still like seeing the herd size versus 200 inchers as originally inquired. Keep 'em coming!



Russell, I'm still looking for a laughing icon. Is there anything available to put in the smiles box on the right?

Rusty- I think you may be on to something. Percentages tell much more of a complete history than overall numbers. For example- if a deerfarmer has (5) 200 inch three year olds from a crop of 15 buck fawns that is much more impressive that another deerfarmer with (10) 200 three year olds from a crop of 100 buck fawns. Percentages are used extensviely in the thoroughbred racehorse industury to level the playing field and to actually sort out the top performing breeders. With this said- good luck getting some of the deerfarmers to willing offer this info. If you really want to evaluate a deerfarmers herd in terms of their ability to produce top grade shooters then focus on only the live bred does not the AI'd does, this will give you a much more accurate picture of their quality. I have found a couple of farms that consistently produce 200 inch 3 year old bucks with low numbers and using live breediing, these are the farms that I have purchased does from. If you are interested in what I have found then email me and I will share with you the farms that I have discovered producing top grade bucksform limited breeding opportunities.

Last year I had 32 head. From fawns on up.

This is my first time posting, but want to bring encouragement to all the small farms.I started with 5 good but (average) does 2 1/2 years ago and had 4 buck fawns one is King James 180@ 1 and Homer 151@1. They were my first AI and born on my farm ,but not at the 200" mark , we can only wait and see what 2009 brings. Paul

We had 19, 2 to 4 year old bucks last year plus Dandy who was 6. Seven of those bucks were over 200" and 3 of those were over 270". All except Dandy (we bought his mother as a bred doe) were out of natural breeding from our own genetics. No AI's! By the way, 7 of those 19 were 2 year olds.

I started with 1 breeder buck and 7 does in 2004 and now have 50. This year i produced my first 200 inch 2yr old using my original stock. I had several more 2yr olds real close to 200 but not yet. I desided last fall to AI for first time to get some new blood in my deer. Buy the way may have had more 200 ichers but sold them as shooters at 2 to pay for feed bill.