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Yearling Doe Percentage
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The yearling doe percentage is estimated from aging data of harvested does and is used as an input into the formula for annual deer herd abundance estimation. Here, yearlings are defined as 1.5 year old deer.
For additional Information….
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The yearling doe percentage is an input into the formula that is used to estimate the deer population size by deer management unit (DMU). In the formula, the yearling doe percent is used along with the yearling buck percent to estimate the adult sex ratio and estimate the number of does in the pre-hunt population. Yearling doe percent is closely aligned with productivity and higher yearling doe percents indicate more adult deer being added to the population.
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Collection and analysis methods
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Aging data of the harvested antlered deer is needed to estimate yearling doe percent. With the move to electronic registration, aging of harvested deer is primarily accomplished by DNR staff in cooperation with deer processors receiving harvested deer from hunters. At the deer processors, deer are aged based on teeth wear and replacement patterns and it is straightforward to age yearlings (1.5 years old) from older adults (>2.5 years old). In addition, aging data are collected from deer submitted for chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling. Yearling doe percentage is a calculation of the number of yearling does (1.5 years old) divided by the total number of adult does (>= 1.5 years old).
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The 3-year average shows the trend in yearling doe percent. Yearling doe percentage is primarily used as an input into the formula for estimation of herd size at the DMU level.
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Limitations and precautions
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The number of does aged is variable across DMUs and it is difficult to get very large sample sizes in some areas and especially when there are zero antlerless quotas.
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Continued work is needed to maintain and increase aging samples of harvested deer now that electronic registration is in place.
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Additional background materials related to this metric
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The white-tailed deer population status report is available for viewing on the Wisconsin DNR website dnr.wi.gov keyword “wildlife reports” and there is reference to the use of the yearling doe percentage in the deer population estimates.
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