How to Raise Deer in Texas for Profit
Ranching is a business that has thrived in Texas for generations. Unfortunately, many ranchers in Texas have found that cattle alone are not enough to pay the bills. Cattle are expensive to raise, even when they graze. Instead of focusing solely on cattle, many Texas ranchers have turned to raising deer for profit instead. They put up high fences that deer cannot jump over, breed the deer and then charge people to hunt them.
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Instructions
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Obtain a Texas deer breeding permit. This is available through the Texas state website, under the Parks and Wildlife section. Fill out the application form and send it to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department address located at the bottom of the application form. The permit costs $400 to process, so send the check made out the the Parks and Wildlife Department with the application form.
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Obtain a Texas deer transfer permit. This is required for obtaining and transporting deer in Texas to a deer farm. These are also available on the Texas state website under the Parks and Wildlife section.
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Set up a large enclosure with high fences. Make the fences at least 8 feet tall to prevent the deer from escaping. The ranch enclosure needs large, wooded spaces available for the deer.
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Provide feeding stations. The stations should provide food for the deer. Provide foods that are not available in the enclosure, but which deer need to eat. Browse is the most common deer food; it consists of leaves, twigs and fruit from trees and brush. Most enclosures will naturally have brush available in the form of woody areas. Forbs are another part of deer diet, consisting of broad leaf "weeds." These are not always available in the enclosure and could be added to stations. Prickly pear cactus is another good food for deer and should be planted around the enclosure and near feeding stations. Plant grasses or place grasses in feeding stations. Avoid grains, hay or similar foods for deer, which primarily obtain necessary foods from browsing. Texas typically has enough browse for the deer, but years with drought or similar conditions require supplementing the diet.
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Breed the deer. Deer typically breed during the month of November, though exact dates can vary slightly depending on the year and the conditions available. A diet high in phosphorus, which includes grass and forbs, will increase breeding success and health.
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Sell deer to other farmers. Once a ranch has bred several deer and has grown in population, selling some of the deer to other deer farmers will add profit to the ranch while lowering the number of deer to a manageable level. Don't count on selling the deer out of Texas. Texas does not allow the transport of deer from other states into Texas to prevent the spread of wasting disease, and many other states have similar laws and regulations.
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Allow hunting during the hunting season. Hunters will pay as much as $4,000 to hunt on a Texas deer ranch. Limitations and rules are set, such as no shooting deer at feeding stations and limiting the number of deer shot by a single hunter. Hunters should provide the appropriate Texas hunting license or permits.
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Tips & Warnings
Breeding permits must be renewed yearly. Renewal packets are sent out every year with a deadline for renewals.
Raise the deer on private property only. State parks and other public locations don't allow deer farms.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit deer image by Katrina Cooper from Fotolia.com
