How much clover?

[loneranger]

I have about an acre of mixed clovers on my property in SE IA. It has been a great season for clover! I left it 3 wks and it was knee high. I whipped it all back, to encourage new growth. My question,,Can you estimate the number of deer in your area by how they consume the clover.? I know they have alot of things to eat this time of yr. I just thot the deer would keep it chewed down a little more.? Does this mean I have few deer around?

 

[nannyslayer]

That doesn't mean that there may not be many deer using it. Clover is bred to take grazing and clipping, so you won't see a great deal of damage until it isn't growing at its fullest potential. Like you said, deer a alot of food right now, but they probably stop by and get a few mouth fulls everyday, on their way to the beans, corn, alfalfa, grass, or whatever else is around there for them to browse on.

 

[Anderson]

Even with my high deer densities, my clover can stay ahead of the grazing. There is just too many things for them to eat. Even so there are deer and turkeys in my clover all the time. You may be surprised come Sept how fast they will graze the clover.

 

[dbltree]

Pretty tough to keep even a mediocre clover plot grazed down but if you are curious, try some exclusion cages to see how much they are grazing it.

You may find that use is different at other times of the year also. A trail camera can also yield clues to usage.

Here's a couple examples of cages...

 

[goatman]

dbltree what did you think of the lab lab when you had it?

 

[dbltree]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: goatman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">dbltree what did you think of the lab lab when you had it? </div></div>

I have never tried it, those pics are "borrowed". Lab lab seems more popular in areas south and east.