Captive Deer Research

Category: deer-behavior
Topic keys: captive-deer, research

Current guidance

As of 2026-06-21, the most recent claim on this subject.

On captive deer, Don Higgins draws lessons from raising his own herd: they need a much higher-fiber diet than cattle, must be wormed three consecutive days because their digestion is much faster than a cow’s, and fawns denied dirt access developed digestive problems, which he says shows fawns need dirt for gut microbes. He recalls an experiment using seven sets of twin buck fawns to test mineral supplementation’s effect on antler growth. Terry cites Dr. Bronson Strickland’s Mississippi State Deer Lab pen research as confirming that a doe’s nutrition during pregnancy shapes the fawn’s development for life. Separately, Aaron describes EHD research begun with the University of Minnesota screening compounds, using pathogen isolates from the University of Illinois Diagnostic Lab to develop probiotics.

How the guidance evolved

2020-02-03 A university trial found calves born to cows given extra mineral supplementation performed better and gained weight faster throughout life; other calves never caught up. 15:43 — Episode #14 - Don and Terry talk deer during the superbowl…
2020-09-27 Don shares that he raised captive deer and ran a small research herd on his farm for about 25 years before ending the operation. 74:29 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD
2020-09-27 A University of Georgia study by Carl Miller and Larry Marchington found that when a doe is harvested, her yearling buck fawn often stays in her home range instead of dispersing. 37:27 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD
2020-11-01 Don cited radio collar research showing hunting pressure during hunting season cannot push a mature buck out of his home range. 63:34 — Episode #35 - Don shoots his 3rd 200”+ Buck - The story of Mel - A 220” World Class Whitetail
2020-12-28 Terry recalls Dr. Strickland describing deer eating woodland brush that puzzled researchers until tissue analysis revealed a nutrient deficiency. 9:00 — Episode #44 - New Year’s Resolutions, Bedding Cover, Hunting Cold Temps, and Sharing Hunting Property with Family
2021-01-17 Don Higgins wrote the 2003 article Same Time, Same Place, detailing how mature bucks return to the same range area at the same time each year. 41:23 — Episode #47 - Hunting Ethics, Annual Cycle Of Whitetail, Should we leave Social Media?
2021-02-01 Don’s early captive deer had scours (diarrhea) for their first two years because he fed them feed that was too rich in protein before he understood whitetail nutrition. 37:06 — #49 - Nutrition: Proteins vs. Fat / Macro and Micro nutrients in Mineral - Know what you need!
2021-02-15 Don notes that all giant captive breeding bucks ultimately trace their genetics back to wild deer at some point. 26:04 — Episode 51 - Serving the Hunting Community instead of using the Hunting Industry
2021-03-01 Don recalled that with his captive deer herd there was a clear, stable social pecking order led by a dominant doe. 22:49 — Episode #53 - Iowa Deer Classic, Deer Foundering, Cull Bucks, and Don gets fired up about politics at the end
2021-03-22 Terry wants to explore whether Dr. Strickland has studied if bucks holding antlers longer into spring affects their antler growth the following year. 5:13 — Episode #57 - Discussion about Ethics Continues as guest at the 2nd Master Class put Don on the spot with live questions.
2021-03-28 An older gentleman told Don that historically in the captive deer industry, a buck scoring 140 inches at two years old or 170 at three years old had very good odds of eventually breaking 200 inches. 73:06 — Episode #58 - Burning Native Grass Tips and Great Questions from 3rd Master Class
2021-05-31 From years running a captive deer herd, Don has seen Memorial weekend as when fawns reliably start hitting the ground in droves. 8:02 — Episode #67 - WATCH OUT FOR FAWNS! Don and Terry both have a close call!
2021-07-12 Don said he watched about 200 different bucks grow their racks during the roughly 25 years he owned captive deer. 11:41 — Episode #73 - How much bigger will bucks get? Don’s best and worst of the week!
2021-08-02 Don recounted opening the trailer gate to release a buck he had raised and sold, then driving away from the preserve. 51:43 — Episode #76 - Where are the big bucks? August is here! Final Prep
2021-08-02 Sick over the buck being shot minutes after release, Don decided right then to get out of the captive deer business for good. 52:07 — Episode #76 - Where are the big bucks? August is here! Final Prep
2021-08-09 Don clarifies the person accusing him of shooting captive deer is not Jeff Sturges or Tony LaPratt, but someone from Michigan he calls Tom. 16:32 — Episode #77 - Would you shoot this buck? Still looking for a shooter.
2021-08-09 Don recounts that a captive doe with orange ear tags in both ears slipped out of his pen years ago. 22:12 — Episode #77 - Would you shoot this buck? Still looking for a shooter.
2021-08-09 Don says the escaped doe’s last known sighting was 12 miles east of his farm in a subdivision after crossing an interstate. 23:41 — Episode #77 - Would you shoot this buck? Still looking for a shooter.
2021-08-23 Don relays that during a bad EHD outbreak, Rick Dodson’s captive deer herd dropped from about 45 to just 2 animals in roughly thirty days. 29:13 — Episode #79 - Bachelor Group Dispersal and Iowa Update
2021-09-20 Don says 25 years of experience with captive deer taught him certain antler traits are common in captive deer but rare in wild deer. 37:09 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
2021-09-20 Don says he suspected the controversial Kansas buck was a captive-raised deer as soon as he saw it, before any controversy was reported. 37:22 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
2021-09-20 Don says his real issue with the captive deer industry is dishonesty, not the act of shooting a deer in a pen; hunters should just be honest about it. 37:36 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
2021-09-20 Don criticizes the hypocrisy of hunters who bash high-fence operations on social media yet admit they’d shoot the same buck once it escaped the pen. 40:47 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
2021-10-25 From observing his captive deer herd for about 25 years, Don learned fawns were born at the same time every spring, showing consistent breeding timing. 11:23 — Episode #88 - Hunting MATURE Bucks on October Mornings?
2022-02-20 A Michigan study on captive deer showed positive results using humic acid related to CWD. 3:24 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
2022-02-27 Don argues CWD has appeared in states with no captive deer facilities at all, undermining blame placed on the captive deer industry. 80:53 — Episode #106 - Don finds sheds of an 8-year-old buck!
2022-06-12 Don cites buck fawn dispersal research conducted by Dr. Carl Miller at the University of Georgia, also replicated in the Midwest. 69:18 — Chasing Giants Episode 121 - Residual Herbicide Discussion & Don is Buying a Farm
2022-06-20 Don relays that his friend Travis Phelps, who has raised captive deer for ten years and had only lost four fawns total, lost six fawns in a single week to heat. 26:26 — Episode #122 - Extreme Heat Really Hurts the Doe and Fawns!
2022-09-19 Some research shows yearling buck relocation behavior can persist for at least a year, until the buck is two and a half. 17:04 — Episode #135 - Buck Dispersal - What does it mean?
2022-09-26 Don recalls a captive buck fawn born with tiny forked antlers before its first birthday that grew to score in the 170s by age three. 72:01 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
2022-10-24 A scientific study sent to Don claimed deer movement is unaffected by weather and only affected by the rut. 7:24 — Episode #140 - Fall Drought - What does that mean for deer hunters?
2022-10-31 Don says his experience with captive deer showed that the better bucks within an age class remain the better bucks in the next age class as they mature. 44:02 — Chasing Giants Podcast #141 - Scrapes are hot… So is the weather!
2022-12-04 Research shows that yearling bucks in farm country typically disperse five to twenty miles from where they were raised, Don notes. 37:31 — Episode #146 - Late Season Decisions and Tactics
2022-12-25 Research cited by Don shows fawn survival is better with an older doe as a mother than with a younger doe. 56:12 — Episode #149 Frigid Temps and Deer… Merry Christmas 2022!
2023-02-05 Terry said Apple Creek Whitetails in Michigan found that adjusting deer blood pH with humic acid reversed CWD mortality. 24:21 — Chasing Giants #155 - Hilarious Episode Live from Middlefield, OH
2023-02-05 Wildlife researcher Bronson Strickland told Don he had written a book on the same culling approach Don had independently developed on his farm. 62:19 — Chasing Giants #155 - Hilarious Episode Live from Middlefield, OH
2023-03-05 Don said within five minutes of leaving that sale, he knew he was done with the captive deer business for good. 38:52 — Episode 159 - Captive Deer Breeding… Why Don Got Out
2023-03-12 Don recalls that overfeeding his captive deer a rich, high-protein diet like fattening cattle gave them chronic diarrhea for nearly two years. 61:48 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
2023-03-12 Don observed his captive deer preferred drinking from muddy rain puddles over clean water in their stock tank. 34:27 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
2023-04-09 Don argues his real objection isn’t hunting captive deer in a pen, but the dishonesty of not showing the fence in harvest photos. 58:51 — Episode #164 - CRP Programs - Know Facts!
2023-04-09 Don states he raised captive deer for years and is fully open about that, while also being open that he personally does not shoot captive deer. 60:04 — Episode #164 - CRP Programs - Know Facts!
2023-05-07 Don recalled that with his captive deer, certain individual does came into heat on nearly the same calendar day every year, regardless of moon phase. 42:10 — Episode #186 - Regenerative Ag Practices
2023-07-03 Don referenced a study showing the 2012 drought significantly reduced antler growth and body weights in bucks compared to other years. 62:14 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
2023-12-03 Terry noted that Dr. Bronson Strickland has discussed how some deer have unusually large home ranges. 23:28 — Episode 198 - Buck Traveling Long Distances After The Rut
2023-12-03 Terry cited Dr. Strickland’s point that a doe’s nutrition during pregnancy matters more than nutrition after the fawn is born. 27:45 — Episode 198 - Buck Traveling Long Distances After The Rut
2024-05-19 Don states unequivocally that an accusation he pinned deer and told a client to build a fence that ruined a neighbor’s property never happened. 36:55 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
2024-05-19 Don cautions that not every captive deer is a 300-inch giant — some are only 150 inches — a factor as significant as CWD resistance when releasing captive-bred deer. 41:53 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
2024-05-26 Research shows bucks disperse on average five to twenty miles from where they were born. 17:34 — Episode #223 - Why are Young Bucks Being Hit on the Roads This Time of Year?
2024-05-26 Several radio-collared yearling bucks dispersed more than 100 miles from their birthplace. 17:43 — Episode #223 - Why are Young Bucks Being Hit on the Roads This Time of Year?
2024-06-02 Don recalls that when he kept captive deer, newborn fawns could be walked up to and picked up by hand during their first week of life because they wouldn’t run. 8:38 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
2024-06-09 Captive deer breeders reportedly favored hot, shade-free days for growing antlers on their bucks. 3:37 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
2024-06-23 Don recalls that his captive deer always began growing their winter coats in mid-to-late August regardless of how hot the weather was. 22:02 — Episode #227 - Science Behind Summer Solstice and Whitetail
2024-08-25 Don states that after decades raising captive deer, the rut always happens at the same time each year. 2:40 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
2024-08-25 Don has observed with captive deer that an individual doe comes into heat on nearly the same calendar day every year. 4:25 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
2024-09-16 Don recalled that from his time in the captive deer industry, southern breeders often brought northern deer down for breeding programs. 11:56 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
2024-09-29 Terry recalls Dr. Strickland posted a map of collared bucks showing how they return to their summer range to check for does, sometimes multiple times. 60:31 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
2024-10-06 Don recalled that during roughly 25 years of keeping captive deer, only one doe ever came into heat in October, and never in September. 14:40 — Episode #242 - Stop Hunting October Mornings
2025-02-09 Don recalls captive deer reacting calmly to a coyote near their pen but flipping out and bouncing off fences when a dog appeared instead. 50:23 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
2025-03-10 Terry relays that fellow podcaster Jeff dismissed recent research claiming bucks do not move more for cold fronts, calling it a ‘load of crap.’ 3:05 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
2025-04-20 Don states that captive deer today commonly produce 200-inch yearlings. 16:30 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
2025-04-20 Don says two captive bucks he examined, raised illegally from wild fawns, scored in the 180-190 range on nothing but wild genetics. 19:02 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
2025-04-20 Don claims people who raise captive deer are, on average, far more knowledgeable about deer than the average deer hunter. 33:09 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
2025-04-27 Aaron explains that his team began the EHD research by partnering with the University of Minnesota to screen compounds. 16:30 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-04-27 Aaron describes getting deer pathogen isolates through the University of Illinois Diagnostic Lab to develop Whitetail-specific probiotics. 17:14 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
2025-05-25 Terry recalls visiting Don’s sanctuary with Patrick and Brian, discussing whether captive-deer scrape dirt could be packaged and marketed. 47:03 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
2025-06-22 About thirty years ago Don visited Wilderness Whitetails, a big captive deer breeder owned by the Fleace family near Wisconsin Dells, which had some of the biggest captive deer in North America. 40:55 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
2025-08-31 Don said he knows for certain that at least two big names in the whitetail industry have shot some of their deer inside a fenced pen. 50:08 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-08-31 Don said he doesn’t regret having had captive deer, and would likely do it again given what he learned. 43:18 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
2025-09-14 An audience member pointed out it took Don thirteen years between his first 200-inch buck and killing Smokey, undermining haters’ claims he used released captive deer. 77:32 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
2025-09-14 Terry asserted that criticism against Don only began right after a business deal fell through, not due to any actual wrongdoing. 77:59 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
2025-11-23 Terry notes researcher Strickland confirmed this doe/fawn dispersal pattern through Mississippi State Deer Lab collar research. 52:37 — EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!
2026-01-25 Dr. Strickland’s research pen at Mississippi State proved that a doe’s nutrition during pregnancy sets that fawn’s development up for life. 8:58 — Texas Hunt, Brutal Cold, Late Rut Behavior & Winter Habitat Decisions | Chasing Giants Podcast #309
2026-02-08 Don Higgins learned from raising captive deer that they require a much higher-fiber diet than cattle. 9:17 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-02-08 Don Higgins noted that captive deer needed to be wormed three consecutive days because their digestion is much faster than a cow’s, which only needs one dose. 10:07 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
2026-05-10 Purdue University has published research showing that using cleaner water significantly improves the effectiveness of sprayed products. 50:52 — Grow Bigger Food Plots, Gardens & Fruit Trees – Mike Mitchell Breaks It Down | Chasing Giants #324
2026-06-14 Don explains that captive fawns denied access to dirt developed digestive issues, which is why he learned fawns need dirt for gut microbes. 26:47 — #329 | Why Don Higgins Gets More Excited About July Than Opening Day
2026-06-21 Don recalled that when he had captive deer, he once acquired seven sets of twin buck fawns to run a mineral-supplementation antler growth experiment. 45:01 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers

Contradictions & open questions

Places where the show’s advice on this subject appears to disagree with itself, either between speakers or over time. Both claims are shown as they were said, with dates. Nothing here is resolved — which one applies is the reader’s call, and the owners’.

Guidance may have changed: Whether cold-front weather affects buck movement: one study claims movement is unaffected by weather and driven only by the rut, while similar research is dismissed by Jeff as a load of crap.
- 2022-10-24 A scientific study sent to Don claimed deer movement is unaffected by weather and only affected by the rut. 7:24 — Episode #140 - Fall Drought - What does that mean for deer hunters?
- 2025-03-10 Terry relays that fellow podcaster Jeff dismissed recent research claiming bucks do not move more for cold fronts, calling it a ‘load of crap.’ 3:05 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic

Questions on this topic

Kirsten Tepe from Oakland City, Indiana asks what breeders feed captive deer to reach over 1,000 inches of antler and whether Real World products could increase antler size. 34:53 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
Terry asks whether nutrition merely helps a buck reach its genetic antler ceiling or actually raises that ceiling. 37:09 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
Andy Yoder from Fresno, Ohio asks whether Don has experience using amino-acid mineral supplements for antler growth. 45:00 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
Tim Lowe from Fort Wayne, Indiana asked whether Don supplemented his wild herd with his former captive deer and how long he’s culled for these results. 42:11 — Episode #76 - Where are the big bucks? August is here! Final Prep
Tyler Aker asked Don’s opinion on states like Oklahoma allowing release of captive deer into the wild to combat CWD. 48:32 — Snow, Sheds & Sorghum: Late-Season Deer Survival | Chasing Giants #311
Duane Miller asks about Oklahoma’s regulation releasing captive deer for CWD-resistant genes and whether Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young would stop recognizing deer from that state. 27:24 — Episode #240 - If Don Was DNR, How He Would Make Illinois Better Than Iowa
Terry asks whether certain captive deer always had dark racks or showed a different antler-color pattern. 56:17 — Episode #266 Making a Good Stand a Great Stand
Eli Beachy asked whether antler strength differs year to year, noting more busted antlers this year. 15:51 — Episode #105 Live from Shipshewana, IN - 2 Episodes in One!
Al Foster asked Don to explain why releasing doe fawns, pregnant does, or bucks onto his relatively small property to change its genetics would be futile. 38:06 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
An audience member asked how many years Don ran pen-raised deer loose before it affected local wild genetics. 36:14 — Episode 159 - Captive Deer Breeding… Why Don Got Out
Did captive-herd buck fawns without a twin grow bigger than those raised with a twin? 6:01 — Episode #161 - Live from Last Master Class - Inside QuietKat E-Bike
Duane Miller asks whether celebrity hunters actually shoot preserve deer and pose them as wild kills, after a preserve owner hinted this happens. 54:07 — Episode #164 - CRP Programs - Know Facts!
Chris Couch asks what Don thinks of Oklahoma’s new law letting landowners pay to release captive-bred, CWD-resistant does into the wild. 35:50 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
Did years in the captive deer industry help Don’s success as a whitetail hunter? 45:59 — Episode #259 Apple Tree Spacing in Deer Plots
Corey asks why CWD continues to be such a problem in captive deer breeding facilities. 79:43 — Episode #106 - Don finds sheds of an 8-year-old buck!
Jeff Gibson asks whether Real World would help fund a study letting contributors buy Real World mineral at cost to test CWD effects in a Missouri zone. 41:27 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
Jerry McCormick from Tyler, Texas asked Don whether, given the hate he receives, he regrets ever having had captive deer. 42:32 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.