Yesterday I called the guys at Tutt Land office and asked them about one of the theories I have been reading on here. I asked them if the antlers would get smaller after the deer were released and no longer getting the diet that they do at the breeder facility. This morning they sent me pictures of a 2 year old breeder they released on a property and did not add any supplemental feeding other than what is on the normal property around here. They said they planted green fields, did not add anything in the summer, and only put feed in the troughs when it was time to put the game cameras out. This property is about 75% mature pine plantation. They sent me pictures of him first released as a 2 yr, then they sent me pictures of him at 3, 4, and 5. I will ask them today if I can post them on the internet if anyone wants to see them. Do you?

I do! Put them up! Be especially interesting if they also have pics of any of his offspring.

Easy answer...hellll no the antlers won't be smaller. More horsechitt.

I've seen native Alabama deer and northern genetic deer raised side by side on the same feed and the northern deer are always much bigger, body and antlers. And they don't get smaller with age.

I'd like to see the pics also....

It was the offspring of a doe (native) that was always with the breeder and they even saw him breed her in the field at least once and he has similar characteristics on his hide and antlers.

Maybe I missed it, but are these deer supposed to have northern "genetics". Read all about the "200" genetics" but certainly may have missed the "northern" part. However, we have all seen the photos of deer that were fed high protein for years then fed "normal" protein for a year and seen the corresponding drop in antler size.



Really

Damn, another group of 1 percenters against the rest of the world?

So this is going to turn into Occupy Marengo?

Will this buck qualify for AON's truck buck contest? Or any of the other Big Buck contest throughout the state. If it's killed legally, outside of a high fence, then he would qualify right? This is going to get real interesting when someone kills one of these giants.
What about the Alabama whitetail record books. Is there a way to disqualify these deer if they are harvested. Just a thought. Someone may have brought this up but there are too many pages to go back through and check.

This isnt as big of an issue a some of yo are making it! I agree that releasing a few bucks into a herd isnt going to help the marengo county herd the way they hope it will, but these deer are checked by the usda and not only that i would guess that 90% will be dead before the christmas. But i have a bigger issue with 50yr olds tht shoot fawns than i do with guys that try to help a herd even if its foolish. But there seem to be way to many people on here crying about all of this! How many of you are Bilogist or have a degree in wildlife management? I suspect that most of the angry hunters on here dont have a clue. I live in the county next door and my wife actually owns land in several parts of marengo and 99% of the local hunters and land owners over there are supporting this and curious about its reults. So if you live in hours away and dont hunt or own land dowm here then shutup!!!

Once again i agree this is not the way to get bigger deer! Listen i hunt in a area that we have big deer. I plant beans,peas,sunflower and clovers for the deer. We fead our deer with pellets and provide lots of minerals. I understand that a deer will not reach his potential until 5.5. I also believe that pressure is the #1 factor that people dont kill mature(5 1/2) deer. I think adding a couple of breader bucks to a herd is like i think gobbler said putting 1 bull in a pasture with 5,000 otherbulls! Its a bad idea, i just dont think that this is a big of a deal as some make it. It to me sure isnt a reason to start attacking other hunters. I might be wrong, i hope im not. All this was about was me getting sick of people getting on here and trashing others. When they dont have all the facts. I dont have all of them either, but what is was saying was all these guys on here that are so passionate about this issue why dont you contact Hal and Walter and talk with them? They will be civil unlike some of you and they will answer your questions about what all have they done.

they ain't genetically "altered", just genetically different. I wish ya'll would quit saying that......

bout like saying they feed those deer steroids to make em big.....

how are genetics not altered when you take a 200" buck and a doe that has dropped several 200" bucks and put them together and then release their offspring in a pen in an attempt to change genetics? Maybe I'm using the wrong word but isn't the idea to change (alter) genetics?

That's selective breeding of animals with superior genes.

To alter a gene would require removing or changing part of its DNA.