Every now and then I will see in the exotic classifieds, bred Axis doe $300.00 and other exotics at what appears to be very affordable pricing.
So the question is, if you own a decent size piece of land, say starting at 200 acres & up, with decent size neighbors who would cooperate with allowing the herd to grow, why wouldn't you

Every time I am at Erath's place east of Stephenville, I keep thinking, perfect country for them & how cool would it be to see one periodically

They'll get dead.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^

And not by the one who paid for the animal.

It could work. They are grazers more than browsers. They stay in pretty small core areas if you feed them. Having open areas for them to graze on weeds and grasses would be ideal.

Most neighbors will tell you what you want to hear but then do something else. Seen it too many times!

I would not do it with any deer species of exotic if it were me. Axis deer tend to move to the feed source at various times of the year IME. They like thicker, wetter type drainage bottom land also. While most are grazers they will easily switch to browse if it gets dry (which it will in Texas) then they will be competing directly with your whitetails.

Is it even legal to just let exotic animals go run free?

Seems like a bad idea.

Go ahead you neighbors will love you.

They gone!!!!!

Your never buying bred axis doe. You can buy exposed axis doe, but unless you have done a sonogram on them, we don't call them bred other than just a tag tine to try to sell them. They breed year around but there is no guarantee after the stress of capture process if a doe will hold the fetus or not. Just too many factors to guarantee it so we call it "exposed" because its a mature doe that has been around mature bucks.

There is no way you can hope to maintain a herd on 200 acres under low fence. They will get taken out by neighbors, their guests, or poachers on the side of the road. It's not good animal husbandry practice to put an exotic animal under a small acreage low fence when you know that species is evasive to the natural habitat and wildlife. I'm thinking that when one day a neighbor a mile away or even right next to you gets a MLDP permit program going that they will probably be told by their biologist to shoot every single exotic they see on their property. TPWD is not fond of exotics and whenever they have to set a permit with exotics around, in my experiences, they have always said to shoot every single exotic on the place that is legal. They don't like how exotics effect natural wildlife and its habitat. Thus why we put them in high fences so that the numbers can be controlled and contained.

Something else to think about as well.

What is going to stop your neighbor from letting a trapper come in on their place and trap the exotics that you released and have roamed onto their property?
Money talks.

Blackbucks will stay in a large low fence pasture pretty well.

You must have a different breed of Axis than around here. Around here they don't have a core area, fed or not.

^^^^^^^^^^ Curtis^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This is copied directly from the add under the Axis for sale; (three mature bred does $300 each)

Obviously I know very little about free range exotics! I would think the only people who might be opposed to stocking free range exotics would be the folks who sell the hunts (takes some $ out of their pocket), or the White Tail purist who in my opinion would have the only real argument (competition for food & land)!

Okay, I know exotics displace white tail to a certain extent, but if they can thrive where white tail struggle and their meat taste better and you can hunt them year round.

Give me a Real Good Reason why a landowner shouldn't

The good reason, as previously stated is: you are the one paying for the animal, and it is very likely someone else will be the one killing the animal well before any new exotic herd is established in your area...

I like your idea but the only way it would seem to work is if you and your neighbors for miles had an agreement not to shoot or you owned a lot of land in which a herd would like to stay on long enough to be established. The way the axis herds seem to be moving throughout the state it might not be long until you have a few anyways

As I said...."bred" is just a tag line to make a sale. It's not a guaranty. Ask them if they did a sonogram on them to know for sure.

I'm not opposed to your idea and I don't doubt that, I just think its a really dumb idea.

The reasons I stated in previous post are from things that I have seen happen when exotics are released on low fence pasture.
I don't think you and I see eye to eye on it and that's fine. But here me out and let me tell you what I know I have seen happen. I don't think you realize how much money you are wasting.

Personally I don't care what you really do with the exotics when I sell them. Someone can make them all pets and put them in their house. I don't care, that's your business but I advise against that.
If you think you want to risk letting them get taken by other land owners and really feel that for some reason they will stick around on 200 acres, well that's your opinion. I speak from experience and I'm trying to advise that from what I have seen, this is a bad idea.

As for your idea about taking money out of the hunting ranches pocket. Well, no, sorry, your idea wouldn't even come close to taking a penny out of a hunting ranches pocket. In fact it could easily make your neighbor and a trapper that sells them to you, or some other trapper down the road you may or may not know, some good money.

Example:
I have seen the same trapper sell one guy some animals and release them into a 5 acre HF pasture on a 350 acre low fence property because the owner felt they would stick around and go in and out for a while if they knew that food was in there. Well that worked for about three months. They finally made it off the place during the winter months and the feeders the guy had were full. He left the gate open all the time on that small HF section on his property that was pretty close to the middle of it. Well, the neighbors needed some cash. They happened to have hired the same trapper that sold them originally to the first landowner, to come and trap the exotics that were on their property now. The trapper used feeders and nets to bait them in. Originally 15 axis doe and two bucks were bought. The trapper caught those when they came over on the neighbors property, and sold a hunt for the buck to get that other landowner some money.
About this same time the original landowner has contacted his neighbors and they pretty much lied to him and told him no, they had not seen the axis. So he called the same trapper and ordered more. Well that trapper had caught the axis he had trapped on that guys place in a holding pasture on his own property and told the guy he could get him some more. The trappers sold the same axis deer to the original landowner not only a second time, but four times in the course of two years. There had previously been no exotics ever seen in this area or at least it was not widely known. Apparently they liked to go to that neighbors property for the low areas and better grazing. That deal worked out pretty good for the trapper and the second landowner that never had much to invest in the deal. That's a good bit of money they made to pay property taxes with.

This property was in north-east part of Texas. As far as I know there was previously no other exotics in that area. That trapper still traps animals and lives up in north Texas the last time I heard.

That axis doe that is getting sold for $300 is probably costing the trapper about $150 give or take to pay the landowner for the purchase of them. He's not trapping them for free unless the landowner just doesn't know what they are doing. The only person not making any money is the first landowner that purchased them. I'm sure some trapper would gladly go in there and trap them for free to help out the nuisance exotics a landowner has. He will probably sell a hunt on that big buck too and get that landowner $1500 or so for it, maybe more. Meanwhile the first landowner is trying to figure out what happened to the money he spent on those axis.



If you want to spend your hard earned money on some exotics and put them on low fence, that's your business. I'm in the business of selling hunts and live sale. I sell animals to private ranches and to game ranches for hunting and for just enjoyment of seeing the animals. I also do consulting on occasion from my business and your not the first one to ever think about doing this. Each time I have seen this done on a place your size they eventually wonder off and there becomes a problem with them on the neighbors property. I have never sold animals to someone that has done this but I have kept in contact with a few that have called about doing it and went to someone else that would. From where I stand I could make the same amount of money from you if you were a hunting ranch or not. I just have my own business ethics and things I will not do, and knowingly releasing exotics onto free range, I just will not do. You could try getting a co-op thing going with your neighbors and try to manage them but eventually what I have seen happen is that money comes into the picture and things change quickly.

Your investment of exotics on your low fence place can easily turn a nice profit for your neighbors. I'm sure they will enjoy it.

Sound advice Curtis. Well said.
Diane

Okay Curtis I get it and thanks!
What you say makes sense and I appreciate your insight.

If you and your neighbors want axis free roaming on your land or just around your land then i would get your surrounding neighbors to pitch in their money as well. So that your not paying for everything and that may be more incentive to your neighbors to let the herd grow instead of just killing them if they see them. It really just all depends on what your wanting out of this and if your neighbors will actually cooperate. Best of luck to you and your decision.