#2057776 - 09/04/10 07:38 PM
Fawn mortality.........
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Bottom Hunter
16 Point
Registered: 12/29/06
Posts: 15480
Loc: Hatchie Bottoms
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Talking with a deer hunter today who just happens to farm alot of acreage in Haywood County, he brought up the number of fawns his crew has run over this year.
he said that the number of dead fawns is approaching 100.!!
he claims that once his beans, wheat, cotton, corn or anything that gets more than a few feet high is up high enough to hide the fawns, the does prefer to have them in the fields and not the woods. he claims that the does prefer the fields because the predators can't see them as well as in the woods and also because the bugs are not as bad in the sunlight as they are in the shadey woods.
he claimed that in one 100 acre field, they were able to save 8 fawns by catching them and carrying them out of the field, but they ran over more than ten that they knew about. he said that sometimes, they run over them with their wheels and never know it. They may find some evidence around the wheel section later that day, so they can't be sure how many they ran over..
It seems a shame that fawn's birth coincides with some crop harvest.
One thing he did say is that if the fawns were born a couple of weeks earlier, then they would be old enough to run away and not just sit there hiding while they get basically massacred....
sad....
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#2057783 - 09/04/10 07:43 PM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: Bottom Hunter]
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Football Hunter
18 Point
Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24550
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co
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I would think they are supposed to be born around harvest time ,but maybe that was set in place before Ole John came up with the tractor,and also close to White oak acorn fall,but I dont know,does seem like a shame.
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#2058153 - 09/05/10 09:36 AM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: bowriter]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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The highest human-caused fawn mortality is associated with the first cutting of hay in June. Many fawns are newborns at this time and will not run when the mower approaches.
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#2058158 - 09/05/10 09:39 AM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: BSK]
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tndrbstr
16 Point
Registered: 10/06/05
Posts: 12157
Loc: knox co tn
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The highest human-caused fawn mortality is associated with the first cutting of hay in June. Many fawns are newborns at this time and will not run when the mower approaches.
Bingo....
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#2058214 - 09/05/10 11:09 AM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: tndrbstr]
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Mike Belt
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/26/99
Posts: 16929
Loc: Lakeland, Tn.
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Fawns shouldn't be born around harvest time concerning beans, corn, and cotton. I know there are late births but most fawns should be old enough by then to run.
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#2058304 - 09/05/10 12:56 PM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: Bottom Hunter]
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DWM
8 Point
Registered: 12/08/06
Posts: 1766
Loc: TN
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I have some doubt about what he is telling you. 100 is a very high number and I have never killed a fawn in a corn or bean field. Have got a few in hay fields but not more than a couple in one year and many years never hit one. Fawn birth will always coincide with someone cutting hay. If they saved 8 and killed 10 in one 100 acre field he has got to have a huge deer herd.
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#2058775 - 09/05/10 11:30 PM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: DWM]
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megalomaniac
10 Point
Registered: 10/28/05
Posts: 4887
Loc: Mississippi
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I have some doubt about what he is telling you. 100 is a very high number and I have never killed a fawn in a corn or bean field. Have got a few in hay fields but not more than a couple in one year and many years never hit one. Fawn birth will always coincide with someone cutting hay. If they saved 8 and killed 10 in one 100 acre field he has got to have a huge deer herd.
Agreed... I think he's exaggerating just a bit on the 100 fawns.
We've got a decent deer density in Middle Tn, and we typically mow only 3-5 fawns during first cutting (on 400ac or so). The coyotes kill a LOT more deer than the haybine
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#2058876 - 09/06/10 07:21 AM
Re: Fawn mortality.........
[Re: megalomaniac]
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Bottom Hunter
16 Point
Registered: 12/29/06
Posts: 15480
Loc: Hatchie Bottoms
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Only going by what he said. he works for a big farmer in Haywood County......thousands of acres......he may be exaggerating abit, but I can only go by what he said......
i really thought that this would spark a bit of conversation about why deer are born in fields vs woods and other interesting things.....do does have their young in specific areas or do they simply "drop them" when the time comes....questions like that might be interesting...
I guess next time, I should be more specific and not try to spark a conversation but more list specific questions...lol.
thanks
_________________________
There are some people who always seem angry and continuously look for conflict.
Walk away; the battle they are fighting is not with you, but with themselves.
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