Actual Breeding Date?

[Hunter 257W]

What date do you guys think the is when the actual breeding happens? I try to keep an eye out for newborh fawns on my farm every year so I can count backwards 200 days to see for myself. I have narrowed it down to about December 13 for one of the ruts. Yeah, I think the doe/buck ratio os so out of whack around my area that there are at least 2 ruts before all the does get bred.

What puzzles me though about this mid December dates is that I have seen bucks chasing does up until about November 20th or a couple days beyond that. That would mean the breeding should be happening about November 20 or a few days later, then again 28 days later. We may have 3 ruts becasue I have seen Bucks chasing does in mid January in the past.

Waht does everyone think about the rut/breeding dates?

 

[Mr.Bro]

Many years ago the biologists in Tn would tell us the the date the greatest amount of does were "knocked up" was Nov.21st.

 

[hoyt30]

Im in smith/jackson counties. Had one dpe bred on nov. 10 this year actually got it on tape. As of yesterday scrapes havent been hit in days. Had alot of cruosin last week on cam in my foodplots. Nothing over3.5 yrs. old.

 

[Bone Collector]

same here in Rutherford. last weel of ML lots of cruising, saw a chase on thanksgiving, but the last couple of days have seen only young bucks, groups of does, and the scrapes are not being worked.

 

[BSK]

Even in a well-balanced deer herd (equal sex ratio, advanced age structure), it still takes 5-6 weeks for 95+% of the does to conceive. Don't expect to find a single date or two when does are bred. The rut isn't that short. The "peak of the rut"--when more than 50% of does are bred--is still a 10-day to 2-week window.

 

[waynesworld]

200 days is there some +- range on the day from sex to birth?

 

[BSK]

200 days is there some +- range on the day from sex to birth?

About 200 days, conception to birth. of course, just like people, there is a range of of pregnancy lengths.

 

[BigGameGuy]

Here is some hard data that was gathered last year from your neck of the woods...

 

[Hunter 257W]

Even in a well-balanced deer herd (equal sex ratio, advanced age structure), it still takes 5-6 weeks for 95+% of the does to conceive. Don't expect to find a single date or two when does are bred. The rut isn't that short. The "peak of the rut"--when more than 50% of does are bred--is still a 10-day to 2-week window.

I always thought - assumed - that all the does were on the same "cycle". Now that I think about it, that doesn't seem likely to be true at all. So, yeah the breeding would have to happen over a couple of weeks as you say vs. just 2 or 3 days as I had always imagined.

My reason for starting this topic was that I was just trying to map out the days when it wasn't as productive to hunt due to all the bucks being hidden away in a briar thicket with a doe and not moving. This is especially true in an out of balance herd with too many does. Such as I apparently have. Got to get to work on those does.

 

[Poleaxe]

The ruts very much still on. But the big boys are winding down or possibly already done so a couple days in the past. Everybody had that point of question of where had all the big ones gone. There tight waiting on the chance to breed the doe he and she have picked. Like BSK said they dont bread multiple does. This part of the rut is when youl see the less dominate bucks comin into get their piece of the pie. The big ones will still be vunerable for a couple more weeks trying to put their weight back on.

 

[BSK]

Great stuff BGG! Very interesting data. I'm amazed by the proliferation of December dates in those southern counties.

 

[BSK]

Even in a well-balanced deer herd (equal sex ratio, advanced age structure), it still takes 5-6 weeks for 95+% of the does to conceive. Don't expect to find a single date or two when does are bred. The rut isn't that short. The "peak of the rut"--when more than 50% of does are bred--is still a 10-day to 2-week window.

I always thought - assumed - that all the does were on the same "cycle".

Nope. Now all of the does of a single doe group--which are all genetically related on the femal side--often have similar estrus timings due to genetics (all will enter estrus within a week of each other), but different doe groups can have different genetic timings.

My reason for starting this topic was that I was just trying to map out the days when it wasn't as productive to hunt due to all the bucks being hidden away in a briar thicket with a doe and not moving.

This "lockdown" can be observed, but it usually spreads over 10-14 days. In addition, each doe is in estrus for only 24-48 hours, so once a particular doe goes out of estrus, her tending buck has to go searching for another doe. So even during "lockdown," bucks still have to seek for new does every day or two.

 

[Winchester]

This "lockdown" can be observed, but it usually spreads over 10-14 days. In addition, each doe is in estrus for only 24-48 hours, so once a particular doe goes out of estrus, her tending buck has to go searching for another doe. So even during "lockdown," bucks still have to seek for new does every day or two.

This is exactly where we are here right now, actually the 2nd half of it I believe!