Big surprise this morning, 11 March 2023

[BSK]

As for very odd breeding timing, some will certainly be individual doe genetics. That is how Nature works - through Natural Selection. And in some locations, a very odd timing is actually beneficial. However, for deer to acclimate to this better timing, they must have variability of breeding timing in the population. If they do not, Natural Selection has nothing to select against. But thankfully, MOST populations of whitetails have individuals who display a fairly wide variety of breeding dates, especially in the South. This allows Natural Selection to favor those animals with a genetic breeding timing that best suits the local conditions. For example, in the endless standing water of the Everglades, water levels are lowest during the winter months (January through March). This favorable time for fawn survival (less chance of drowning as a newborn) has led Natural Selection to favor females with a breeding timing in July and August. After many generations of selection, deer in this region now have a peak rut in July and August.

This is also how the very odd peak breeding timings in the Deep South have developed. The trick with those pockets of odd timing is figuring out why those odd times are beneficial. I worked just north of Columbus Georgia on a big project. We clearly established that peak breeding in this area was late October and early November. However, two counties away in Alabama, peak times were in January. Why these very diffeent dates so close together would develop (why they are beneficial) is still a mystery.

 

[Snake]

Had a friend that videoed an antlerless buck breeding a doe at the end of March one year .

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Some does, either through poor health or just genetically, only breed very late. I've seen an individual doe (easily identifiable) that every year was still pregnant in mid-August. No one really understands this phenomenon, whether the late breeding is actually encoded in their DNA or has something to do with epigenetics (physical changes in gene expression that can hereditary, but not caused by an actual change on DNA). Some researchers have reported that female fawns born late may have that late breeding timing permanently attached to them epigenetically. Others report no such observations. Again, a real mystery.

Like this one? This was last year in one of our highly productive buckwheat and sunn hemp summer plots

 

[Joe2Kool]

IDK, might just be like the neighbor's intact male lab. He tries to breed anything year-round!!

 

[ROB]

Some does, either through poor health or just genetically, only breed very late. I've seen an individual doe (easily identifiable) that every year was still pregnant in mid-August. No one really understands this phenomenon, whether the late breeding is actually encoded in their DNA or has something to do with epigenetics (physical changes in gene expression that can hereditary, but not caused by an actual change on DNA). Some researchers have reported that female fawns born late may have that late breeding timing permanently attached to them epigenetically. Others report no such observations. Again, a real mystery.

So, this doe in question could simply be a late born fawn that is just now entering her first estrus. If she is bred, he fawn will also be late born. I that fawn is a doe, she will likely have a late first estrus just like her mom. Is that an example of epigenetics?

 

[BSK]

So, this doe in question could simply be a late born fawn that is just now entering her first estrus. If she is bred, he fawn will also be late born. I that fawn is a doe, she will likely have a late first estrus just like her mom. Is that an example of epigenetics?

Correct. Epigenetics is where certain traits become "attached" (and how is extremely complicated) to an individual's gene expression (how they express/display their genetic potential). Probably the best example of how epigenetics works is one of the original studies that discovered the process. Researchers were studying the effects of famine in Scandinavia and it was noticed that children born during a particularly severe famine were undersized and physically underperformed their whole lives, even after food resource issues vastly improved. And what was most surprising was that the children of these underperforming born-during-the-famine adults also underperformed, even though this second generation had never experienced famine. The extreme famine had "marked" children born during the process, and these epigenetic markers - which limited growth potential - were hereditary to the next generation.

The same was seen in a study of South Dakota whitetails, taking deer from the low-resource Black Hills region and keeping them side by side with genetically similar deer from nearby high-resource agricultural regions. Both groups of deer were kept in the same environment, eating the same resources, but they were not allowed to interbreed (keeping their genetics separate). It was assumed the low-performing whitetails from the Black Hills would quickly catch up to the high-performing deer from the agricultural region once food resources were equalized between the two groups. But that didn't happen. In fact, it took several generations of better food resources for the Black Hills group to catch up to the ag region deer in body and antler size. The Black Hills deer had epigenetic markers that were limiting their growth potential, and it took several generations of good food resources to lose those detrimental epigenetic markers.

 

[BSK]

And the above is why I'm worried about the long-term effects of our severe drought conditions this last year. In my area, deer went into winter in terrible shape. I've never seen them look so bad. Will the fawns born this spring be epigenetically marked for poor performance their whole lives? That will only be answered by watching this cohort grow up. In the fall of 2024 do I see most of the yearlings underperforming? In 2025 is the 2 1/2 cohort underperforming? And so-on as this cohort ages. I will watch this progression over time to see if I can clearly identify long-term effects of the 2022 drought.

 

[Smo]

I have always thought that different breeding cycles could have evolved from different deer being imported into the SE States .. nothing scientific, But just a thought.
Rut in the Everglades is in August…
N.Al mid January.

As I've mentioned before I saw 7 mature bucks chasing a doe a few years ago in mid- late February here in Humphreys County ..

A little more evidence…

 

[tbadon]

And the above is why I'm worried about the long-term effects of our severe drought conditions this last year. In my area, deer went into winter in terrible shape. I've never seen them look so bad. Will the fawns born this spring be epigenetically marked for poor performance their whole lives? That will only be answered by watching this cohort grow up. In the fall of 2024 do I see most of the yearlings underperforming? In 2025 is the 2 1/2 cohort underperforming? And so-on as this cohort ages. I will watch this progression over time to see if I can clearly identify long-term effects of the 2022 drought.

I think we are going to see fewer fawns this year due to the drought, and definitely fewer twins. I saw two sets of triplets last spring/summer. I doubt that will happen this coming birthing season. A number of people noted that the rut didn't really kick in last fall as they(and myself) saw very few bucks chasing does or running hard looking for does. It is just as well as the population seemed to be the largest ever based on the number of roadkills all over middle Tn.

 

[BSK]

I think we are going to see fewer fawns this year due to the drought, and definitely fewer twins. I saw two sets of triplets last spring/summer. I doubt that will happen this coming birthing season. A number of people noted that the rut didn't really kick in last fall as they(and myself) saw very few bucks chasing does or running hard looking for does. It is just as well as the population seemed to be the largest ever based on the number of roadkills all over middle Tn.

I would agree with the fawn numbers assessment. I will be shocked if we see the fawn production and survival numbers this year that we saw last year (following a bumper acorn crop locally). We had the highest fawn production numbers last year that I've seen in some time. I would expect fawn recruitment numbers to be much lower this coming fall.

 

[BSK]

I have always thought that different breeding cycles could have evolved from different deer being imported into the SE States .. nothing scientific, But just a thought.

I believe the idea of different breeding dates based on where deer were restocked from is a common (but understandable) misconception. I've written about "restocked genetics" on this site fairly extensively, but I'm think about another post on that topic based on a recent article published by the National Deer Association (NDA) that mentions this process (or lack there of).

 

[Hawk103161]

Some - and let me emphasize some - research suggests that this late timing can be epigenetically affixed to their DNA, producing late breeding their entire life.

So I've read that Northern Deer Breed early for survivability, kinda rewrites "code". Stocked deer from the south will change estrous to match this idea...Any thoughts???

 

[Terrier]

I have no idea if the doe you witness fits this category, but a certain (small) percentage of does are barren. They will go through estrus, be bred, but never conceive. These barren does will cycle back through estrus over and over, perhaps as many as 5 or 6 times. I've seen an estrus doe being chased by multiple bucks Easter weekend.

Otherwise known as a "Hoe"….

 

[Shooter77]

I have a small doe on my place that had spots late Nov.

Just had a buck rub my neighbors little oak tree in the yard between our houses last week.

 

[tellico4x4]

5-6 does pregnant on our place in early Sept. Seems to be the norm past few years.

 

[DoubleRidge]

it took several generations of good food resources to lose those detrimental epigenetic markers.

For the reason mentioned above I've read that land managers should understand that it may take four years of increased nutrition and improved habitat before an epigenetic response is realized...that's not to say current bucks won't benefit or add inches from increased nutrition...but going forward it may take time to see some of the fruits of our labor in future generations.

 

[BSK]

So I've read that Northern Deer Breed early for survivability, kinda rewrites "code". Stocked deer from the south will change estrous to match this idea...Any thoughts???

This is correct. Northern deer have extreme Selective pressure to keep their estrus timing where it is - early November. Any earlier and newborn fawns born earlier than early May would face the possibility of being harmed by late spring cold spells or even snow. Fawns born later than mid-June would not have the growing time before the following winter sets in to grow to the body size necessary to survive the brutal northern winters.

In the South, nowhere near as strong of weather-related Selective pressures. We don't experience late spring or winter weather severe enough to effect fawn survival. This allows Nature a much wider variety of potential breeding dates to select from for other reasons (to better match unique local conditions), which in turn allows such a wide variety of breeding dates to occur from region to region.

Take things even farther south - into the equatorial Central America region - and some deer breeding will occur during every month of the year.

 

[BSK]

For the reason mentioned above I've read that land managers should understand that it may take four years of increased nutrition and improved habitat before an epigenetic response is realized...that's not to say current bucks won't benefit or add inches from increased nutrition...but going forward it may take time to see some of the fruits of our labor in future generations.

I would say not to expect maximum improvements for a decade.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

We saw a spotted fawn this past weekend in western part of Madison County. Very small, but seemed to be doing OK so far. Has to be the earliest dropped fawn I have ever seen.

 

[JeepKuntry]

I've seen some tiny deer in west TN the past few years. But all have appeared healthy. I would assume that is what happened here. A doe so young that she was bred very late. I would assume as she matures she would be bred quicker the following year.