Fawn "recruitment" refers to the number of fawns that will be "recruited" into the adult population on their first birthday (reach one year old). This number is usually calculated (in the Southeast) during the fall hunting season. This fall-calculated number doesn't account for winter mortality, but here in the Southeast we see little mortality due to winter conditions, unlike the North where winter mortality (from deep snow, extreme conditions, starvation and predation) can be significant.
The actual fawn recruitment numbers quoted are a percentage. For example, you might hear of a fawn recruitment rate of 80%. That means for every 10 adult does there are 8 fawns (fawn numbers are 80% of adult doe numbers).
What the fawn recruitment numbers are looking at is fawn survival after birth. Most hunters would be shocked at the number of fawns that die of natural causes soon after birth. It is fairly common for 50% of all fawns born in a given year to die of natural causes, the most common cause being predation by coyotes, bobcats and domestic dogs. Malnutrition is the second leading cause (mother doe unable to produce enough milk to feed her fawn or fawns). So fawn recruitment may start out at 160% if you could count every fawn born (16 fawns for every 10 adult does), but by hunting season half of those fawns have died and you are down to a fawn recruitment of 80% (8 fawns for every 10 adult does).
