Hey BSK...

[Big Gun]

Not wanting to get lost in the cool trail cam pics. I found this while looking for another pic, the date and time are correct. Is this doe still pregnant?

 

[BSK]

Oh yes! Definitely pregnant.

 

[CrossVolle]

Wonder what the survivability of that fawn would be born that late. The odds surely aren't great.

 

[BSK]

I used to have an old doe with a very pronounced black strip down her nose, making her easy to identify on trail-camera. Even though we have a very tight sex ratio and advanced buck age structure (which is known to keep breeding timing tight), every year when I would start my camera census August 1, I would get pictures of her heavily pregnant. She would usually give birth sometime around August 20. For most does, their estrus timing is genetically driven (they will go into estrus every year in a given timeframe of a few weeks). Natural Selection eventually weeds out estrus timings that produce fawns at the wrong time for fawn survival, but while that doe was alive, she always gave birth in mid to late August.

 

[BSK]

Wonder what the survivability of that fawn would be born that late. The odds surely aren't great.

In a very cold winter here, not great. However, in the Deep South, much better. Because winters are very mild in Central America, whitetails there breed all year round, and bucks are in hard antler at any time. Some will be in hard antler while others are in velvet, while others have lost their antlers. Very strange, but there are no selective pressures to keep genetic timing tight.

 

[CrossVolle]

In a very cold winter here, not great. However, in the Deep South, much better. Because winters are very mild in Central America, whitetails there breed all year round, and bucks are in hard antler at any time. Some will be in hard antler while others are in velvet, while others have lost their antlers. Very strange, but there are no selective pressures to keep genetic timing tight.

I was more curious about the lack of cover than the elements. Would seem awfully hard to hide from predators at that time of year.

 

[BSK]

I was more curious about the lack of cover than the elements. Would seem awfully hard to hide from predators at that time of year.

A single newborn fawn is going to be easy pickings for coyotes. What aids fawn survival is "prey saturation." In essence, most females giving birth around the same time means so many fawns are on the ground at the same time that coyotes can only get a given percentage before the fawns are old enough to run away.

 

[Big Gun]

In a very cold winter here, not great. However, in the Deep South, much better. Because winters are very mild in Central America, whitetails there breed all year round, and bucks are in hard antler at any time. Some will be in hard antler while others are in velvet, while others have lost their antlers. Very strange, but there are no selective pressures to keep genetic timing tight.

I was at the processor picking up my son's deer last Monday and they had a buck in velvet brought in. The hunter said it did have testicles.

 

[BSK]

I was at the processor picking up my son's deer last Monday and they had a buck in velvet brought in. The hunter said it did have testicles.

Just like in humans, some buck's bodies don't produce enough testosterone (even with testicles) or the buck's body isn't responding to the testosterone produced

 

[BigAl]

I never saw any fawns that looked like they were born that late. But I did see some very late fawns with spots previous seasons.

 

[BSK]

A couple of times I've seen tiny spotted fawns alongside their mother during MZ season.

 

[WTNBowHunter]

Not wanting to get lost in the cool trail cam pics. I found this while looking for another pic, the date and time are correct. Is this doe still pregnant?

Crazy, that deer would have been bred in late January or February. Are you hunting in/around the Bartlett area?

 

[Rockhound]

I had a fawn on cam on Nov. 30th that was still covered in spots.

 

[Big Gun]

Crazy, that deer would have been bred in late January or February. Are you hunting in/around the Bartlett area?

Eastern Fayette co.

 

[BSK]

Crazy, that deer would have been bred in late January or February. Are you hunting in/around the Bartlett area?

As long as bucks have enough testosterone to hold their antlers, they will breed. Several times I've seen a buck chasing an estrus doe in late March in TN and KY. In some cases, this is a female fawn that has just reached puberty. In other cases, it is barren does. "Barren" does still go through estrus but have a biological problem that prevents pregnancy. These barren does will cycle through estrus every 28-30 days all the way until spring.

 

[Bucket]

As long as bucks have enough testosterone to hold their antlers, they will breed. Several times I've seen a buck chasing an estrus doe in late March in TN and KY. In some cases, this is a female fawn that has just reached puberty. In other cases, it is barren does. "Barren" does still go through estrus but have a biological problem that prevents pregnancy. These barren does will cycle through estrus every 28-30 days all the way until spring.

So if a feller had a couple of barren does on his place, that 2nd (and maybe 3rd) rut could still get the bucks up and moving!

 

[BSK]

So if a feller had a couple of barren does on his place, that 2nd (and maybe 3rd) rut could still get the bucks up and moving!

..or 4th or 5th. Latest true estrus chase I've ever seen was in April, a 5th cycle.

 

[WTNBowHunter]

As long as bucks have enough testosterone to hold their antlers, they will breed. Several times I've seen a buck chasing an estrus doe in late March in TN and KY. In some cases, this is a female fawn that has just reached puberty. In other cases, it is barren does. "Barren" does still go through estrus but have a biological problem that prevents pregnancy. These barren does will cycle through estrus every 28-30 days all the way until spring.

I've not thought of it in those terms before regarding testosterone levels of bucks and the relationship of their antlers that late. Another thing I learned today.