Yesterday I saw the smallest Fawn I've ever seen in the first week of September. Very dark red with bright distinct spots. Couldn't have been more than 22 or 24 in. at the shoulder. I think I'm pretty good at aging bucks! Aging fawns I'm not so sure about but I'm thinking 4 maybe 5 weeks.
Late Fawn
- Thread starter rifle02
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DoubleRidge
Well-Known Member
Buddy of mine told me last friday he saw the same thing....tiny fawn with bright white spots....I saw one yesterday but it was half as tall as mama and spots were faded.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Running camera censuses in August, it's not unusual to see does still pregnant. MOST breeding occurs in a 5-6 week window, but there are always oddball outliers.
agelessssone
Well-Known Member
Killed a doe on Dec 4, 1989.
She had two fawns (big fawns) following her.
She had a fetus in her that game biologists dated at 101 days, meaning she was bred in August.
She had two fawns (big fawns) following her.
She had a fetus in her that game biologists dated at 101 days, meaning she was bred in August.
All other fawns that I have seen this summer have been like you say half as tall as Mama spots beginning to fade.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Saw a small spotted fawn at Thanksgiving once.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
It's a year-long process for a very small percentage of deer. I saw a 3-4 year old buck chasing a doe during turkey season once (April) in Jackson county
BSK
Well-Known Member
Watched a buck chasing a doe on my childhood farm near Bowling Green, KY at Easter.
@BSK Could all of these out-of-normal-range spotted fawns, regardless of the time of year born, be the result of doe fawns finally attaining enough body weight to trigger their hormones enough to begin their first estrous cycle and breed for the first time?
If so, that would seem to indicate that reproduction depends more upon does, including doe fawns, attaining sufficient body weight than on a time frame on a calendar as we are used to traditionally. It could also help explain the fawns (outliers) born on the tails of that bell shaped curve.
You mentioned seeing a buck chasing a doe at Easter. During the 2014 turkey season, I saw an 8-point buck, who had not shed its rack and still had hard antlers, chasing a couple of young does one morning in mid-April.
If so, that would seem to indicate that reproduction depends more upon does, including doe fawns, attaining sufficient body weight than on a time frame on a calendar as we are used to traditionally. It could also help explain the fawns (outliers) born on the tails of that bell shaped curve.
You mentioned seeing a buck chasing a doe at Easter. During the 2014 turkey season, I saw an 8-point buck, who had not shed its rack and still had hard antlers, chasing a couple of young does one morning in mid-April.
BSK
Well-Known Member
utvolsfan77,
Without question, some late fawning is due to female fawns achieving the necessary body weight to enter estrus when they were a fawn. But some individual does just have a very late personal timing (which appears to be genetic, in that it occurs in that same doe every year).
And that is how very localized breeding timings develop. Breeding timing is a bell-shaped curve, and if an earlier or a later than normal timing is advantageous, then those on the outer legs of the bell curve do better and pass their personal timing down to their offspring, which eventually skews the entire bell-curve earlier or later. And it really doesn't take long for this to occur.
Without question, some late fawning is due to female fawns achieving the necessary body weight to enter estrus when they were a fawn. But some individual does just have a very late personal timing (which appears to be genetic, in that it occurs in that same doe every year).
And that is how very localized breeding timings develop. Breeding timing is a bell-shaped curve, and if an earlier or a later than normal timing is advantageous, then those on the outer legs of the bell curve do better and pass their personal timing down to their offspring, which eventually skews the entire bell-curve earlier or later. And it really doesn't take long for this to occur.
DeerMan66
Well-Known Member
I saw a set of twin fawns this week with spots as I was driving in middle TN. I went about a quarter mile and saw a single spotted fawn.
BSK
Well-Known Member
They should still have spots now, but will lose them in the next few weeks as they shed into their winter coat.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Seeing a lot of deer looking "mangey" as they shed their summer coats right now. Fawns usually shed a little later than adults, but any time in September would be normal.
BSK
Well-Known Member
In the areas hit hardest by the drought last year, the rut appeared to be significantly delayed. This makes biological sense (poor health is known to delay breeding). In 24 years of running camera censuses, I've never seen the deer in my area looking worse going into winter as they did last year.
Agreed. And also agree that there are some rough looking deer this summer. Corn planted in the river bottoms this year so there really hasn't been a substantial amount of food available for the deer through spring. Lots of hard mast ready to drop so it should be an interesting year pending how these deer shift out of their summer patterns.
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
Have seen several "late" fawns this year. Rut timing was very late and very inconsistent last year I assume that's the cause. Bsk will it or should it be back to close to normal this year or could it be pushed back a little due to later birth?
We had to run to Tim's Ford this morning to haul a boat back and just before we got there saw 2 with a doe and they were tiny. Couldn't have been more that a couple weeks old. Smallest I ever recall seeing in September.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Should be back to normal. At least that's what happened in 2008, the year after the big drought and EHD outbreak in 2007, which also delayed the rut that year significantly.
We have several near me that still have spots, and quite a few that are very young. It seems like each year I'm seeing more and more that are obviously bred later on.
