[Woodywoodduck]

Ok, Who is our Expert Fawn Person here in the PGC Forum??


Reason I ask.....

Today, a Buddy and I went out to put up a new ladder stand he got and to place my climber for the up coming season, on our other buddy's property...

We both drove our trucks out into the field....I was ahead of my buddy...I get to the mid point in the feild and parked...stepped out and he was coming up behind me, off to the passenger side of my truck....

I took 2 steps toward the front of my truck and a fawn bolted out of the grass...

At first, I thought it was a fox that had been laying in the tall grass, sunning itself... but as it looped away, I saw that it was a DEER FAWN and could not have been more then 20 pounds and looked to be no more then 2-3 weeks old, no were near over a month old!!!


We both looked at each other and said "I, I, I, I thought it was a fox at first, but then saw what it really was...NEVER Have I Seen a Fawn that small and this late in the year!!"


So.....When did the doe get bred?
And
Has anyone ever seen a fawn that small at this time of the year?


If I had not stopped were I did, 4 more feet and I would have run right over that fawn!

 

[Woods walker]

There are doe that get bred late and fawns are born late. I have seen several young deer with spots during the rifle season over the years. What you saw isn't the norm, but it also is not unheard of either.

 

[Woodywoodduck]

whats the gestation period for deer?

We were trying to figure out when the doe would have been bred....

is it 6 months?
If so, then that doe had to have been bred in late march/early april?

We both thought that there was only 2 ruts, regular rut around the end of october/beginning of november and then right in around christmas/new years.

 

[hunt4ever]

About 5 yrs ago had 2 fawns, spots and all come by my stand on the opener of archery. Couldnt be more than a week or so old. The younger does go into heat much later than the older ones

 

[Pa-Plinker]

whats the gestation period for deer? ...

Around 200 days.

 

[BOWHUNTERZ7]

i dono, ive been seeing alot of fawns still with spots...just tonight i seen 2 with spots yet, they let me run past and were still there on my way back past.

 

[Pa-Guy]

If does do not get bred the first time they come in heat, 28 days later, they will come in heat again. If they don't get bred that time, they come in heat a 3rd time, 28 days later. So this can spread out the time that "normal" fawns are born. Fawns that are born late, that results from that 3rd heat cycle, are always behind. Research has shown that even a year later, they are still 10 lbs. behind in body weight compared to fawns that were born 2 months earlier, that prior year. (10 lbs. was the average.) Like John S. said, what you saw is not normal, but it happens.

 

[BigCountry27]

i found a fawn a couple years ago on opening day that couldnt walk yet, would this deer have survived? i cant imagine it would have, it was a rougher winter. I actually thought about killing it so it wouldnt suffer through the winter(thought about it, i didnt do it) but i decided to let it go, any opinions??

 

[duckman76]

You always get to learn new stuff on here. Great post's guys.

 

[CJBS2003]

If the buck to doe ratio is out of whack, sometimes a doe or two may not get bred their first, second or even third cycle through... So instead of getting bred in Oct or Nov, they're bred in Feb or even March... Hence the very late born fawns...

If the fawn you saw happens to be a male, in all likelihood if he survives he'll grow a set of antlers like this buck I recently got a photo of:

Now those are some tiny spikes!!!

 

[Treestand]

why is this a laws and regs question?.....
i have a doe on my place that has a late fawn every year it has spots almost till rifle season so yes it isnt uncommon.

 

[Woods walker]

Killing it would have been the wrong thing to do and unlawful. Thedoe just might have been somewhere close by and if not just let nature tke its course of call the wco and report it and let him or her decide.

 

[BigCountry27]

actually it was during season and i had doe tags, so idont believe it would have been unlawful, unless theres a rule i dont know about?? which if there is im sure someone will be able to fill me in! and i know it was moraly wrong, hence why i didnt do it.

 

[DennyF]

Had a small, spotted fawn walk right up behind me several years ago while I was hunting during the first week of archery season in Tioga Co.

Have also seen a few small fellers during firearms seasons in Tioga co. over the years, which if seen in late Sept. would've likely still had their spots then?

Last fall we had a doe and three fawns that regularly came into our back yard at home, for apples. Two of the fawns were identical in size and about the weight they should've been at by fall, for "early" fawns. The other fawn was much smaller.

Either the twins had lost their mommy, or the little one had, as there are a fair number of summer roadkills around here.

What I think was that same little fawn, became fairly tame last winter and still comes in for apples, mostly by itself now. It does not run off if I go out back and flip it an apple or ear of corn, like the other deer do. It tends to just stand and wait for the treat, or sometimes actually walks towards me when I jabber at it.

 

[Woods walker]

Nope if you had a tag it would have been legal.

 

[Woodywoodduck]

Originally Posted By: treestand91why is this a laws and regs question?.....i have a doe on my place that has a late fawn every year it has spots almost till rifle season so yes it isnt uncommon.

Because you tend to get more of the WCOs input on this supject of a late fawn and they tend to know a little more and are like I asked when I started the thread "Who is the Expert"

Got me the answer I wanted!

It isn't always just about the laws, the forum deals with the PGC!

 

[Treestand]

they need to change the name to ask a W.C.O. forum then