Season opens here in a week. So far in the last few days I've seen three doe. One had two spotted fawns, one had three spotted fawns, and one had a non-spotted fawn. I don't want to target a doe that is still nursing so how much longer will I need to wait before it's safe to fill the antlerless tag?
Well I cant say with any certainty but I know I haven't gotten any pics of nursing does for awhile now but plenty pics of them eating my corn. I'm sure they will nurse occasionally as long as momma has milk but don't rely on it. I'd think by now they'd be drying up though.
I hunt on opening day with the assumption the state biologists and DNR allow us to kill does without adversely effecting the fawn population. They still have a milkbag when I gut them but like tackle said, I don't think fawns rely on it right now.
I probably wouldn't shoot a doe still with spotted fawns. As long as the youngsters have lost their spots, they are old enough to survive on their own.
Thanks for the replies. It would seem that a parallel can be drawn between deer and cattle. A calf can survive without milk once it reaches about 200ish pounds which is several months from a "normal" weaning time. I'm sure there is a similar size threshold for fawns as well. The spots/no spots seems to be a good line in the sand. That's probably how I will make my decision.
My grandpa used to own deer and we often raised them/fed them bottles up until about 10-12 weeks old. This is also typical for wild deer although there is no specific set time. It depends on the health of the mother and the quality/quantity of milk she is producing. About 10-12 weeks is a general rule of thumb before fawns start weaning off the milk or partially off the milk and onto plants/grains, etc.,. There should be nothing wrong with shooting a doe with fawns by opening day, however, I choose not to. Nothing wrong with either decision.
I won't shoot one w/ a fawn. In general I don't shoot does until after the rut anyhow. Doe = buck bait.
No spots I shoot. Just my rule. But like others said they're more than capable of fending for themselves after a few months.
The first week of season last year I had a doe come in that didn't have a fawn with her, or so I thought. I made a good shot and she ran about 50 yards and dropped. As soon as she started running, her spotted fawn came bolting out of some thick grass and followed her. Unfortunately, this was all visible, and the fawn sat there whining and nudging her momma to get up. Whether or not the spotted fawn was relying on momma for milk didn't matter at that point, they still had an undeniable bond yet that left me feeling pretty bad. Obviously im a bit of softy.
Season opens october 1 here. I'd assume by then that fawns don't need their mom so I'm shooting any doe that walks by unless that doe has spots itself
When do fawns get weaned? Soon after their mom becomes backstraps. That being said, I wont shoot momma if her little ones are very small.
im in the same boat as far as having several doe's with spotted fawns on camera at my place. i haven't seen one nursing on camera for a few weeks, but they are still pretty close to their mom's. me personally, im a softy and it will kill me to shoot the mother with her fawns right there, but my freezer only has 6 lbs of burger and a steak and one loin left from last yr. so looks like i'll be dropping her on sight come september 15th. i'm sure the fawns will be ok.
Ive been there myself. Never again. I had to throw sticks to get the poor little booger to leave. That was after waiting an hour listening to her bawl. I just didnt see that she was 100 yds or so behind mama.
Not a softy it's called being a human and having a heart. Every hunter feels some remorse for the animals life they just ended. About a month ago driving to work there was a dead fawn in the road hit by a car and the mother was up on the hill staring down at the dead fawn. That was wicked sad to see first thing in the morning goin to work.
It's hard to see the fawn/doe reactions but we also need to remember that most if not all that behavior is driven by instinct. I've seen the same thing with cows/calves. The next day the cow is going about her business like a calf never existed. Same with the calf. There's nothing wrong with your heart strings getting tugged at a little though. It's what separates us from the animals.
I would be a liar if I said that I don't feel remorse for taking an animal's life. Every time I kill an animal (aside from fish), there is always a little remorse mixed in with the thrill. I think it's healthy for the soul to respect life. That being said, I will not take a doe with offspring, spotted or not but I have many friends who will if the fawn has lost its spots. Dolze
