Fawns dropping late this year

Old Buck

New Member
Not sure if anyone else is seeing this, but up here in the mountains we have seen fawns being dropped this past week. And not just one, I backup to about 600 acres of UFS and I have feeders, mineral and salt licks on my property along with about 12 mature apple trees. In early July we saw our first fawns, and on Monday we saw two fawns with a mature Doe, and the could hardly stand up. My wife saw a fawn and small doe this evening when taking her walk and that fawn wasn't but a few days old. This makes some of our does being breed in Jan or even a little later.

Last Sept when bow season opened. I was driving by and a guy was gutting a deer dragging a doe out of the FS land and I stopped to talk to him, and he told me amazing story. When he killed the doe and gutted her she was carrying a fawn, and this was late Sept. Crazy as it might sound, he assured me the fawn was alive and ready to come out.
Has anyone else ever seen anything like this?
 

buckpasser

Senior Member
The breeding is pretty drug out. Not uncommon at all in my opinion. I believe our herd suffers for it vs a defined rut and fawn drop because it benefits predators.
 
Last edited:

antharper

“Well Rounded Outdoorsman MOD “
Staff member
I’m a couple hours south of you and I checked a cam today that had some that looked like they are about ready to lose spots and some that look a couple weeks old . On a side note I thought there were no doe days on FS land
 

kmckinnie

BOT KILLER MODERATOR
Staff member
I’m a couple hours south of you and I checked a cam today that had some that looked like they are about ready to lose spots and some that look a couple weeks old . On a side note I thought there were no doe days on FS land

Just asking. Not even in bow season?
 

Bullochcountyhunter

Senior Member
Of course I'm in south ga, but the same things happen here as well. I have fawns that are about ready to lose their spots, some that are a couple weeks old and I even have one doe that is either still pregnant or something is wrong with her. Shes as big around as a 55 gallon drum. April 2019 I picked a >week old fawn out.of the road, same year had newborns in September.
 

furtaker

Senior Member
Most of them around these parts are born in May and June, but there are always exceptions. Every doe isn't bred at the same time every year, but the "peak" of the rut is at the same time every year.

If you're seeing "late" fawns this year then it's happening every year. The rut doesn't change.
 

antharper

“Well Rounded Outdoorsman MOD “
Staff member
Just asking. Not even in bow season?
Didn’t see he said September but I’m not really sure , if I was hunting in the mountains I wouldn’t shoot one for anything . Who would want to get a doe out of them hills ? I hunt in flat woods and will only shoot one in the road
 

Ihunt

Senior Member
Between all of my friends here in middle Georgia we have pics of little fawns from March up until November.

I’m 51 and have hunted my entire life. I say that to make this next statement not sound as crazy as it will.

Two years ago I watched a older fawn 9-10 months old come busting out of the woods running across a field with her mouth gaped open. A few seconds later what I thought was her mama came out but instead of following her it tried to cut her off. “Her” mouthed was gaped open and her lower jaw was kind of off to the side like a rutting buck who is running himself to death. After watching it, I’m 100% certain that’s exactly what it was even though he had no antlers and it was the first part of April.

About 10 years ago my brother was filming some bucks inside the fence at the USDA lab in Byron. There were 4-5 bucks chasing a doe. One was a real bruiser which is why my brother was filming them.

One of the bucks was a decent 2.5-3.5 yo that was running her to death. He just wouldn’t stop. He chased her into the woods and seconds later reappeared only he had dropped both sides of his rack. This was on Feb 14th.

Our rut in middle Georgia May peak in the end of October through November but it’s very possible for a doe to be in estrous at any time during our deer season. Those maps that show peak breeding, while possibly beneficial, should be taken with a grain of salt.
 
Top