I like you was always under the same assumption; if i shoot the doe the fawns will starve on their own. To date I have never taken a doe but this year I have already made up my mind that I will take a doe. Last year I read a great article on the subject of taking does who are with yearlings. The article talked about research proven that by the time the October bow season comes in all of the yearlings you see with does have already been weaned from milk. They are very capable of living of off the natural vegetation and acorns which is part of their every day diet. Like everything else there are exceptions for those does who give late birth and of course you can tell by the size of the fawn or yearling with the doe. Good luck this year!

ST8

 

Once bow season starts, so long as the spots are gone., have at the does. Once the rut starts, many does will chase the fauns off when a rutting buck comes into the area. My concern is not that they cant feed themselves, its do they have the social knowledge to survive on their own yet, have they learned enough from thier mothers to find the rest of the herd and steer clear of danger. Who knows.

 

Maybe it will be best in the early season to just wait for a lone doe? I told one of the guys at work about the spots on the fawn and he said that makes for a good aiming point! I don't think shooting a 50 pound deer is worth the effort, but I sure would like to put some meat in the freezer before regular gun season....

 

Shoot the mom and the fawns with leave her ,Other moms with milk will pick let the fawns hang with her np.I was the same way for yrs.Last yr i shot a mom with a fawn at my moms place.I did not like doing it but i was crunched for time and meat.Later that night.We seen the fawn with another doe and her baby.Made me feel good.I try for single ones but i dont think it matters.Mich

 

A few years ago while bear hunting I had a doe and fawn right below me for about an hour. The fawn was still trying to suck the teat and the doe would kick at it and push it away. The doe would occasionally give in for a minute here and there though. I think by the end of September they should be able to instinctively take care of themselves.

 

I think by the end of September they should be able to instinctively take care of themselves.

Perhaps ... perhaps not. Coyotes, deep winter snows, changing food supplies by the seasons. There's much a young'un learns AFTER it's first summer on the ground. . . and lots of that from other deer, especially does in it's family group. We have seen fawns 'adopted' by the previous years (fawn) doe after 'Mom' was killed on a road. This would be the fawns ... ? 'half-sister' ? They all made it through winter fine.

~m~

 

Okay your post made me dig out my library and from the October 2006 issue of Deer & Deer Hunting. The article focused on Michigan deer;

The article is titled "Doe Decisions" pg. 104
- buck fawns were found to do better when they left the doe earlier then the doe fawns.

- By the time Bow season opens, fawns are weaned and capable of taking care of themselves.

- Many fawns continue suckling behavior throughout fall. Despite this behavior, fawns do not need to nurse to survive.

- Fawns begin eating solids when they are between two and three weeks old, while they are still dependent on their mothers milk. The older fawns get the more vegetaion they eat. At the same time the amount of milk they consume decreases.

- By the time fawns are eight weeks old, they are capable of survining on their own but will continue to nurse as long as their mother lets them.

- Even when a fawn and doe do not separate, their time together is less than a year. The doe will separate from her fawn of the previous year before giving birth again.

Hope this helps you decide. Again, this is DIRECTLY FROM THE ARTICLE. If you like I can email you the entire article. Just let me know.

ST8

 

I always thought it was when MR BIG came and wanted to do the naughty with momma, the kids could not stand to watch

 

John Ozoga has mentioned this in a few articles in Michigan Out of Doors over the years. There are two primary separation phases that occur. The first is when the doe is getting close to estrous, with the family unit usually regrouping shortly thereafter. The second period is when the doe is ready to drop her fawns. Again, even after this there is generally a regrouping of the family unit. I've got a group of 11 does coming in pretty much every night right now. It's obvious from looking at them that there are a few generations in that group. Either that, or they are just all really good friends that always seem to be together and have a very noticeable age progression.

As was mentioned, the fawns don't really need momma for milk by now, unless it was really late born and if that's the case it doesn't have much of a chance anyway. The thing that concerns me is the social/learning aspect of the relationship. Up here in the U.P., many of these fawns need momma to show them the ropes to get through winter, where to eat, where to go to yard up, where to migrate to, etc. I think a lot of the fawns will hook up with grandma, aunts, cousins, etc, but the best teacher is momma (this is my opinion, based on LOTS of pictures of a very recognizable doe family unit (got a string of piebald deer running around) in my back yard).

That being said, I don't have an issue taking a doe, regardless of whether she is with fawns or not. Even if it is a lone doe, chances are good that she has fawns running around somewhere, so either way you're probably orphaning them. As I've witnessed and was mentioned, they still seem to make it through winter so they're learning the ropes somehow.

 

Maybe it will be best in the early season to just wait for a lone doe?

Good luck!

Most will still be with family groups early season.

 

Winter and food is not normally an issue, as these deer are in southeast michigan. Coyotes are here but not in huge numbers so I bet their impact would be minimal. Knockoff you make a good point. I guess even though I have been getting lone does on camera, it could have fawns nearby. Another thing I have to think about is I know If I were to pass on a deer the other guys that hunt the property would probably shoot it anyway so I think I have came to my decision.. Thanks for the thoughts guys...