Does with fawns

HAWKEN

How long will a doe keep her last seasons fawns around her before she goes into estress? Since I have moved to Tennessee, I have two groups of does with fawns coming to the feeder in my back yard, and it's the end of October......Robin

Teach

That's not unusual at all around here, Robin. Since the "rut" in Tennessee isn't as time-specific as other places, there can be a wide difference in the age of fawns. A late-bred doe from last season will sometimes have a fawn still in spots, or just barely getting its first solid-color coat when bow season opens, and often all the way into muzzleloader season. It's not uncommon to see a family group with an old doe with younger offspring running together for several seasons. As the bucks mature, they start breaking off into bachelor groups until the rut begins. Two weeks ago, I saw two yearling bucks with pretty good racks and an older doe about 50 yards from the back door. Probably Mama and twins, I believe.
Jerry

NN

I'm not sure estress is always an issue, she may breed and link back up with the fawns as they grow further and stay in a group until near spring birthing time and maybe beyond as Jerry said.

1965Jeff

This morning two fawns hung out munching acorns for 45 mins until mom came up the creek bed and collected them like unruly teens to go bed down. Sometimes the tending buck will run off the young uns until he's finished his breeding. I suppose if you are a little fawn buck life could get rough if you try to hang around too long when its the rut.

bullsi1911

Teach wrote: »

It's not uncommon to see a family group with an old doe with younger offspring running together for several seasons.

Same here.

Oddly enough, I have been seeing multiple mature bucks hanging out in groups with no does over the last few years. And that is in more than one location, so it's not just one group of more "metro" bucks