[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/fawning-season-did-you-know\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/fawning-season-did-you-know\/","headline":"Fawning Season: Did you know?","name":"Fawning Season: Did you know?","description":"As spring creeps closer to summer, more and more hunters, farmers, and explorers will come upon newborn fawns. \u00a0In\u00a0most parts\u00a0of...","datePublished":"2016-05-16","dateModified":"2018-10-24","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fawn2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Fawn2.jpg","height":682,"width":1024},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/fawning-season-did-you-know\/","about":["Hunting"],"wordCount":948,"keywords":["Deer","Hunting","Tips"],"articleBody":"As spring creeps closer to summer, more and more hunters, farmers, and explorers will come upon newborn fawns. \u00a0In\u00a0most parts\u00a0of the country (any area with a November Rut) fawns are dropped during mid-May to early June.\u00a0 In southern states (below the 35th parallel), fawning seasons will be scattered across the board (just like the rut) since seasonal habitat demands are not as critical to fawn survival as they are in the more northern states.\u00a0 In northern states, it\u2019s critical that fawns are dropped when the natural vegetation provides adequate cover for the fawns and high nutritional value to the lactating doe.\u00a0 Also, fawns are born at a time when they will have adequate time to bulk up and prepare for the winter months.As you can see, these strict and timely criteria are essential for whitetail recruitment which is exactly why the rut provides such a frenzy of action for a couple short weeks every fall.Does drop their fawns approximately 200 days (6 months, 20 days) after conception.\u00a0 If you stumble across a newborn fawn, you can back date it and figure out approximately when that doe was bred.\u00a0 Say you find a fawn on May 30th and it looks to be about a week old \u2013 subtracting 207 days from the current date tells you that the momma doe was likely bred around November 6th.\u00a0 You can use this as an indicator of when the rut can be expected in your area.In comparison, if you find a newborn fawn around the 4th of July, you can assume the mother was bred during her second estrous cycle or perhaps it is a fawn from one of last year\u2019s fawns.\u00a0 These two differing options of the \u201cJuly born fawn\u201d can tell quite a different tale.\u00a0 If it came from a doe who cycled twice the previous fall, that may be an indicator of a poor buck to doe ratio and because of this, she didn\u2019t get bred during her first go around \u2013 either because of too many competing does, or not enough bucks.\u00a0 If it was from a fawn, this actually a good sign!\u00a0 The reason being, a fawn will hit breeding maturity once they reach approximately 80 pounds.\u00a0 If a fawn from the previous spring reaches 80 pounds before January, there\u2019s a good chance it will be bred.\u00a0 Perhaps more importantly, an 80-pound fawn is a pretty good indicator that there is a decent amount of quality forage available.What should or shouldn\u2019t you do if you find a fawn? If you come across a fawn that doesn\u2019t run off, don\u2019t let it fool you into thinking it\u2019s injured.\u00a0 This is simply the response mechanism of newborns \u2013 they crouch their head and remain motionless.\u00a0 Even though they look incredibly adorable and may seem like they are in need, don\u2019t touch them.\u00a0 Simply snap a picture and go about your day.While you should avoid touching fawns if possible, it\u2019s not entirely detrimental to move them if you have to.\u00a0 Contrary to popular belief, a mother will not abandon a fawn that has been touched by a human, as long as it’s left alone and stays in the nearby area.\u00a0 For instance, if the fawn is in an unsafe place such as a hay field that\u2019s ready to be mowed, it is perfectly fine to pick up the fawn and move it to a shady spot nearby.\u00a0 Place it in some cover so it\u2019s not easily exposed and the mother will find it once you leave.Moving fawns if you absolutely need to is fine, but do not try to care for the animal.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to give it any type of milk or food.\u00a0 Chances are the mom is nearby and she will care for her fawn once the danger has gone away.\u00a0 It\u2019s always best to let wild animals fend for themselves . . . they know what they are doing.\u00a0Other Fun Fawn FactsDoes that have twin fawns usually stash them in separate locations until they are able to walk and follow her.Does will clean their fawns and eat the afterbirth and will move the fawn from the birthing spot to the best possible cover within 10 hours.\u00a0 Does go to extreme measures to ensure the safety of their young by removing any predator attracting scent.Fawns can walk approximately 5 hours after they are born and have decent agility (running) after 5 days.During the first week, fawns spend 90% of their time bedded down.Fawns have an average of 300 spots and rely on them as camouflage during the first few months of their life.\u00a0 Their primary defense mechanism during the first week of its life is to remain bedded with their head near the ground like a statue.Does are usually within 100 hundred yards of their fawns, but typically stay a fair distance from them in order to not attract predators.Fawns begin to wean off their mother\u2019s milk around the 3rd week and begin to eat and browse on vegetation."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/fawning-season-did-you-know\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Fawning Season: Did you know?"}}]}]