Last week I wrote an article discussing harvesting white-tailed deer early in the season, which I strongly recommend. The article discussed why it is important to remove deer before winter, especially does, and the benefits of having a deer herd at carrying capacity. Well, one reader posed a question that many of you may be interested in:
“What about nursing fawns early in the season? Will taking lactating does hinder growth and development in these young deer?”
Yes and no. To begin, whitetail fawns are usually weaned and become functioning ruminants at eight weeks of age. Most fawns at southern latitudes are born in late May and June, meaning the majority of fawns are weaned by the end of August. And this makes sense from a biological perspective, because as late-summer food sources deplete the doe can then rely on the fawn to nourish itself. This covers the majority of whitetail fawns that hunters will encounter in the field during the fall hunting season. Continue reading “Shooting Does With Fawns”