I remember a year ago when lots of neighbors asked me about fawns. Were we seeing any. Yes! Lots and lots as we usually do here. However, this year it is a different story. We have a definite lack of fawns and I'm unsure why but suspect dogs or coyotes. We had several born in late May and early June but most of those have come up missing. Also, looking at the trail cam pictures we see lots of does but few fawns. We are seeing pictures with 3 or 4 does and more; up to 8 does feeding and no fawns at all. We do have 2 or 3 new ones that are still extremely small and I pray they make it. I also shudder to think what our deer herd will be like after hunting season with all the emphasis on shooting does. We have some land close by that has been leased and these places seem to be the worse offenders. If there are 5 or 6 or even more hunters and each one allowed to kill 5 does or fawns, that thins the herd out fast so this year with fewer does and very few fawns, what will next year be like? Sad...
Sounds like you have a good reason to kill some yotes to me. Hopefully mom just has them out of sight.
No, they've had it this way for many years; well before CWD made it's ugly face known here. Fortunately it has not been to our area but some not that far away. I know Brad is in the CWD area. Not only the 5 permits per year, if you have ag damage, you can basically get an unlimited license. They try to slow it down by giving 5 or 10 permits at once but all it takes is one call and you get more. That has hurt some areas a lot.
I can't see how those harvest numbers are sustainable, it sounds like a recipe for no deer population at all.
Yes it can be for sure. We've definitely noticed the herd going downhill. In addition, we no longer have any old does in the herd. What is just as bad or perhaps worse is the long hunting seasons they are allowing. Our deer really get stressed hard just before going into the hard winter period. They start shooting does in September and it continues up to January. This is stupid but it is all about trying to sell more licenses. They do not understand why the license sales are dropping but a lot of the reason is that people are getting fed up with the DNR practices, especially on public land. Most public land hunting is really bad now and to add to that it has caused many to begin leasing hunting land. The leasers don't care about the overall herd; they only want to shoot deer. Let 6 guys lease 100 acres and each allowed to shoot 5 does and 2 bucks. No imagine what that might do to the herd. Those who can't afford to lease or own hunting land and can't find good hunting spots on public land simply quit buying licenses.
I've seen a lot of fawns this year, but it was really strange - some were obviously a month or more older than others. Some looked like they had just dropped and others look like they were close to losing their spots. Double rut last year? I can't remember anything out of the ordinary though.
We typically have about 3 different periods for fawns to be born here. We usually see the last ones drop around 10-15 of August. I do still see a couple of does that look to still have fawns.
Not seeing any here but with all this rain and hot weather, the hay and grass is way to long to see much of anything. It's only been dry enough for the farmers to recently start cutting hay so I suspect to start seeing more soon. Seen my first brood of wild turkey poults just this week in some cut fields.
I have been seeing a few fawns but I also hunt coyotes a bunch more than I hunt deer. I my self don't care for the doe permit system in my area either being able to buy 5 over the counter permits a day. A lot in my area has to do with the insurance companies and people not having the sense to slow down when it is clearly a deer area. I live on a gravel road and there is woods right up to the road and across the road a corn field most years. Dumb basses from the lake down the road hit and kill a good 15 deer every year right by the creek bridge but it doesn't slow them down. What saves the deer here is the small farms and not many who hunt deer and some only want one per year. Al
For sure the idiots that don't slow down especially during the rut get too many deer but I don't see a way to change this. You'd think because it happens every year that would be enough to make folks aware. Yet, just watch and see what happens during the first couple of snowfalls every winter. People simply prove they are very poor drivers and end up parking in some very strange areas and get into many fender benders. Some simply can not be taught.
