i want to take a few doe for the freezer this year but they all have fawns with them. how long do the fawns stay with the does? the last thing i want to do is take a doe and have fawns die because of my mistake. thanks for any advice and happy hunting.

this late in the year you are safe. doe fawns stay within a family group for their whole lives, buck fawns are kicked off before the rut

all the fawns this time of year are being weaned or are already weaned. when the doe comes in heat she will run them off anyway.JMO

Blast away!!! Just make sure you shoot the biggest one!!

X2

x3

i had that feeling but its fine the can live on thier own for sure this time

Our biologist told us to try and take the does without fawns. While the little ones will probably survive, their chances go up the longer they are with their mommas.

they don't have spots, they are fine on their own. if you take her NOW, the fawns will stay in that area. if she weans them, she will run of way off out of the area. shoot now, fawns will stick around (buck & doe fawns).

Most are no longer fawns but yearlings. They ought to be OK.

Shoot em.

How do you figure that? Most of them are born around May. A "yearling" is more than a year old.

A yearling does not mean the deer has to be a year old

Please explain that to me...that made me chuckle a little...lol

Fawns are fawns for the first full year.

Shooting Mama is fine now, it was fine on opening day of rifle season, and it will be fine and the end of the season.

Don't let the "Bamby complex" jack with your mind.

I am not arguing about whether or not to shoot them. They should be fine. They are however still fawns until they reach one year old. I think most people call them yearlings because it sounds better than saying they shot a doe with a fawn. Most guys on my leases call them yearlings too.

thanks for all your help. my wife is going to laugh when she hears about the "bambi complex." i just didnt want to do anything to hert my herd no matter how small and dinky they are.

What about does that still have milk? I've got several of those, some with twin fawns still with them, and most are buck fawns. I haven't pulled the trigger on one yet for that reason.

they shouldn't have milk now anyway. if they did, it still wont hurt the fawn/fawns/yearling/yearlings/whatever if you took out mom.

Not sure. I watched the little buck fawn on the left nurse on the doe on the right this past Saturday. Watched the same thing with another doe and twin fawns the week before.

My buddy shot a doe last weekend that still had milk. He kinda felt bad about it.

According to the biologist I work with, fawns are able to survive on their own o
by the fall and do not need to be nursed by their mom. Some does will continue to let her fawns nurse into the fall and some won't. He says if you have a population shoot the first one that stands still. If you don't shoot the oldest ones as they present themselves through the season.

if the fawns no longer have spots...shoot...if they aren't quite ready to be weaned yet, they'll still live, but if it's a buck fawn, chances are he'll be a little behind the others next yr 1) b/c he's younger 2) he didn't milk out as he should and going to be missing out on some good nutrients.

rifleman's right.