The age of white-tailed deer fawns can be determined in a number of ways. Coat color, size, foraging behavior, play, antler formation and teeth eruption are all clues to the age of a fawn. Remember not to disturb newborn fawns. When the mother doe gives birth in the spring, her fawn or fawns wear ruddy-brown fur. This fur protects the fawn from the eyes of predators and passers-by as camouflage. Newborns bear little to no scent prior to scent-gland development.
They weigh between 6 to 8 pounds when born. The newborn buck fawns weigh slightly more on average than newborn doe fawns. These young fawns lie hidden among vegetation while their mother forages for food, and when she returns they nurse four times a day until they reach four months old. Newborns can move about even on their first day. Typically, however, fawns will not venture forth to graze until they reach between two weeks and a month old. While the mother leaves her fawns alone for periods of time, these baby deer rest safely and should not be disturbed.
The mother never ventures far afield, and she will move her fawn when she returns. The spots on the fawns begin to fade at around three to four months old. Fawns wean by the end of summer. By the time fawns reach roughly six months old, they participate more socially. They play and exhibit great curiosity, and tend to be less wary than adults. More aggressive buck fawns tend to enter clearings first. These fawns possess shorter snouts than adults.
The bodies of fawns at this age are short and square-shaped when compared to adult does. Their coat matches with their environment making them almost invisible. Amusingly, young fawns are a total lame in their first few days after birth. During the first month and a half, they usually wander around and choose their bedding site within a small radius away from its previous site.
When a fawn gains some strength, it now begins to follow its mother for short distances and begin to explore the present environment. Life in the forest is challenging due to a lot of predators aiming to hunt and feed on them. As mentioned above, a young deer have spots all over its body to help camouflage them from predators. Their spotted coat blends with their environment. The mother deer makes multiple bedding areas for their fawns even if the forest is vast.
The mother deer spends most of its time away from the young fawn to avoid attracting predators and returns only when she will feed her baby in any of the bedding areas. Why do mother fawns spend most of its time away from the young fawn? On the other hand, a young fawn is odorless, making them less susceptible to being detected. Fawns that can survive past the first week will have a good chance of making it into adulthood.
Fawns maintain their white spots for 90 to days after birth; quite useful for their survival. These spots eventually fade away from their body after that time frame. Once gone, a shiny brownish fur replaces it. A thicker coat replaces the previous coat of the fawn as the white spots slowly fade.
Whitetail fawns learn many behaviors from their mothers that enable them to survive a challenging life in the wild. Susan Shea is a naturalist, conservationist, and freelance writer who lives in Brookfield, Vermont.
We have several herds that regularly come through our property. The smaller herd of a buck and 4 doe also had 2 fawn. The doe was killed by a car.
My husband confirm she had been lactating. The babies stayed in the paddock next to the road seeming to wait for her. I tried to put out goat milk replacer and kid feed, but they seem more interested in grass.
They have not joined either herd and none of the does adopted them although they socialize a bit in the evening. They do wander, but always come back. Are they still waiting for the doe? They seem fine. I just wish they would join a herd rather than be alone.
A fawn has been in my backyard all day. A few days ago spotted it a couple blocks away. No sign of mom. Now nestled among my peonies out of sight. Very still. Your article is encouraging, I will continue to watch from a distance. Thank you. Anyone know why a one year old female deer is suddenly not with her mother and brother? Did she run off with a male deer, or on her own…or did she die?
How could that happen suddenly broken leg, coyote,etc? She was our favorite, with loads of personality, unlike an average deer! Twin fawns were born here in MN maybe months ago. They were always with the doe, however, lately I see the twins but no mother. Does she set them free this early….
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