The Life of a Fawn

The buck fawn grows into a button buck and is recognized by its shorter neck and square head. It has small little nubs on top of its head, which are covered with hair. In most states, it is considered an antlerless harvest unless a polished antler is present.

Having survived prowling predators, the whitetail fawn now matures.

Spring gives way to warm days as the summer season nears. Pesky insects start to dominate the woodlots and open fields. For the young whitetails that survived the pursuit of predators, now their lives of growing into mature deer begin to unfold.

If the parenting female doesn’t reject her offspring, which is usually due to nutritional stress, a hormonal imbalance, inexperienced first-time mothers or disease, then the process of maternal guidance is under way.

The deer fawn, although it possesses certain inborn survival instincts, still takes its lead from its mother. Foremost are concealed bedding sites, which are pre-chosen by the mother. If these locales remain undisturbed, she will use them year after year — especially if she has raised young before.

These bedding sites are essential for the fawn to conserve energy and digest nutrients for growth. The fawn is growing rapidly by now, but it still spends the majority of time bedding.

By its mother’s vocal commands and through scent-bonding, the fawn learns where these sites are within days after birth. Bedding locales, through the mother’s lead, are reinforced. The fawn can also go to bed on its own or by her cue as it matures. Besides nutrition, this aspect of the fawn’s development is crucial as to whether the infant survives and properly matures.

The mother also guides the newborn to specific feeding areas, and of course, the fawn quickly learns where the nutrients are. Besides periodically nursing from its mother, the deer fawn within just a few weeks after birth is able to forage on its own. Yet it’s still dependent on the protein content of its mother’s milk.

Deer researchers have determined that the nourishing milk of whitetails is high not only in protein but fat and vitamins as well. It also possesses colostrum, which is basically an antibiotic to resist disease.

These bedding sites and feeding locales are continually imprinted through the mother’s scent and visual guidance. Along with its inborn instincts for survival, the newborn learns to adapt and survive.

At times, the fawn is highly frisky — darting to and fro from its mother and other deer. Here, the young deer sharpens its skill to evade predators. Also, playful behavior is associated with the social order of deer as well. These behaviors and responses from the herd can determine the fawn’s status within the herd even at a young age. However, this socialization is usually more intense with female fawns than young bucks, which will eventually disperse on their own

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About Tommy Kirkland 32 Articles
Tommy Kirkland aggressively pursues whitetails with camera and extensive observational work on free-ranging deer. He is a novice turkey hunter; and his articles and photos have been featured in many outdoor publications.

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