Leave Fawns Lay

The boys and I came upon this little guy in the woods last night, happy, healthy, and hiding just like nature intended. This is happening all across the Midwest right now, so be sure to leave those fawns lay and vacate the area as soon as you can. Even though it lied motionless and the kids really wanted to pet the deer, I got to explain how we needed to keep our scent off of it and minimize our impact to ensure the nearby doe wouldn’t abandon the fawn or that location. Was really cool to see. The same goes for turkey nests; best to clear out of the area altogether.

Joel

Attachments:

1. 

   fawn.jpg
   

Great suggestion Joel. Need to give those little guys all the chances in the world to outwit the yotes. And there is the added bonus of your stories in a year or two when she/he blows at you while in the stand.

I ventured a bit too close to a goose nest the other day. Mamma goose had no reservations about chasing away my 16 foot boat as I worked along the shoreline. Bet she was pretty proud of her self after that accomplishment.

kooty wrote:

Great suggestion Joel. Need to give those little guys all the chances in the world to outwit the yotes. And there is the added bonus of your stories in a year or two when she/he blows at you while in the stand.

I expect them to blow/snort/wheeze and otherwise get my goat during deer season. When they spook turkeys…I totally lose my cool.

Joel

Good stuff ! Hard to believe something that cute can grow up to be such a pain !

I have an old phone with some fawn pictures from a few springs ago. I will try and get them off that.

One turkey morning I was able to take my bird at first light it dropped out of the tree right in to my setup just like we always planned. So I went back to the truck to wait for my buddy who was still hunting. Took a nap on a great spring morning laying in the field about 20 minutes later I get spooked something hits my legs and I open my eyes I had two fawns come and lay against me and I think it was for heat it was a cool morning. Never had that happen before so I did have to handle them a bit did not want to. I put them back in the brush cover we found were mom dropped them.

No mom around but we kept an eye on them all day to make sure nothing happen to them. That night mom showed up and they slowy took off these little guys could barely walk but they stumbled and walked with mom back to the woods.

We were camped right in the field next to this brush pile so we got to see all this happen. Don’t think we will ever see that again.Mom did not want to come in but she finally did.

Great photo. Neat story Hoyt. Remember watching a show on a deer farm. They where going through the woods in the spring tending to the fawns. Looking in the brush, around logs and so on for them. Seem to remember them commenting on fawns having no scent other than poop and the does ate that.

Carole and I have come across quite a few fawns while out looking for wild asparagus and mushrooms. Fun to see, more fun to know that they were left was they were spotted. We won’t get too close to new fawns. We get our quice peek the leave them be.

Not that it matters but…. I seen on Northwoods Law, they dispelled the rumor about a mother, will reject her fawn if it comes in contact with a human and has their scent on them. They constantly handle fawns and re-unite them with their mothers who go on to nurse and rear them. It is an old wives tale, but they went on to say, the best thing is to leave them lay, but if they are in a vulnerable position, definitely handle them and get them to safety. Always cool to find them

Hoyt4 wrote:

I have an old phone with some fawn pictures from a few springs ago. I will try and get them off that.

One turkey morning I was able to take my bird at first light it dropped out of the tree right in to my setup just like we always planned. So I went back to the truck to wait for my buddy who was still hunting. Took a nap on a great spring morning laying in the field about 20 minutes later I get spooked something hits my legs and I open my eyes I had two fawns come and lay against me and I think it was for heat it was a cool morning. Never had that happen before so I did have to handle them a bit did not want to. I put them back in the brush cover we found were mom dropped them.

No mom around but we kept an eye on them all day to make sure nothing happen to them. That night mom showed up and they slowy took off these little guys could barely walk but they stumbled and walked with mom back to the woods.

We were camped right in the field next to this brush pile so we got to see all this happen. Don’t think we will ever see that again.Mom did not want to come in but she finally did.

Wow, that would be incredible, especially to see the mother get back with them and know everyone was safe and sound. Neat story.

Joel

Regardless of wives tale or not, I agree that they are neat to observe, but we need to respect mother nature and leave them be. While looking for mushrooms each year we stumble upon fawns and nesting turkeys. Now if we could just keep the skunks, grinners, and coon out of the nests…

Cool story on having them lay next to you. That had to been a rush.

Attachments:

1. 

   CAM00118.jpg
   

As they said, if they are in harms way, (laying on the shoulder of a road) don’t be afraid to touch em to move them… and it “is” a wives tale… no doubt. They went on to say, adding human scent to something does not “bring in” the coyotes or other predators, they actually avoid it. Nobody said to “not respect mother nature”…. geez

big_g wrote:

As they said, if they are in harms way, (laying on the shoulder of a road) don’t be afraid to touch em to move them… and it “is” a wives tale… no doubt. They went on to say, adding human scent to something does not “bring in” the coyotes or other predators, they actually avoid it. Nobody said to “not respect mother nature”…. geez

sorry if my terminology was too harsh, wasn’t intended to be

Had a labrador come back with one in it’s mouth. Had him give…put it back in the grass down by the creek…mom came and found it by lunch time.

Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation in Garrison, MN says they get new born deer fawns every year at this time. They say the majority are from people who falsely assume they are abandoned.

I’m not sure but I think the mothers will leave to clean up and get rid of all the mess on them so they do not attract predators then come back to get the fawns.

Most does have twins or triplets… to increase chances of survival, they hide them in separate locations. So they are constantly going back and forth between fawns and feeding. The fawns are left unattended a lot right now until they are old enough to follow mama. Its a shame when mama hides the fawns on two different sides of a road… usually a recipe for trouble.