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My buddy shot a doe with her two fawns trailing behind her. He didn't know better. After she went down they hung around the area. There was milk in her. The fawns were rather large, close to the same size as the small mother doe. Will they be all right and at what time does the mother push them off on their own as well as they stop drinking from her?
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It is not uncommon to find does with milk and into the autumn fawns will nurse but not to a great extent as they are utilizing other food sources as well.Depending on the time of birth of the fawns -- as some does are bred successfully in the second cycle or later rut it can influence eventual weaning times as well.The lactation cycle(milk production)provides large volumes of milk early in the process of caring for the fawns and gradually decreases as time evolves into autumn.Milk production will somewhat limited at this time of year but the continued stimulus of nursing fawns will maintain some production.Eventually the lactation cycle will bottom out practically to no milk production.A doe who nursed a fawn will have some residual milk in her at this time of year -- she could already be in the process of drying off.Though a a natural process the fawns will receive less and less milk as the lactation cycle nears the end and as other food sources make up the balance of the diet there is a shift away from nursing. The fawns are quite capable of making it on their own and eventually may "yard up" with other deer for the winter months. -
I think the Decoy Hunter is correct. Those yearlings trailing their momma should be fine as they were most likely receiving very little milk from the doe at the time.
Deer are very hearty little critters and I would be surprised if those two did not survive.Comment
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It happens all the time. The fawns will be fine. The doe fawns will likely be bred before the end of the year unless they were born really, really late.Comment
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