Touching a fawn does absolutely nothing that will make the mother reject it. This is an old wives tale to keep people from picking up wild animals (although it seems it didn't work
). Doe can hear fawn bleats from quite a distance and will usually come running. We used to carry fawns from the fields so they wouldn't get killed when we were bailing hay. The fawns would start calling and the mother would come get them and take them away. Never once did our scent make a difference.I also have quite a few friends who breed deer and handle the fawns on a regular basis with no ill effects, one of which is a game warden. Basically you should never pick them up but chances are the mother didn't go far and came back for the little guy after hearing it bleat.