Originally Posted by
johnandmare
We won't take a fawn, or I guess by hunting season, 6 month olds.
A deer is a fawn until it reaches it's first birthday.
There is nothing wrong with harvesting doe fawns in areas where you have too many deer.
Here is some information from retired Michigan DNR research biologist John Ozoga.
"Why harvest fawns?
1. Fawns generally represent the most numerous single age class in the population. More fawns typically survive to weaning age than are needed to replace adult mortality.
2. Fawns contribute little or nothing in the way of reproduction the following year. So their harvest has little impact on annual recruitment rates.
3. Fawns are always under-represented in the annual harvest. Given a choice, hunters generally harvest an antlered buck or a doe, instead of a small-bodied fawn.
4. Fawns are the most likely to die during harsh winters. Even during years of high reproductive success, there is no guarantee that a high proportion of the annual fawn crop will survive their first winter and be available for harvest as yearlings."