I have just learned this year, through these boards, that Does will chase their male offspring off as nature's way of protecting against too much inbreeding. When does this happen? I have a doe that has twin button bucks roaming my property and if I harvest her, will those bucks stay on my property as they grow or are they still likely to go and find new land of their own?

-Brad
Eastern Nebraska Bowhunter

I'll tell you what I think although this is not from research, just my opinion. I've always thought the does leave their bucks when they are a year old, when she has her next offspring. So they will be relocated by the next hunting(breeding) season. As far as killing the doe, I think the result will be the bucks staying close by. Imbreeding won't be a problem because her mother is probably dead, she will be dead, and she didn't have and females last year obviously. The reason the bucks leave is because she beats the heck out of 'em with that left/right hoof combination and chases them away all the time. Without that pressure they'll probably stay unless food is an issue.

It is my non-expert opinion that they are chased off during the does breeding cycle and sometimes by the buck instead of the doe. As far as the young bucks hanging around will depend upon buck pressure when the bucks split up next fall. Being young, they may be allowed to hang around for another year but it is very possible dominant bucks will move their butts elsewhere.

My understanding is that they are chased off when they are 1 1/2 years old, not as yearling fawns. If you want them to stick around, shoot their momma!

My understanding and so far observation has been just before the rut the does will run them off. I would be interested in finding out if this is fact myself, from what I have seen it seems to be.

The Tazman aka Martin Price
Founder and President of
Virginia Disabled Outdoorsmen Club

This is from an article on the QDM website.

The Holzenbein study monitored 34 buck fawns divided into two groups - 19 that were left with their mothers (non-orphans) and 15 whose mothers were harvested or removed (orphans). The results were surprising. By 30 months of

age, 87 percent of the non-orphans had dispersed from their birth areas, but only nine percent of the orphans had left theirs. In addition, the non-orphans died at more than twice the rate of the orphans.

They reasoned that dispersing bucks were less aware of their new surroundings and more likely to succumb to harvest by hunters as well as death from predation, accidents and other mortality factors.

From what I've seen in my neck of the woods, the button bucks get kicked away within that first year, before the rut starts. I say that for a couple of different reasons. 1)Earlier this year I watched a doe and her doe fawn trying hard to stay away from ( I assume) her button fawn that was bleating and chasing them. I don't speak dear very well but I swore his bleat sounded like "mom, why are you running away from me!". I kind of felt bad for the little guy. 2)Unfortunately I have shot a couple of button bucks in the past few years (good eating but not the way I'd like to do things on our land) and they have always been by themselves whereas the doe fawns are still with their moms. That's just my two cents worth.. very possible it varies state to state and doe to doe.

A few years ago, I read a magazine article where a researcher stated that male fawns generally move from 3 to as much as 50 miles away from their birth place. Even though I read that, I never shoot button bucks and I hope that somehow they'll hang around and grow up <u>right here!</u> <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Today's small bucks are tomorrow's trophies.

at the start of the season last year i begab to see the fawns by themselves and not with their mothers anymore

propmahn
you can never have too many guns

Interesting topic!

Last year at the beginning of bow season (mid Oct) I noticed 3 fawns by themselves - all button bucks. Yesterday, I had Four does go by me. Each had a single fawn with them. They were close and I could tell all were does. I thought it was odd that none had twins and that none were bucks. Makes me wonder if the dispersal has happened already with these fawns or if it was just coincidence.