Fawns

Every year, for the past ten years, we have enjoyed witnessing the miracles of spring. Our newborn fawns are always born during the first two weeks of June. So I have been waiting all year for this event!

On Thursday we had a severe storm blow through knocking down trees and taking out power, so I was a bit concerned the deer might go into hiding for a few days. But when hubby came home from work on Friday he said he thought Babes (yes, we give them names...LOL) was having her baby up behind the barn. So I grab my camera a run up there as fast as I can. We get back up there just in time to see the fawn trying to stand up. It's was still wet and legs so wobbly. I took a few photos but just the click of the camera made the doe nervous, so I stopped and we just watched!

Babes and her newborn. This fawn was born sometime after 5:30pm on Friday. I took this photo at 7:22pm. I'm so disappointed that all my shots are blurry!! Not sure if it was from my heart pounding so hard after running up to the barn to get these pictures....or if I just don't know how to focus!

We stood and watched her for about half an hour or so, and then they started to walk away!


Here's Babes with her newborn walking around on Sunday afternoon.


Little Miss Splitear and her new little fawn!

Not sure of the birth date. She was still pregnant when I saw her on Friday night.....so this little one is a couple of days old.

Last night we had another doe go into labor. She was right out in the middle of the pasture. So I set up my camera and tripod hoping to get some good shots (since I obviously can't hold still to take a decent shot). Well, dusk soon turned into darkness and I wasn't able to get any photos. I haven't seen her yet this morning, but I'm confident we will see her within the next day or so with a little Bambi in tow.

There's still two more does due to deliver. One is mega huge, so we're hoping for twins again! For as long as we've lived here there has always been a set of twins born each year, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!

Here's some interesting facts about deer:

A deer's gestation period is 200 to 205 days, most of the fawns being born in the latter part of May or the first part of June. A doe giving birth for her first time will have a single fawn, thereafter she will have twins. in areas of good food, triplets are common as well as occasional quadruplets. There are even three records of quintuplets.

At birth a baby doe weighs about 4 1/2 pounds while a buck weighs 5 1/2 pounds. At the time of birth, the doe may return to a preselected spot or she may give birth wherever she happens to be. The fawns are born over a period of time that may extend from ten minutes up to two hours.

As soon as the fawn is born, the doe licks it dry with her tongue, Even before it can walk, the fawn in a matter of minutes seeks out the doe's udder and starts to nurse. The doe remains lying down so that the wobbly young can reach her nipples.

By the time the fawns are twenty minutes old, they can walk slowly on very shaky legs. The doe, as soon as possible, will lead her fawns away from the place of birth where her body fluids have soaked into the earth and may attract predators.

When a suitable place of concealment is reached, the doe leaves her fawns and moves off perhaps 100 yards away. The fawns in their spotted coats are almost impossible to see and are almost odorless. The doe comes back five to eight times a day to nurse the young and then leaves again. She always remains somewhere in the area where she can see if danger approaches or can hear the little ones if they call to her.