Whitetail Deer Reprodution

whitetail fawn dateline: Monday, December 27, 2004 at 12:57 pm

Most whitetail deer mate as yearlings; however, some does mate at seven months and become pregnant. Whitetails are polygamous. Bucks may stay with a single doe for several days or weeks until she becomes estrus. Does come into heat around November for a twenty-four hour period. If a doe is not mated, a second estrus occurs 28 days later. Mating occurs from October to January with gestation period of 6 and a half months. In her first year of breeding, a doe generally has one fawn; but 2 or occasionally 3 or 4 per litter are born in subsequent years. Fawns are able to walk at birth and nibble on vegetation in a couple of days. Fawns are weaned in approximately six weeks. Whitetail deer life span in the wild is 10 years, however whitetail deer have lived in captivity up to 20 years.