With rapid development of rural areas, deer are losing their natural habitats and are forced farther into suburbia. They now live close to our homes and towns. In a world where contact with wildlife is more frequent, we may need to change some of our behavior to find ways to live with them. To coexist with deer, they must be understood. Spring and summer is the time of year deer give birth to their young. A deer may have between one and three babies, two being most common.
Fawns are born from April though June. They are born with their eyes open and fully furred. The fawn is able to stand in 10 minutes and can walk in 7 hours. Young fawn stay with their mother through next winter. Healthy baby fawns are daily left alone by their mothers while the mothers forage for food.
Unfortunately, many times a lone fawn is picked up by people who mistakenly think the fawn has been abandoned. Sadly those fawn have been taken from the mother unnecessarily. In other words, they were kidnapped. Kidnapped fawns should be immediately returned to the exact location where they were found and the left alone. The mother will return and always take her baby back. If however you do not leave the fawn alone, the doe will not return to her baby as she will sense danger.
Once she senses the potential danger is gone, she will then rejoin her young. Remember, if you encounter a fawn lying quietly in the woods, do not disturb. Mom is nearby and will go back to her baby when you are gone. The only time a fawn should be picked up and brought to NAR is if it is obviously ill or injured. If a fawn is wandering aimlessly and crying, that may be an indication the mother may have been hurt and will not return.
Call Native Animal Rescue for advice. No sign of mom. Now nestled among my peonies out of sight. Very still. Your article is encouraging, I will continue to watch from a distance. Thank you. Anyone know why a one year old female deer is suddenly not with her mother and brother? Did she run off with a male deer, or on her own…or did she die? How could that happen suddenly broken leg, coyote,etc?
She was our favorite, with loads of personality, unlike an average deer! Twin fawns were born here in MN maybe months ago. They were always with the doe, however, lately I see the twins but no mother. Does she set them free this early….
I worry that she may have been hurt. We have had 2 fawns hanging out on our property for 10 days. They sleep and graze in the yard so as we come and go, mow, get deliveries, etc. Only saw mom pick them up at dusk once. The fawn in your yard that you gave milk to was born not too far away, deer have a limited range and habitual about their travels, travel times and where they graze.
So now you know for the next time. I highly doubt anything you did caused a separation with Mom. I found a fawn curled up quietly in my backyard. Put on gloves and gave him some milk. At some point for unknown reasons he got up and ran away. I saw the mom 4 or five days later sniffing my backyard. I felt horrible. Question: I picked up a fawn to move it out of the road, where I am thinking it had been born.
Anyway, I then read about how human scent would attract predators. I went back with a towel that had been rubbed in grass, to get my scent off the fawn.. Does generally move their fawns away from the birthing site within 3 hours. Does with twins typically stash them in thick cover in separate locations. Fawns spend 90 percent of their time bedded for the first weeks of their lives.
Newborn fawns typically nurse 2 to 3 times daily; increasing to 6 to 8 times over time. Twins are usually reunited and bed close to each other by weeks of age.
CC image from Flickr.
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