The Rut

This year we had our best rut in the 5 years of my clubs existence. The club is in Clarke county and the February extension had a great impact on our hunting this year. This morning I was turkey hunting and right at daybreak I heard what sounded like deer fighting so I eased up to where I could see and there were 2 big bucks getting after each other. One was the biggest buck I have ever seen at our place. I watched them for a while and then the bigger one went and bread a doe. These deer started mid January and they are still getting after it I know there is a second rut but dang that should have been weeks ago. The president actuay has a buck on camera mounting a doe in late July.

I went by our club yesterday afternoon to check for turkey sign on one of our fields. When I got to the field I saw deer running tracks everywhere and when I came out I noticed all the running track in the road. I thought if it were January this would be the sign that the rut was on. You know what this means....we have to shoot more does.

^^^^^^ try that and let us know how it works out for ya.

Already too many does being shot. IMO

Maybe maybe not.....

I saw a spike chase a doe in a clearcut on 112 yesterday morning.

Shoot more does IF your numbers dictate it's needed.

It could also mean you need to shoot fewer bucks. It's definitely a sign that you have more does than bucks. It really depends on how many deer you have total. If you have many deer, it likely means you need to shoot more does. If your population density is low, it could mean you need to take a look at your buck harvest. Consider letting more of them walk. They will help breed those does during the typical rut.

I saw almost the exact same thing in Baldwin County yesterday morning. 2 NICE 8 points were chasing a doe.

as of last week, the bucks are still fighting in baldwin county. they just began losing their antlers about 3 days ago.

extend deer season to April 30 and all might be happy.

heck, year round deer hunting.

no season at all. Kill until the antlers fall off.

There is always a little boost of testosterone before a buck sheds his antlers. This can cause them to act "rutty" for a day or 2 until they shed.

If a yearling doe is born later than normal will that deer go into heat when she reaches sexual maturity? If so, will she go into heat even if it's two months later than the other does?

Actually, there is a slight surge in testosterone at the initiation of antler growth. In Alabama, with our tendency to shed antlers late, these times can be very closely together, so it could easily be mistaken.

Dr. D, we need a FAQ section so you guys won't have to answer the same question so often. Instead of telling them what the deal is, just answer FAQ.

I'm not sure if you mean a yearling (1.5 year old) or fawn. But...deer are normally sexually mature within their first year. Fawns will go into heat if they reach a certain body size (meaning their body realizes that they can handle the dual drain on their system of maintaining a pregnancy while still putting on body mass. But, it is fairly uncommon on most properties in Alabama for fawns to go into heat due to their late birth dates relative to most other states. Yearling does will come into heat their first year, but you shouldn't be seeing this several months after the rut...unless they are recycling because they were not bred during previous estrous periods.

Something makes me seem to recall that there was something like that in the past??? Quite a few years ago...or maybe it was something that they had posted that BSK had put together.

Bred

Every year, right around turkey opener, I get the same question: "I'm seeing bucks chasing does, fresh rubs and scrapes, and bucks fighting. Is the rut still going on in my area?"

First, a small percentage of does cannot conceive. They still enter estrus, and are bred, but they do not conceive. These does may continue to cycle into estrus every 28-30 days, 4 or 5 times following the first, primary estrus. Each time they enter estrus, bucks are all over them, as often, by that time, they are the only hot doe in the area. The rut in my area is early to mid-November, yet I've seen a group of bucks chasing a single estrus doe in every month of the winter, and even into the spring.

On the other hand, a sudden surge in buck rutting activity in late March or early April is usually what Dr. D mentioned--the surge of testosterone a buck's body produces just prior to antlergenesis--the new antler growth process. This usually occurs at this time of year. Some years, I'll leave my cameras running over traditional scrapes until late spring, and it's amazing to see the sudden interest in scrapes in April that had been ignored since December. And bucks don't just start visiting them again. They often go through the full scrape sequence.

Thanks, BSK and Dr. Steve ... great info. Much appreciated.

Shoot all your does and I promise, every buck on your property will have a 150 inch rack. Killing the does makes them bigger. Your deer sightings will also double. Also, the rut will be intense, and you'll be able to time it to a distinct time every year after you eliminate most of the does. I'm being serious, seriously serious, i read it in QDMA. Seriously, it works, no kidding.

Thanks for all the feedback. I believe that it was probably a doe that is incapable of conceiving and keeps going into heat. We had pictures of a doe being mounted in July a couple years ago from the same area. It was likely the same doe.