Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Quality Deer Management Question about doe breeding

Ok, maybe I’m way overthinking this, but I thought I’d ask. I was watching a doe the other day that had two small button bucks with her. It was obvious that she was the mama. It got me thinking. Is there any science/proof that a doe will tend to give birth to the same gender deer every year? Or, is it all pure luck?

I just got to thinking that if someone is wanting to improve their doe to buck ratio then this would be a doe you wouldn’t want to shoot if she is going to produce 2 bucks per year.

Again, I’m probably just stretching, but it never hurts to ask.

The sex of her offspring this year has nothing to do with last year or what she’ll produce next year. They produce fawns at roughly a 50/50 ratio.

Thanks. That’s what I figured. Would be nice if it was that way. Easy way to balance ratios quickly.

I’ve been handling it just the opposite of your thinking. If a doe has a buck fawn, she’s the one we shoot so the buck fawns don’t get run off by mama.

I'm pretty sure the gender is determined by the sperm cell that fertilizes the egg. That's how it works for people, I'm assuming it's the same for other mammals.

Yes, I thought about that as well. It’s a great point. I’m sure there are a lot of varying opinions on it. I appreciate you sharing.

Your point is why I asked. Seems safe to assume that, just wondering if anyone had researched it and what they knew.

A good friend is a retired biologist and shot numerous does during the fetal studies. Only one place and a short period of time the fetus skewed towards more buck fetus’s during the study. The next time that area was shot the buck to doe fetus ratio went back to 50/50 basically. Probably just an anomaly when it was out of balance

I saw two button bucks with does this year. First for me.

Those two button bucks were very small.

I’ve got several does that produces twins every year. One I have been watching she has produced two fine bucks a couple years ago but the past two years she has produced does.
For t-town I haven’t thought about what you said before. It makes sense but do you shoot a doe that is producing twins. I don’t shoot many does anymore because my neighbors keep them thinned out and me feeding year round is pulling deer from my neighbors. If I shoot a doe I’ll shoot the ones that are just a mouth to feed and don’t breed

JD5036, I understand exactly where you're coming from about twins. It's easy to look at those does and say "she's a good mama, lets keep her around". Fortunately, we have a good many twins every year that make it into the fall. From checking doe lactation, all of our adult does are bred every year even if the fawn doesn't make it to hunting season. That being said, the 2 does we killed this year with twins, those buck fawns have stayed close even months later. But I usually target does with no fawns first just for emotional reasons, especially early season.

Basically all you have to understand is that if you shoot the doe with the 2 Fawns...

You've got 2-3 less deer next year. That's the 1 and only thing you know for sure. Potentially 2 less bucks in the pool. The fewer bucks you have the less chance you will have one reach maturity.

3 years down the road you have even less deer since, just like cows or goats, you are breeding deer on your property whether you choose to look at it this way or not. If you are trying to grow a herd of cattle do you kill all the heifers? Hail no you don't.

Pretty simple.

I shoot does. The ones I shoot are the ones that come snooping around a shooting house, get all skittish, start stomping or walk around looking in the trees for me. Those are the ones you want to kill first IMO.

If you shoot a mama doe that has 1,2 or 3 fawn with her then, she can't have anymore fawns. Not all does are mama does. Figure out which one isn't a mama doe and shoot her. say you have 7 deer in a field, 3 doe's, 3 fawns and a yearling doe. Try to figure out which doe is not a mama. The fawns will hang close to their mama or go to her for something as will the yearling. Once you figure out the doe that ain't having fawns shoot her, not the fawn producing doe.

The male determines the sex of the fawns. The doe has nothing to do with it. Something about X and Y cromesomes