Heat effects on fawn crop

[doghouse]

We’ve also had a droughts that were much worse along with heat waves that lasted 100+ days over 100*. By those standards we wouldn’t have any deer left from all the fawn deaths from heat. It’s all cyclical but for some reason this one is always the worst yet.

I agree. Not near the worst in my life time. It will be close to the late 80's drought and the 2011 drought by September if we don't receive any rain, regardless of temps. JMO

[Greenheadless]

Cant be any worse than what the mosquitos did to our fawn crop last year. This combined with the late historic freeze.

We had the lowest recruitment rates like you would see in a high stress drought year, but the opposite, was extremely wet.

We saw it in the body condition and antlers of the adults as well.

[RifleBowPistol]

I have not seen a fawn yet, this year. I have been seeing does out in open areas in the middle of the day, so I know they are about to give birth, or they have and have the fawns hidden. We have one pregnant doe that comes up in the back yard, she does not look like she is enjoying life. But the deer, mainly the does normally look pretty bad in the summer time. Then they fill out for the fall and look much healthier by winter. I have my cameras turned off, because our deer look so bad during the summers.

I may turn the cameras back on soon, just to try and figure out how many does have fawns, at this point, I am only seeing that one pregnant doe. My wife and I walked the property late yesterday, we did not see a single deer. Normally that time of the day, you would see at least one group of deer, if not two, we saw zero.

[Bisch]

I’ve already found one dead on my place, and haven’t seen any others yet.

Bisch


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[TheHammer]

It ain’t going to be good…

[txchuck]

This is typical Texas weather! We have had a couple of cooler than normal years in a row. But summer is indeed tough on everything.

[Budman68]

We have a ton of them in Blanco. They just seem to be hanging in the cedar in the shade. I think as long is mom is milking they will be fine.

[RiverRat1]

We’ve also had a droughts that were much worse along with heat waves that lasted 100+ days over 100*. By those standards we wouldn’t have any deer left from all the fawn deaths from heat. It’s all cyclical but for some reason this one is always the worst yet.

I have not looked at historical temps. I'm not talking about drought. I was just thinking this May and early June was way hotter than normal. Obviously it usually gets over 100 in July and August but fawns are not newborns at that point.

I can't remember it being 104-106 for a week straight in May before.

[Greenheadless]

We’ve also had a droughts that were much worse along with heat waves that lasted 100+ days over 100*. By those standards we wouldn’t have any deer left from all the fawn deaths from heat. It’s all cyclical but for some reason this one is always the worst yet.

Funny you say that. I just looked at our fawn recruitment numbers from last year vs the 2011 drought. This last years numbers were half of the 2011 numbers.

Like I mentioned above, I am curious if that was the freeze or the absolute worst hoard of mosquitos we had last year or both. The mosquitos were the worst I had ever seen in the 4 decades of hunting the same general area. It was WAY wet.

[Big pig]

Y’all do realize it’s Texas and it’s the same weather every summer? The heat and drought is nothing new.

This drought and heat is not normal, even for west central Texas. 30 days of 100 degrees or higher in San Angelo so far. Normally 19 in an entire summer. Combined with no rain and lack of vegetation/shade is going to wreck havoc on survival rates.
It will become obvious in 4/5 yrs from now. An entire age class of bucks will be much smaller numbers than normal.

[Bucknaked]

Y’all do realize it’s Texas and it’s the same weather every summer? The heat and drought is nothing new.

Hmmm….

[Mitchell8]

Tpwd going to drop it to 1 Buck 1 doe next year all these dead fawns

[Etxbuckman]

Since so many deer evidently died in the freeze last year I’m hoping that was little browse and water there is right now gets stretched further among the relatively lower number of deer that we have now.

[Lights Out]

Tpwd going to drop it to 1 Buck 1 doe next year all these dead fawns

Meh….doubt it. Yep it’s hot and unless you flew deer in from Canada? It’s been hot and dry my whole life for the majority of the summers. Deer evolve and adapt.

[TexasTK]

Have seen a few dead fawns around my neighborhood here in Kendall county.
I think combination of heat & poor range conditions due to drought.
I am not expecting much of a fawn crop in Dimmit at my place. The brush looks bad. Less than 2” since November. Predators are going to have a field day.