Do deer adopt? Do they babysit?

[struggle4progress]

After seeing a fawn in my yard for a while, I started seeing two fawns; then for a while, I saw three fawns, sometimes with a doe. Monday, I went outside and startled four fawns with a doe. I might believe the doe produced three fawns -- but four seems rather less likely, and I don't think they're all the same size

They always seem to retreat to the same small bamboo thicket, so I think they've set up digs there -- and frankly, I can't imagine lots and lots of deer living there: two does and four or five fawns maybe, but not much more

If it's a doe and four fawns, it sounds like an adoptive family. If it's two does and four or five fawns, then it sounds like one is doing child care for another

Deer experts, chime in! The rest of you will anyway, of course :)

[Lasher]

1. Does will help riase other does' fawns.

I have seen two or three does together, with a single fawn with them. Then, when fights would break out over food with other deer that would show up, all these two or three does would protect the fawn they were with.

I don't know if they babysit or adopt.

[struggle4progress]

2. Thanks. That's credible. My neighbors have seen two does with these four fawns.

I've only ever seen one doe at a time, with as many as three or four fawns, but the fawns aren't all the same size, so they're not a single batch

[Lasher]

5. Why don't you google that question?

I did and found some interesting scoop on the subject.

When the fawns are quite young, the does will leave them in a hiding place while they go to feed. For this purpose the fawns are well camouflaged and almost scentless. Here is a picture that I took a year or three ago of one hiding on my mother's lawn next door:



There were two of them lying down like this near one another. When they're hiding like this I believe you could walk up to them and pick them up. They are so cute you'd want to smother them with kisses, name them, and dress them up in baby clothes. If you care anything about them, don't do it! Mom will be back to get them, but might reject them if you leave your scent on them. And they need to stay where Mom put them so that she can easily find them when the time comes.

I'm a lucky guy, I get to watch the whitetail deer in my back yard all the time. I can see a doe and fawn out my window right now. But there's a lot I don't know about them.

[struggle4progress]

6. I like to maintain some distance between myself and wildlife: I won't be grabbin any

adorable lil fawns. These are all past the "waitin quietly for momma" -- they often gallumph around my yard solo or in pairs, with the does not in clear view, and I sometimes hear the gang late at night, thumpin around like a herd of horses nearby

[csziggy]

3. A doe was killed on the road in front of the farm and her fawn

Started hanging out with a doe that had a fawn about the same age. If the doe was paying attention, she would not let the orphaned fawn nurse, but he would sneak up behind her and nurse, usually when her fawn was also behind her. I kept an eye on him in case he lost weight but he always looked fat and healthy. He was about two months old when his mother was killed so I expect he was already eating pretty good by that time.

So does may not adopt, but the fawns will!

[struggle4progress]

7. Thanks! That's interesting!

[kick-ass-bob]

4. Mothers will 'deposit' a fawn in one place

while taking the other with them at times. Then they come back and the fawn goes with. Don't chase a lone fawn away, the mother will come back and maybe not be able to find them.

They can travel in small groups with one dominant doe and usually different generation offspring with them, so I would imagine that they would split up like you saw.

[Kali]

8. I expext they do like many herding animals

And babysit herdmates/relatves offspring. Likewise, orphans tend to bum there way into a tolerant mothers milk - sometimes that works oit, other times it czn lesve undernourished young.

Not there, too hard to fix typos on this thing

[struggle4progress]

9. Phone line wasn't the problem?

I remember seeing cows baby-sittin other cows' calves

[Kali]

11. Narrowed it down to "somdthing" in computer

Wish I had a way to print your post in the computer forum LOL
2 dif modems tried in all 3 possible slots - something with the port(s) maybe?

[struggle4progress]

12. First check driver installed correctly and modem setup correctly

Then start wondering about whether windows corrupted or harddrive going bad

Can you check SMART status of harddrive?

[BillStein]

10. Of course they do

remember how the head deer adopted Bambi after his mom was killed?

[struggle4progress]

13. I don't think I ever read the book or saw the film

:shrug:

[BillStein]

14. Really?

I thought that was a required childhood experience!

I cried when his mother got shot...