Whitetail Fawns?

[Scotty P.]

I seem to be getting a bunch of diferent answers on this question so you guy's settle it. How old (approximately) does a Whitetail fawn have to be before it could survive on it's own without the doe(stop nursing)? I ask because I passed on a doe last weekend that had a fawn with it that still had spots and I got the gears a little from a few guy's telling me the fawn would have been fine. What do you think?

[deerhuntercentral]

A lot of time a dry doe will take a fawn in. If they stick with the herd they will generally do alright.

[duffy4]

I believe that any time a fawn or calf loses it's doe or cow, its survivability is less.
There is more to "mothering" than just feeding milk. The doe or cow teaches by example how and where to find food in winter, where to shelter in a blizzard, how to evade predators and she defends her offspring from predators. Where it ranks in the heard is determined by its mothers rank. One without a mother is right at the bottom.

The younger the fawn/calf the more likely it will be effected by the loss of its mother.

If I had an antlerless moose or elk permit I would take a calf given the chance.

I have passed on a doe if I could see she had a smallish fawn.

[airbornedeerhunter]

My own personal code of conduct while hunting is I DO NOT shoot does with fawns or cow moose with calves in tow. It would'nt matter to me if it was last light on the last day of the season, I would let her walk. Nothing against guys who would choose to shoot, but I would choose not to. I would have reservations about the young surviving the winter, some are of a different opinion and say they are weaned and would be fine, but I feel better if they have their moms for the winter months.

[FishBrain]

Why not take the fawn? super tender meat!!

[WildCanuck]

My own personal code of conduct while hunting is I DO NOT shoot does with fawns or cow moose with calves in tow. It would'nt matter to me if it was last light on the last day of the season, I would let her walk. Nothing against guys who would choose to shoot, but I would choose not to. I would have reservations about the young surviving the winter, some are of a different opinion and say they are weaned and would be fine, but I feel better if they have their moms for the winter months.

I totally agree. They may survive the winter, but their chances are greatly reduced. I'd rather shoot a calf or fawn than the mother, but I pass on both and look for a dry animal.