# Pregnant Doe



## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

Decided to do a little bow hunting Saturday evening and killed a good sized doe. As I was gutting her, I accidentally cut into a sack and clear liquid spilled into the cavity. I was concerned that I somehow hit the bladder in the poor light I had, but there was no odor coming out. I tossed the guts out and noticed another small bag of clear liquid. I went over to see what it was and there was about a 4" fawn in one womb and another in the womb that I had punctured. I will be honest, I was bothered by that for some time. It would have been much worse if they would have been moving, but thank God they weren't. I know it is all part of hunting, but it did bother me for a while. I am over it now after talking to some buddies who explained that pretty much every doe you kill after the rut is in some stage of pregnancy. No doubt next year if I am hunting late season it will be in the back of my mind though.

Good luck to all who are hunting this last week. Weather looks good for movement. I am done, filled 3 tags this year. First time ever to tag out!!

Lg_mouth


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## kmb411 (Feb 24, 2005)

I personally would not worry about it. Think about it as population reduction! Sorry I sound cold, but the deer population is getting crazy with all the does breading twins and triples.


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## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

Yeah, one guy told me to just look at it as 3 deer out of the population with one shot. I saw 11 deer on Saturday night and I believe they were all does except one button buck.

Lg_mouth


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## Darwin (Apr 12, 2004)

Just FYI, twins are the norm for a doe after she has had her first young. Obviously she could have more and or less but 2 is the norm.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

I would be disturbed by that for some time too. That is why I really dont like hunting all that much. Just fishing.


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## Header (Apr 14, 2004)

Come on now you've gotta think about it. They breed either Nov or Dec and if your hunting in Jan you got to expect it. Maybe you just never thought about it. Actually it crossed my mind for the first time last year and again Saturday while out. It is legal to take them. What would I do, depends on how much they would be developed. From Dec breeding not much. From Nov time frame they may have some color to them, if so it would be awsome to have them mounted. Don't know.


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## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

...but wasn't expecting it at the time. They didn't have any color to them, just looked like a 4" hairless deer. One of my buddies said he shot one in mloader season and the fawns were moving in the wombs when he gutted her. That would have been a bit much thinking of them suffering for life. Call me a softy, but it is the truth.

lg_mouth


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2007)

That makes me not want to shoot any does after the rut. That would be very disturbing, and I feel a waste. Thanks for the heads up.


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## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

Look at it this way, if you shoot a doe, you are pretty much shooting a doe that will be pregnant or is pregnant. Had a buddy explain that to me and it made sense. So, either way, you are taking more than one deer out of the herd at a time. 


lg_mouth


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## Fish-N-Fool (Apr 12, 2004)

You all can call me soft all you want, but that would bother me no doubt.

I have shot does during the gun week that already begun to show signs of preganancy, but no visual evidence. I will not fill a doe tag after the firearms seasons for these reasons; we try to fill doe tags in mid Oct when they are easy to pattern and before the rut kicks in.

I have one guy that hunts with us that fills his doe tag whenever and it does not bother him - that is his decision. 

I guess I'm soft


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## rick karosa (Jun 4, 2006)

with all the land we loose ,we will never get it back ............thier aer allways more deer but never more land .the deer suffer the most because they run out of food so ill fill my tags it helps the deer belive it or not its not wrong to take a doe any time thats way they have closed seasons its called manegment .............no matter what the deer are in good shape dont kill all the bucks ,because then what if pepole dont like killing does dont deer hunt ...........


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## Fishstix (Aug 16, 2005)

I agree with you. This would have bothered me too. But, on a positive note...this was good for QDM. Like someone said earlier, this takes 3 deer off the land for next season.

The problem we run into on our property is that there are too many Does. When it comes to the rut, we don't see too many bucks out looking for Does because of this. The bucks find a Doe in heat and stay with her until she is ready to breed. When she lays down, he lays done. By killing more Does, the bucks will be forced to travel through the wood to look for a mate.


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## mashunter18 (Jun 23, 2005)

I killed a doe last night( pictures on ohio sprtsman and story) anyrate, you know I didnt notice anything when I field dressed her She was with twin butten bucks, and if its the doe I think it is I have several game cam pics of her. She is atleast 2.5 years old, based on her twins.

Iv killed them during gun week, and had fresh milk come out the udders, seen this many times. I may go back and look at the pile, doubt its there, we have lots of yotes.

Personally, yeah it may feel bad, but there should be plenty of other deer to fill that area. If your hunting a prime habbitat area, other dispersed deer should move in, who is to say you didnt just save someones car either.
Dont feel bad, deer have plenty of other danger out there, they are a prey species. How many deer do hunters take in january 5000 maybe state wide.


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## TPaco214 (Feb 16, 2005)

Those bucks must be pretty good at rutting if everyone is shooting them and they're still getting pretty much every doe pregnant. Look at this way. Ive shot pregnant rabbits and felt bad about it, until dinner time. Then I felt better right away. I imagine I'd feel the same after shooting a pregnant deer. However, can't be certain tho, as I have yet to bag a deer period.


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## bronzebackyac (Apr 19, 2005)

I can see that bothering you. It would be a wierd feeling, but there are just too many deer. Don't feel bad. Since I started riding motorcycles on the backroads of S. ohio, I have a whole different view of deer management, and I've been deer hunting since I was about 8 yrs old. I say kill as many as you can eat. You may just save a human life. I know I've had some close calls, but thats the risk I take everytime I fire up the bike.


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## BobcatAngler (Jul 28, 2006)

I've never had that happen to me, I usually only hunt during gun/muzzleloader seasons. But I guess that would probably bother me too. I think everyone is right in saying that although it's natural to feel a little weird about it, you shouldn' take it to heart.


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## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

I am pretty well over it now. I am sure it will bother me when it happens again, but if I had another tag, I would be hunting for the next couple of days.

lg_mouth


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## Weekender#1 (Mar 25, 2006)

Last week I helped a guy clean a deer and out popped a pair of embryo's it made me very uncomfortable. I still have a ope deer tag in my pocket but no way am I going out this weekend. I did take a photo of the baby deer but it serves no purpose to post it here, I am not looking to fuel the anti's. It can sure sober up a hunting party when that happens. 
Yea its legal but is it right?
I guess as I age I have more respect for the game I chase, cause it has eluded all you guys, til I came along. Ha


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## reo (May 22, 2004)

Is it really any different than shooting one in gun season that was bred in November??
How about that bluegill or crappie (or any other fish) that is full of eggs in the spring?
I mean isn't that why for QDM we should be taking the does? 

If we wanted to be sure we are not killing a pregnent doe we should not take any after the first week of November.


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## BassBlaster (Jun 8, 2006)

I let a doe pass early in the season a couple years ago just because she still had her fawns with her. I know by hunting season they are plenty old enough to take care of them selves but I just couldn't do it. I was at full draw on her at 6 yards with a perfect broadside shot and just couldn't pull the release.


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## Guest (Feb 2, 2007)

> I let a doe pass early in the season a couple years ago just because she still had her fawns with her. I know by hunting season they are plenty old enough to take care of them selves but I just couldn't do it. I was at full draw on her at 6 yards with a perfect broadside shot and just couldn't pull the release.


 Same here. Call me a gimp. Call me what you want. But I will never shoot at a doe with fawns. I have done this before and the babies just hang around looking for mamma. It gives me a feeling that I cant describe, and I feel very guitly about. Just beign able to see them together gets me high. I dont need to kill that bad. I could have tagged out the 3rd week of bow season this way.


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

I guess I am just a cold blooded killer. With fawns, late season I still have no problem putting them on the ground. I have to admit I have never seen fawns inside one , that could change my mind. I and my family enjoy the meat and there are too many hit on the road for me to justify letting them walk. 3-4 years ago hunting 2 states I took 6 deer and by Sept. the freezer was empty.


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## lg_mouth (Jun 7, 2004)

I wouldn't have a chance at any does if I waited for ones to come along without fawns. Each of the 3 does I took this year all had 2 fawns with them. And yes, each of the 3 times, the fawns stuck around, but not for mom, but to come back in and eat.

lg_mouth


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

traphunter said:


> Same here. Call me a gimp. Call me what you want. But I will never shoot at a doe with fawns. I have done this before and the babies just hang around looking for mamma. It gives me a feeling that I cant describe, and I feel very guitly about. Just beign able to see them together gets me high. I dont need to kill that bad. I could have tagged out the 3rd week of bow season this way.


Keep in mind that those fawns are more mature and able to make it on their own than the little puppies or kitties that everyone gets for home after a few weeks.

Also without a good reduction of the does every year then the chances of seeing more spotted fawns in the fall goes up. If there are too many does to get bred in the first and second cycle then you end up with late season fawns. These are the ones that may struggle to get through tough winters as well.

I am not saying that everyone has to kill the pregnant does or the ones with the weaning fawns. It is obviously a personal preference. However, I am glad that there are not a great number of folks who go by that preference or we would be in a real mess trying to keep up with the herd.


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## Guest (Feb 2, 2007)

> 3-4 years ago hunting 2 states I took 6 deer and by Sept. the freezer was empty.


 dang either you have a very large family, or you all eat deer like a mad man! Eitehr way you are providing nutritious meat for your family and thats what its all about.


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

traphunter said:


> dang either you have a very large family, or you all eat deer like a mad man! Eitehr way you are providing nutritious meat for your family and thats what its all about.


My son is diabetic and jerky is a "freebie"(can eat without a shot of insulin) so I do as much as I can that way. I also share some of my harvest with the landowers and others that don't hunt. I think it will be tough for anyone to vote agianst hunting, if it ever comes to it, that eats venison. But yha we do eat alot of venison and fish. We have gone through almost 100 walleye since March.


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## Silver Streak (Sep 1, 2006)

Shoot a deer...if you want to pass on does fine, but shoot a deer. The car/truck/motorcycle you save may be your own.


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