Buzz
A deer remains a fawn until it reaches one year of age, transitioning into a yearling thereafter. While approaching a fawn closely isn't advisable, there are various methods to ascertain its age from a distance. Start by estimating the fawn’s weight. Observe its movement; unsteady legs suggest a newborn. Examine the coat for any remaining spots, as their absence indicates an older fawn. If encountering an injured or abandoned fawn, promptly seek assistance from a wildlife rehabilitator.
Procedures
Determining Age Through Physical Characteristics
Observe for unsteady legs. Although fawns can stand shortly after birth, they often display instability, requiring frequent resting periods. This unsteadiness persists for 3 to 4 weeks, after which they become more adept at moving and less prone to stumbling when running.
Observe the coat pattern. A newborn fawn displays a reddish-brown hue throughout its body, adorned with rows of white spots along its back. As the fawn grows, these spots gradually vanish, and the coat transitions to a thicker, grayish winter fur.
- Alongside spine spots, young fawns exhibit scattered white spots across their coat.
- Most fawns shed their spots around 3 to 4 months of age, typically by October.
Estimate a fawn’s weight. Newborn fawns typically weigh under 10 pounds (4.5 kg), steadily increasing in weight post-birth. By around 6 months, fawns can weigh approximately 75 to 85 pounds (34 to 38.5 kg), and by 1 year, over 90 pounds (41 kg). Assessing their body build and size provides insights into a fawn’s age.
- Most fawns double their birth weight within the initial 2 weeks.
Observe antler growth in buck fawns. Male fawns initiate pedicle or infant antler development around 4 months old. By feeling or examining a male fawn’s head, you'll notice two hardened areas, more pronounced by approximately 7 months.
- Antler growth demands significant energy, hence nutritionally deprived or stressed fawns might delay antler development.
Check for an umbilical scab. If within proximity, run your hand beneath a fawn’s stomach. For fawns under a week old, you’ll detect a scab from the umbilical cord. This scab typically dries up and falls off after a week.
Inspect their teeth. Examining a fawn’s teeth provides valuable age indicators. At birth, a fawn possesses 4 teeth. By 2 months, they start growing premolars and incisors. By 1.5 years, a deer's baby teeth are replaced by a full set of adult teeth.
Assessing Age Through Behaviors
Observe hiding behaviors. Typically, a newborn fawn can stand within half an hour of birth, but the mother deer often conceals it amid foliage for up to a week. Discovering a small fawn nestled amidst bushes or leaves suggests it's been strategically hidden by the mother deer, who returns under the cover of night.
- As fawns grow older, they venture out independently, showing less reluctance to move openly and may even join larger deer herds after the initial hiding period.
- In cases of twin births, the mother deer typically hides each fawn separately to reduce the risk of predation.
Watch for freeze or flight responses. A fawn under a week old may freeze when approached, while those around a week old are more likely to flee, exhibiting a flight response.
Observe maternal behaviors. If a female deer returns nightly to care for a fawn, it's likely less than 3 weeks old. They continue to meet at the same spot until the fawn can forage independently. By 3 weeks, these regular meetings cease as the fawn begins to explore for food.
- However, this method isn't foolproof, as some fawns continue nursing for bonding purposes even without receiving milk.
- Fawns primarily feed on leaves, bark, and various wild fruits and mushrooms.
Expect spring or summer births. Most deer breed in late fall, resulting in fawns born during spring or summer. Spotting very young fawns in winter is rare, indicating that those seen in summer are likely fairly young.
- Fawns born in late summer or fall face challenges surviving winter, though exceptions exist in warmer climates like the lower U.S. South, where deer birthing occurs more flexibly.
Assisting an Injured or Abandoned Fawn
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Encountered an injured or distressed fawn? Reach out to your local parks department or search online for nearby wildlife rehabbers. Quick responses are common when leaving a voicemail message.
Identify signs of abandonment. Accumulated fecal matter on a fawn’s backside or its lack of response and tendency to remain in the open suggest abandonment. Running your hands along the fawn’s ear can also reveal dehydration, indicated by a rough texture.
Offer immediate aid. While awaiting a rehabber, attend to the injured or abandoned fawn. Place it in a crate lined with towels and provide warmth with a low-temperature heating pad. Attempt to feed the fawn a diluted mixture of water and electrolytes, avoiding cow’s milk to prevent stomach upset.
- If the fawn refuses fluids, do not force it.
- Avoid feeding cow’s milk to prevent digestive issues.
Reduce your scent. To maintain a fawn’s natural scent, handle it with gloves and rub a towel across the ground before gently swiping it over the fawn’s back to remove any traces of your scent.
Useful Tips
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Encountering a lone fawn doesn’t always mean it’s abandoned. If it follows you, gently retreat.
Important Warnings
- Be mindful of local regulations regarding the possession of wild animals like fawns as pets.
