Whitetail deer are stimulated to rut by decreasing daylight.This triggers the pituitary which triggers the rut. It is basically the same time each year. I hear annually how deer are rutting early, or Late because of weather, cold, hot, snow,etc. If you have cold crisp weather, the signs, and an aggressive rut occurs. If it's mild, weather, there are less signs of rut, BUT it is occurring.Most fawns in our area are born late May or early June, do the Gestation Math. The fawns MUST be large, and strong enough to overwinter. This fact also includes Moose, Caribou, and much of our wildlife. Respectfully Deerdr
Date of Whitetail Rut in Ontario
- Thread starter Deerdr
- Start date
Yes photoperiod is the main contributor to the timing of the rut, but there are other regional contributing factors... Weather, can dictate the amount of daylight movement but as you say, not the timing of the rut. However, nutritional requirements can affect when does come into heat and while most fawns are dropped in May, we have seen April and June fawns... Also young of the year does do sometimes have their first estrous period in December of the year they were born and are bred... So it is not uncommon to see a "soft" rut early and late... The primary rut in our area is around the 15th of November... This is where we observe the dark hocked does being frantically pursued by bucks... For hunters, prime time for rattling and calling is before the peak rut is on... We have had hugely diminished success with calling/rattling tactics during the peak rut.
Hoytcannon has it 100% Correct!!! I was just clarifying the "Quotes" I hear like ." They didn't rut in Nov. it was to hot and windy" And yes Photoperiod, is correct term. Thanks for your literary eloquence Hoytcanon. Respectfully Jim
Adrian J Hare
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- NewLowell On. Can.
I just had a trail cam pic of 7 does and fawns and not one buck. The pic's show a buck traveling the same area but at different times and by himself. That tells me the rut is still yet to come ...
Ahhh, the rut. Many premises of contributing facts out there that hunters and biologists conclude what the rut involves. I generally read what people say about the rut and largely disagree with them, as such; decreasing daylight. I don't read books to prejudice my thoughts, experiences and common sense, therefore my premises are that the rut is triggered by a natural cycle within bucks and does of hormone increasements. Between the time a buck sheds its velvet until the last does are bred is the period of the rut, hence the beginning and end of hormone increasement. There are many stages of the rut and disagree that lack of daylight has something to do with it, if so, on a very minute scale.
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bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
You should study hoytcanon's post, he's got it correct. You don't.
Chuckbuster
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Sorry, but as has been pointed out, it is the diminishing photoperiod that triggers the rut in deer as well as many other familiar autumnal behaviours in other species; zugunruhe in birds, for example.
I tend to agree with deerdr and hoytcannon as well. Animals have built in survival instincts and the biggest part of survival is having off-spring that live. The timing would have to be based around when optimal birthing time is that would provide proper nutrition for both mamma and baby. my 2 c's
Actully Track is correct. It is the change in hormonal levels that trigger "rut" activity... And it is "Photoperiod" which triggers the shift in hormones. It is not unlike the "SADS" that many people experience in the fall and winter months, where reduced sunlight causes a shift in hormonal orientation, often causing depression etc... We are all biological creatures and we ARE affected by the environment we live in. With regard to deer, the question as hunters is how do we take advantage of the natural biological rhythyms of our quarry... Many articles and books and videos have spoken to a myriad of theories... I know what has worked for us.
I have a book here somewhere where a wildlife biologist kept whitetails in captivity indoors. He controlled the "daylight" hours artificially and was able to control antler growth and breading cycles. As I recall he was able to keep bucks in velvet for long, long periods of time, and keep them from growing new sets of antlers. He was able to get does to come into heat at various times throughout the year just by controlling the number of daylight hours in a given day.
I think the studies show pretty conclusively that the hormone levels and therefore antler growth and breading cycles is triggered by the photoperiod.
I also laugh when guys say that the rut isn't on yet or that its not cold enough for them to rut yet. And yet new fawns are born in the spring. Weather and other factors only control how much of the rutting activity we actually see occurring.
I think the studies show pretty conclusively that the hormone levels and therefore antler growth and breading cycles is triggered by the photoperiod.
I also laugh when guys say that the rut isn't on yet or that its not cold enough for them to rut yet. And yet new fawns are born in the spring. Weather and other factors only control how much of the rutting activity we actually see occurring.
There you go bearkilr, you can learn from both of us. Hoytcannon only interpreted a little differently. Hormones play the biggest factor of the rut, other factors only intensifies it such as cold weather, buck competition, limited numbers of does and limited numbers of does that haven't been bred. "Generally" in Alberta (central) most does are impregnated between the 18th to 22nd of November. Once most does have been bred, that's when the rut frenzy begins. Bucks are seeking does that haven't been bred where the hormones or so intense that the buck does not pay any heed to predators; weather animal or human. It's all hormone driven and nothing or very little to do with weather, temperatures, daylight hours or moon phases.
The rut always takes place and breeding is usually in the forest or under the cover of darkness. How do you think a buck has suck large neck and shoulders in November, not by strength training, but primarily by an enormous self injected build-up of testosterone.
Chuckbuster
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Proximal and ultimate causes. Hormones are proximal, lessened photoperiod would be the ultimate cause.
Yep... That's what I said. In addition, we leave for our archery deer hunt in the morning, and it has been ideal weather, we should be in solid "pre-rut" activity here (for Track "Pre-Peak-Rut")... And rattling and calling should be effective... Unfortunately, they are calling for 30+ km winds all week... And as Track will surely confirm, hunting in high wind sucks!
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
Actually, what I should have learned a long time ago is to ignore your posts. Guess I'm a slow learner.
Now I'll leave the education of fellow CGN'rs to yourself and sunray.
Your definitely correct about the wind. I was scouting for mule deer yesterday morning and there were no deer to be sighted with a NW wind howling at 50 km gusts. Yes a lot of pre-rut/breeding activity going on.....sparing, lip curls, smelling. Good luck on your whitetail hunt, hope you get a good quality one like your moose you harvested!
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The buck activity picks up when one finds aggressive scraps on the trees and the wallows on the ground. At this time the bucks are on the move, so they come back to their scraps after they cruise the area. Sometimes it's on a 2 day cycle, but it depends on how many does are in the area, and how many bucks they're competing with. It's a good activity to walk the bush and look around for these signs.
canadian hunter312
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Brant County
Or he could have bred those does already and he's searching for fresh does? Is it a resident buck? If not, he could very well be from the next county and has bred multiple does on his travels.
They've been chasing around here for at least a week as I've seen two separate bucks chasing does while I was fishing. The rut here should be behind your area which is farther north. Rubs and scrapes started around 3 weeks ago IIRC...
As the OP mentioned, the rut happens at roughly the same time of year. Weather really effects how the deer act during the rut which leads to increased or decreased deer activity. If the weather is warm the deer won't be very active and it's under these conditions that many hunters come to the conclusion that the rut hasn't begun or deer populations are low that year simply because the deer aren't moving much and it appears that less deer are in the area. This leads to a so called "late rut". But, the next year during the same week it may be very cold which results in increased deer activity so hunters will see more deer and sign and come to the conclusion that the rut was "early" or "on time".
The yearly salmon migration up rivers is a good comparison. It starts at roughly the same time of year every year regardless of the weather, but the weather does effect how many fish move up river at any given time. Under ideal conditions you'll see tons of fish moving up river and anglers will claim an "early" run or if the weather is unfavorable for the fish (warm and little rain) the run will trickle in and anglers claim a "late" run.
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