Deer rut?
- Thread starter 7mmlefty
- Start date
The rut onset is determined by the amount of daylight entering the retina of the eye in cervids. [It varys according to which species, Elk, Moose, Caribou, deer] As the days get shorter, the lack of daylight triggers the onset of the rut. Here in North-Central BC, the deer rut usually begins around the middle of November. Further south it is a bit later. Way south, the rut starts in December. Equinox is the 20th of September, so that is way too early, even in the far north. Weather has little to do with it, except cold, clear weather makes the activity a bit more obvious. Regards, Eagleye.
The rut has nothing to do with a specific calendar date.
"...the amount of daylight..." That can be measured. Has to do partly with that, but not as much as one would think. The rut can be on in one area, but not in another with the same amount of daylight. The temperature plus a whole bunch of other criteria has more do to with it, as I recall.
"...the amount of daylight..." That can be measured. Has to do partly with that, but not as much as one would think. The rut can be on in one area, but not in another with the same amount of daylight. The temperature plus a whole bunch of other criteria has more do to with it, as I recall.
Most hunters only think about the buck going into rut.
What about the doe's coming into heat?
Is it the equinox thing ( reduced daylight in the eyes)..for the female deer to go into "heat" and does that set the stage for the rut to begin....?
What about the doe's coming into heat?
Is it the equinox thing ( reduced daylight in the eyes)..for the female deer to go into "heat" and does that set the stage for the rut to begin....?
This was a neat question as I didn't even know when the doe comes in heat. I dug this article off the net and it sheds some light on the estrus window.
While most hunters think that the rut is an event that only takes place a few days or weeks, a number of rut phases lead up and follow the actual rut, the peak rut. All of these phases involve ###ual activity and are part of the rutting process. This process can take many moths starting as early as August in some southern areas of North America and lasting well into February in some northern parts of North America.
The most important aspect to learn about the rut is the timing varies from area to area as well as from one year to another. In short there is not a set date when the rut starts and ends. If you heard or read, as I did, that the rut starts everywhere during the second week of November then you would be very wise to doubt that statement. Because it just doesn’t happen that way, at least not in my experience.
You should also be aware that much what is reported as fact is actually theory. We simply do not know all the answers about why deer do whatever it is they do or when they do it.
Generally speaking bucks are capable of reproduction the moment they shed their antler velvet. But the does are not ready at that time. We have identified four stages that lead up to the peak-rut, where most does are ready to be breed, or follow that period.
Pre-Rut
As the temperatures begin to fall the bucks shed the antler velvet and begin their sparing matches. These are not life and death fights but simply a push and shove affair where bucks get rid of some frustration and test their competitors. It’s almost a joke on the bucks from Mother Nature that they are ready to breed but the does aren’t. At this time bucks still live together in bachelor groups.
Chasing Phase
About two to four weeks after the Pre Rut the chasing phase begins. The mature bucks begin now to leave the buck groups and lead a live in solitude, beginning to follow the does around, chasing them. At about this time the does begin to produce pheromones as the estrus nears. It is believed that this pheromones advertising the estrus cycle causes bucks to produce more male hormones.
At first bucks follow the does in some distance, shadowing the does. While there may be several bucks that follow a doe, it will be the dominant bucks that follow the doe at a close distance. As the doe nears her full estrus cycle the bucks chase becomes more intensified.
The Rut
The estrus period, where a doe is most fertile, only lasts about 24 hours. The doe will now stand still for the buck rather than run away from him the moment he tries to come very close to her. She will now tolerate that the buck mounts her. After breeding the buck will stay with that doe throughout her estrus period before he goes off to find a new estrus doe, commonly referred to as “doe in heat”. Bucks breed several does in a very short time frame. Not all the does come in heat at exactly the same day.
If a doe has not been breed the first time she will come in heat again after 28 days. Researchers have found that some does can go trough six to seven estrus cycles. However, most does are breed the first time around.
It is the few does that repeat their estrus cycles in 28 days that lead up to the post rut.
Post Rut
The post rut is the same as the Rut but very much less intensive as the first rut. Bucks are still wandering about and checking out doe feeding and bedding areas to find the last un-breed doe.
What triggers the rut? As I said before the doe entering the estrus cycle triggers the rut. The next question then would what makes the doe come into the estrus cycle? Well there are many different opinion and theories. In my experience, that is shared by many experts. The trigger is a sharp drop in temperature. The first cold snap may be what causes the doe to come into estrus. This also would explain why the rut takes place at different times in different areas and years. While in the north the rut may come with the first frost of the year in the south it may be just the difference of a few degrees in temperature. There are also theories that the moon plays some part in the rut too, but I have no data or experience to verify this phenomenon.
Researchers are constantly researching the rut and one day will perhaps find the answers we are all seeking. In the meantime, the best advice I can give to hunters is to be out in the woods as much as possible. The odds of harvesting a big buck are directly linked to the amount of time spent in the outdoors.
While most hunters think that the rut is an event that only takes place a few days or weeks, a number of rut phases lead up and follow the actual rut, the peak rut. All of these phases involve ###ual activity and are part of the rutting process. This process can take many moths starting as early as August in some southern areas of North America and lasting well into February in some northern parts of North America.
The most important aspect to learn about the rut is the timing varies from area to area as well as from one year to another. In short there is not a set date when the rut starts and ends. If you heard or read, as I did, that the rut starts everywhere during the second week of November then you would be very wise to doubt that statement. Because it just doesn’t happen that way, at least not in my experience.
You should also be aware that much what is reported as fact is actually theory. We simply do not know all the answers about why deer do whatever it is they do or when they do it.
Generally speaking bucks are capable of reproduction the moment they shed their antler velvet. But the does are not ready at that time. We have identified four stages that lead up to the peak-rut, where most does are ready to be breed, or follow that period.
Pre-Rut
As the temperatures begin to fall the bucks shed the antler velvet and begin their sparing matches. These are not life and death fights but simply a push and shove affair where bucks get rid of some frustration and test their competitors. It’s almost a joke on the bucks from Mother Nature that they are ready to breed but the does aren’t. At this time bucks still live together in bachelor groups.
Chasing Phase
About two to four weeks after the Pre Rut the chasing phase begins. The mature bucks begin now to leave the buck groups and lead a live in solitude, beginning to follow the does around, chasing them. At about this time the does begin to produce pheromones as the estrus nears. It is believed that this pheromones advertising the estrus cycle causes bucks to produce more male hormones.
At first bucks follow the does in some distance, shadowing the does. While there may be several bucks that follow a doe, it will be the dominant bucks that follow the doe at a close distance. As the doe nears her full estrus cycle the bucks chase becomes more intensified.
The Rut
The estrus period, where a doe is most fertile, only lasts about 24 hours. The doe will now stand still for the buck rather than run away from him the moment he tries to come very close to her. She will now tolerate that the buck mounts her. After breeding the buck will stay with that doe throughout her estrus period before he goes off to find a new estrus doe, commonly referred to as “doe in heat”. Bucks breed several does in a very short time frame. Not all the does come in heat at exactly the same day.
If a doe has not been breed the first time she will come in heat again after 28 days. Researchers have found that some does can go trough six to seven estrus cycles. However, most does are breed the first time around.
It is the few does that repeat their estrus cycles in 28 days that lead up to the post rut.
Post Rut
The post rut is the same as the Rut but very much less intensive as the first rut. Bucks are still wandering about and checking out doe feeding and bedding areas to find the last un-breed doe.
What triggers the rut? As I said before the doe entering the estrus cycle triggers the rut. The next question then would what makes the doe come into the estrus cycle? Well there are many different opinion and theories. In my experience, that is shared by many experts. The trigger is a sharp drop in temperature. The first cold snap may be what causes the doe to come into estrus. This also would explain why the rut takes place at different times in different areas and years. While in the north the rut may come with the first frost of the year in the south it may be just the difference of a few degrees in temperature. There are also theories that the moon plays some part in the rut too, but I have no data or experience to verify this phenomenon.
Researchers are constantly researching the rut and one day will perhaps find the answers we are all seeking. In the meantime, the best advice I can give to hunters is to be out in the woods as much as possible. The odds of harvesting a big buck are directly linked to the amount of time spent in the outdoors.
intersting that two weeks ago, there was a really intense moon. I told a friend of mine " thats a unters moon". He asked me what I meant, and I told him that its a good time to be either fishing or hunting when the air feels like it did and the moon looks that way.
The following evening, we struck a doe that jumped out in the road. Just as we got out to see her condition, a huge buck came onto the road and sniffed around the area where the doe had been.
The buck seemed confused like " where did my girlfriend go?".
was it the moon? was it the cold temperature? dont know. But ne thng is for sure... she must have been smelling nice to him.
The following evening, we struck a doe that jumped out in the road. Just as we got out to see her condition, a huge buck came onto the road and sniffed around the area where the doe had been.
The buck seemed confused like " where did my girlfriend go?".
was it the moon? was it the cold temperature? dont know. But ne thng is for sure... she must have been smelling nice to him.
Well we are in the Pre-rut right now, in this part of the country.
Tonight I took a walk to check deer activity around the plant perimeter. It was 04:00 and I caught a deer that was alone so by his actions I figured I was looking at a buck. He was in a draw, right in the darkest place where he could be. After watching the deer for about 5 minutes he began making a scrape. He pawed the ground, rubbed overhead branches then walked forward only about 20 feet and made another scrape right away.
Because it was so dark, I was only able to catch an "impression" of the size of his rack. It looked like he was just outside the ears and decent height. Likely a 150-ish buck.
After he made the 2 scrapes he proceeded to meander along, nose to the ground and he was clearly busy scent checking the area. I think definitely he was checking the scent left from any does that had been there earlier feeding, so it was pretty interesting to watch.
Anywhere from about the 5th of November on you can catch bucks that are pursuing does, but they are not ready yet. By Nov. 15th the does really start to come into estrous. The last couple of weeks in central Alberta the rut is intense. If I had only 1 day to hunt deer all year it would be Nov. 20 or 21.
Last year I watched mule deer rutting out my back window and that was Dec 7th.
Tonight I took a walk to check deer activity around the plant perimeter. It was 04:00 and I caught a deer that was alone so by his actions I figured I was looking at a buck. He was in a draw, right in the darkest place where he could be. After watching the deer for about 5 minutes he began making a scrape. He pawed the ground, rubbed overhead branches then walked forward only about 20 feet and made another scrape right away.
Because it was so dark, I was only able to catch an "impression" of the size of his rack. It looked like he was just outside the ears and decent height. Likely a 150-ish buck.
After he made the 2 scrapes he proceeded to meander along, nose to the ground and he was clearly busy scent checking the area. I think definitely he was checking the scent left from any does that had been there earlier feeding, so it was pretty interesting to watch.
Anywhere from about the 5th of November on you can catch bucks that are pursuing does, but they are not ready yet. By Nov. 15th the does really start to come into estrous. The last couple of weeks in central Alberta the rut is intense. If I had only 1 day to hunt deer all year it would be Nov. 20 or 21.
Last year I watched mule deer rutting out my back window and that was Dec 7th.
Cedarstrip
Member
- Location
- Quadra Island BC
Very informative guys.
Thanks.
I have a 16 year old nefew who I beleive is in permanent ''Rut".
Thanks.
I have a 16 year old nefew who I beleive is in permanent ''Rut".
