I've often heard that while the doe is in 'full blown' estrous, she will go to the thickest log-jam/pile or whatever is handy and lay down in it. She does this to keep the bucks from harassing her until she is absolutely ready to get bred.
Has this been confirmed as true at any game ranches?
What happens if there is no place for them to seek cover, do they get bred without consent anyway?
Scott (sounds like my 1st ex-wife) B
____________________ Archery Tech at a BIG BOX store....
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sdb - that may be the case on some enclosed properties where there are plenty of breeding partners (as brought about a strictly controlled doe:buck ratio) thus causing lots of competition for breeding. However, it's not necessarily something I'd expect to happen every time.
I would think that if a doe ventures out of her normal routine to hit the thickets after Mr. Dominant it is because she hasn't been found by him yet. We were discussing this regarding scrapes recently and remarked at just how few times we've actually seen does visit a scrape and deposit urine/scent. L.L. Rue in 20+ years of whitetail study and photography said he had only witnessed it happen a few times with does but plenty of times with bucks.
The dominant bucks, indeed all bucks, have an insatiable drive to breed as many does as possible. That doesn't mean they throw caution to the wind, they just go courting a little more safely. In other words, if does are heading to the deepest thickets during hunting season, it's likely more to do with hunting pressure than actual breeding behavior. The actual rut, in my experience, isn't the hottest hunting action - bucks will lay up with a band of does and wait till the mood is right. The does seem to sense the hunting pressure under the duress of a milder hormone condition than the lovestruck bucks do. However, the time leading up to that when hunting pressure is lighter, pecking orders are being re-established because of expanded buck territories for doe-seeking, and so on.
Good question, just lots of different answers as is usually the case in nature. Things can be a little different on enclosed ranches though as I said at the beginning though.
____________________ Montani Semper Liber - Mountaineers are always free
