Timing of Breeding

We have had a few experiments related to the timing of breeding for whitetails.

• We examined the effects of timing of breeding on the physical development of yearling bucks

• We used hormone implants and injections to advance breeding of does with known histories by a few months.  We then monitored breeding of their female offspring to gain some understanding of factors influencing timing of breeding in deer.

• We used conception data from Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas to determine if moon phase (i.e., hunter's moon) had any effect on timing of breeding in whitetails.

• We used statewide reporting of deer-vehicle collisions to create a rut map for Georgia that compared favorably with conception data.