hntnIwlgo Report post Posted July 15, 2012 Last week I was watching a hunting show on t.v. for a whitetail deer hunt. They showed a "racked doe". They said they had been watching this doe for 3 years now and that this was the first year she had a fawn. I'm just curious. Have any of you ever came across a racked/antlered doe before? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZJARCHER Report post Posted July 15, 2012 I've seen quite a few antlered does... A couple in kaibab, one in 6a that we watched for a while then disappeared, and one in 17a. The one in 6a had 2 fawns with her for the first few months. Pretty cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturegirl Report post Posted July 15, 2012 is it mostly body size that tells them apart unless of course there's fawns or if ur close enough to see its stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted July 16, 2012 Friend of mind killed a Coues doe with antlers. Rolled her over to gut her out, and something looked different Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted July 16, 2012 Whitetail does can grow antlers. It is very rare, probably much less than 1 % of all does, and it is caused by a hormonal imbalance. Usually a female with antlers won't have enough elevated hormones to cause the velvet to shed and so she keeps growing velvet antlers. But they can have hard antler also. I have never seen a Coues deer doe with antlers, but there is no reason it couldn't happen. The fact that some female animals get male characteristics is part of the reason why game regulations are listed as "antlered deer" and not "bucks" or as "bearded turkey" not "male turkey or toms". That way a hunter can not get a citation for shooting an antlered doe or a bearded hen. I once saw a guy bring in a bearded hen turkey that had eggs developing inside her. So even though these animals may have some unusual hormones, they can sometimes reproduce and function as normal females. I also saw a photo on the 'net of what appears to be an hard antlered doe with twins. Very interesting photo! Search the net you might find the link. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturegirl Report post Posted July 16, 2012 I still wouldn't want to kill a female. glad I Archery hunt. you gotta get close enough where you may be able to tell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted July 17, 2012 You're telling me you "wiener check" every deer you shoot at? Come on Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reganranch Report post Posted July 17, 2012 You're telling me you "wiener check" every deer you shoot at? Come on Hahahaha i knew those archery people were up to some weird stuff Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naturegirl Report post Posted July 18, 2012 You're telling me you "wiener check" every deer you shoot at? Come on haha...lol. of course not but I definitely have a better chance of noticing something at 40 yards than 500 yards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted July 18, 2012 You're telling me you "wiener check" every deer you shoot at? Come on haha...lol. of course not but I definitely have a better chance of noticing something at 40 yards than 500 yards. That all depends on genetics Share this post Link to post Share on other sites