Rut timing?

[southpaw]

I've seen many different opinions of this but what says the GS about what brings a doe into heat and starts the peak rut?

[bowhuntntxn]

The amount of daylight that they see.

[fireman0684]

I have read a lot or different articles about this, but I feel that the rut happens in different areas at different times. I have a couple of different leases and the rut generally occurs 2-3 weeks apart, and they are only 150 away from each other. I just think that the fawns seem to be younger as I go south which leads to a little later peak rut phase as the fawns mature into does. Not to say that there isn't always am early one or two. Just my .02, it works for me

[TXJIM]

Some good info here on the multi-year study done across Texas. I have found for the three areas I have hunted regularly, Liberty County, Gonzales County and Gillespie County the charts are pretty spot on.

The breeding study involved the examination of 2,436 does, the largest number of deer ever utilized in a Texas breeding study. The date of conception can be determined by looking at fetus length. An average of 200 days from conception was used to determine fawning dates. Biologists got as much information as they could from the does collected. They looked at the timing of the rut and at breeding success on 16 study areas throughout Texas for three years.

All years were combined to produce the graphs that show the rut timing. In most areas the rut varied very little from year to year. You can use the map and graphs to determine the timing of the rut in your area of interest.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/planning/rut_whitetailed_deer/

[robbyreneeward]

Ha ha, as my luck would have it, my county (Red River) was not part of that study. Would I either be post oak savannah or piney woods? Anyone care to guess? Given the fact I hunt in the SE corner of the county I'd say piney woods....

[bowhuntntxn]

Ha ha, as my luck would have it, my county (Red River) was not part of that study. Would I either be post oak savannah or piney woods? Anyone care to guess? Given the fact I hunt in the SE corner of the county I'd say piney woods....

Technically you are in the piney woods. And the rut in your area will be between oct. 30 thru nov. 10, peaking around the 5th or 6th. Bank on it!

[WhitetailMecca]

I have read that it has to do with the amount of daylight as well. Also would argue the weather patterns have something to do with that. When it gets cold early seems like the rut gets started sooner than when it is warm early. Just my experience though..

[Coach W]

estrogen

[Coach W]

The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 - 22 days, depending on the species, and this cyclical breeding activity may continue for as long as six months in animals which do not become pregnant (Gordon). The seasonal changes in fertility are controlled by the secretion of LHRH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) from the hypothalamus, which is influenced by melatonin from the pineal gland. LHRH influences the secretion of LH and FSH from the anterior pituitary (Lincoln).

This is triggered mainly by a decrease in photoperiod. A hormone called melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in response to the onset of darkness. When it reaches a certain level in the blood plasma it induces estrus (Webster). However, it is unclear how exactly this occurs. It is thought to be very similar to the pathway in sheep, but this has yet to be proven (Adam). In this pathway, there are high amounts of progesterone present in the deer during the anestrous season; this is true for both pregnant and non-pregnant individuals, though it is higher in pregnant ones (Plotka). The high amounts of progesterone cause estrogen to have negative feedback, limiting the amount of GnRH and subsequently LH, that are produced to levels that do not support estrus. The presence of enough melatonin in the blood plasma somehow triggers progesterone levels to decrease while increasing the responsiveness of estrogen receptors. When the progesterone reaches significantly low levels, estrogen begins having positive feedback effects on GnRH production, resulting in the first LH surge (Parrish). Deer generally cycle only a few times, until they are bred and become pregnant, when the increased progesterone again causes negative feedback of GnRH by estrogen. Deer can, however, continue cycling through March, if they fail to be bred (Webster).
Seasonality of breeding is important in deer because it allows the offspring the maximum chance at survival since they are born in the spring to early summer when food is plentiful and it is not as cold out.

Scientifically speaking of course.


Lamens terms... its the amount of light in a day.

[southpaw]

The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 - 22 days, depending on the species, and this cyclical breeding activity may continue for as long as six months in animals which do not become pregnant (Gordon). The seasonal changes in fertility are controlled by the secretion of LHRH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) from the hypothalamus, which is influenced by melatonin from the pineal gland. LHRH influences the secretion of LH and FSH from the anterior pituitary (Lincoln).

This is triggered mainly by a decrease in photoperiod. A hormone called melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in response to the onset of darkness. When it reaches a certain level in the blood plasma it induces estrus (Webster). However, it is unclear how exactly this occurs. It is thought to be very similar to the pathway in sheep, but this has yet to be proven (Adam). In this pathway, there are high amounts of progesterone present in the deer during the anestrous season; this is true for both pregnant and non-pregnant individuals, though it is higher in pregnant ones (Plotka). The high amounts of progesterone cause estrogen to have negative feedback, limiting the amount of GnRH and subsequently LH, that are produced to levels that do not support estrus. The presence of enough melatonin in the blood plasma somehow triggers progesterone levels to decrease while increasing the responsiveness of estrogen receptors. When the progesterone reaches significantly low levels, estrogen begins having positive feedback effects on GnRH production, resulting in the first LH surge (Parrish). Deer generally cycle only a few times, until they are bred and become pregnant, when the increased progesterone again causes negative feedback of GnRH by estrogen. Deer can, however, continue cycling through March, if they fail to be bred (Webster).
Seasonality of breeding is important in deer because it allows the offspring the maximum chance at survival since they are born in the spring to early summer when food is plentiful and it is not as cold out.

Scientifically speaking of course.


Lamens terms... its the amount of light in a day.

I'm not 100% sure what you said here but it sounds right. I've always been a proponent of the daylight hours theory but I think other factors may come into play to a much lesser scale.

[wlfhound27]

Technically you are in the piney woods. And the rut in your area will be between oct. 30 thru nov. 10, peaking around the 5th or 6th. Bank on it!

Post oak savanah. Bowie co is the first on the red to be in the piney woods

[TXJIM]

The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 - 22 days, depending on the species, and this cyclical breeding activity may continue for as long as six months in animals which do not become pregnant (Gordon). The seasonal changes in fertility are controlled by the secretion of LHRH (luteinizing hormone releasing hormone) from the hypothalamus, which is influenced by melatonin from the pineal gland. LHRH influences the secretion of LH and FSH from the anterior pituitary (Lincoln).

This is triggered mainly by a decrease in photoperiod. A hormone called melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in response to the onset of darkness. When it reaches a certain level in the blood plasma it induces estrus (Webster). However, it is unclear how exactly this occurs. It is thought to be very similar to the pathway in sheep, but this has yet to be proven (Adam). In this pathway, there are high amounts of progesterone present in the deer during the anestrous season; this is true for both pregnant and non-pregnant individuals, though it is higher in pregnant ones (Plotka). The high amounts of progesterone cause estrogen to have negative feedback, limiting the amount of GnRH and subsequently LH, that are produced to levels that do not support estrus. The presence of enough melatonin in the blood plasma somehow triggers progesterone levels to decrease while increasing the responsiveness of estrogen receptors. When the progesterone reaches significantly low levels, estrogen begins having positive feedback effects on GnRH production, resulting in the first LH surge (Parrish). Deer generally cycle only a few times, until they are bred and become pregnant, when the increased progesterone again causes negative feedback of GnRH by estrogen. Deer can, however, continue cycling through March, if they fail to be bred (Webster).
Seasonality of breeding is important in deer because it allows the offspring the maximum chance at survival since they are born in the spring to early summer when food is plentiful and it is not as cold out.

Scientifically speaking of course.


Lamens terms... its the amount of light in a day.

If this was the only factor most deer in a given latitude would go into estrus at essentially the same time. If you look at the actual data for the "Gulf Coast Marsh" area and the adjacent "South Texas Plains" area the average peak estrus for the two areas is over a month apart. Are the days longer in Corpus Christi than they are in Pearsall? Whitetail in Western Canada rut in mid November and the amount of daylight that far north is significantly less than parts of Texas that have peak estrus at the same time..... Light in a day is a factor but not the only factor for sure.

The data from this study also indicated little variance in peak estrus over the 3 year period despite differences in weather, moon phase, etc.... I think deer in a given geography get in sync with one another in addition to being effected by daylight, seasonal variability in food sources effecting fawn survival, etc. It's a complex set of variable for sure.

[HC Sniper]

I can only speak for my place. Rutting activity starts right before Thanksgiving (3rd Week of Nov.) and continues til the week before Christmas. Hard chasing and true fighting, not just touching horns together. It is spotty after that. We will have a short second rut after Christmas with bucks chasing does, but it is a small window of opportunity.

[Coach W]

If this was the only factor most deer in a given latitude would go into estrus at essentially the same time. If you look at the actual data for the "Gulf Coast Marsh" area and the adjacent "South Texas Plains" area the average peak estrus for the two areas is over a month apart. Are the days longer in Corpus Christi than they are in Pearsall? Whitetail in Western Canada rut in mid November and the amount of daylight that far north is significantly less than parts of Texas that have peak estrus at the same time..... Light in a day is a factor but not the only factor for sure.

The data from this study also indicated little variance in peak estrus over the 3 year period despite differences in weather, moon phase, etc.... I think deer in a given geography get in sync with one another in addition to being effected by daylight, seasonal variability in food sources effecting fawn survival, etc. It's a complex set of variable for sure.

I agree thats its not the ONLY factor... it is however the MAIN factor... all the ones you mentioned are smaller factors. I do agree that females will get in sync... in any species... and there in lies the problem with sorority houses in college!

[DFWPI]

All I know is most of my fawns are losing spots, except one that looks to be a couple of weeks old.