Estrus cycle ? Trickle rut?

[lol]

As for the resident bucks disappearing and new bucks showing up, this is something I was convinced occurred due to my many years of trail-camera data. Talking to other biologists, they had also seen similar trail-camera evidence. Finally, a couple of universities finally tracked this behavior with GPS collars (Miss St and Auburn). It turns out some bucks have a "rut range" - a range they only live in for the 5-6 weeks of peak breeding, and this rut range may be completely outside of their normal fall range, sometimes miles away. MOST bucks that have a separate rut range, go back to that same range year after year during the rut. However, a few actually choose a new rut range every year, never using the same area twice.

That's kinda fascinating. I guess its probably a good idea to look at these types of changes as an indication that the rut is underway. I am curious, if this type of transition implicates an element of rut timing in relation to when it occurs versus rut peak/duration.

 

[BSK]

That's kinda fascinating. I guess its probably a good idea to look at these types of changes as an indication that the rut is underway. I am curious, if this type of transition implicates an element of rut timing in relation to when it occurs versus rut peak/duration.

On my place, with a mid-November peak of breeding. These rut shifters will disappear, and new bucks appear, the last week of October. They will shift back about the 1st or 2nd week of December.

 

[JJ3]

The rut has always confused me on our lease in Haywood County — traditionally folks will say that SW TN rut is from about Thanksgiving through first full week of December. And if we see chasing it is most likely in that period.

But every year I will get first pictures of multiple does with fawns in the first to second week of June which dating back to conception would time from about November 8 - 19. And this period is when we've killed 65% of our bucks (mostly 3.5+ with a few 2.5's thrown in) and most of our most mature bucks. During this time we will usually see get lucky and see a few mature bucks on their feet mornings and evenings sometime solo out cruising, sometimes in lockstep tow of a doe trailing 50 yards away.

BSK's 5 - 6 week graph seems right, except that our curve seems a bit flatter and maybe spread out a bit more evenly across the 6 weeks?

This years been a bit different— we didn't see as much of that early movement when MZ first opened. But I watched a 2.5 yr 6 pt dog a doe for over an hour this morning in and out of view.