Let the Weeds Grow in May and June
Kevin Felts 05.12.17
A couple of days ago I was walking around the farm and noticed the grass and weeds are getting a little high. On a couple of trails going to the deer feeder, the grass is at least a foot tall. I started thinking about getting the tractor and doing some bush hogging.
However, bush hogging in late May and into June where deer are known to stay is probably a bad idea. May and June are usually when whitetail deer give birth.
I have heard stories of hunters bush hogging around the hunting lease and running over a fawn.
From National Geographic – White-Tailed Deer.
Female deer, called does, give birth to one to three young at a time, usually in May or June and after a gestation period of seven months.
After birth, a fawn will spend most of its time hiding, or “bedding down.” Hiding is a fawns only real protection from predators.
Fawns are so well camouflaged, someone driving a tractor through high grass may not see it. In the case of a tractor and bush hog, the bush hog is the predator. The fawn will not move in hopes of avoiding detection, which means the tractor drives over the fawn and kills it.
This is a topic that rarely happens, but it does happen from time-to-time. In late May into June, there is a very real chance of fawns bedding down on the deer lease. A lot of hunters do not start going out to the deer lease until after July or August. By that time the fawns have their legs under them and can run.
Here on the farm I keep a couple of deer feeders going almost year round. Knowing that late May and June is when whitetail deer give birth, I am going to refrain from bush hogging near the deer feeders until maybe July or so. I am going to cut the open fields as I usually do, but not the 4 wheeler trails going to the deer feeders.
