White-tailed Deer Rutting in South Texas

South Texas has the latest rut in the state, which is not suprising considering it’s at the lowest latitude and it takes until late fall to get the mercury dropping down there. Breeding (conception) dates for white-tailed deer ranged from November 9 to February 1 during the three years of a breeding/rutting study.

In the eastern part of South Texas the peak breeding date was December 16, while in the west it was a little later, December 24. The pregnancy rate of does was 95 percent and there was an average of 1.5 fetuses for each sampled doe. The majority (90%) of the fawns are born by July 19 in the eastern area and by July 25 in the western area.