I’m not sure if the state is recording conception data or not at the moment, but I decided to check a few does in Fayette County that has been under strict harvest criteria and management for a very long time. We’ve collected data on harvested deer since 2007. We collected conception data for at least 2 years, and maybe 3. I can’t remember. Either way, the average conception dates when we initially took data several years ago was Jan 6th one year and Jan 8th the next. I do remember having those two sets of data. It’s the third I can’t remember. Over the last few days I’ve taken fetuses from 3 does, all carrying twins, with conception dates of 12/24, 12/29 and 1/1. What would be interesting to know, is if that date would change if I had a larger sample size, OR if we’ve made that much difference in the breeding timing over the years by improving habitat and correcting sex ratios. I clearly remember having some late January does in our original samples, but always assumed it was their second cycle, which skews the data. Now that we have a ratio more representative of what we were trying to achieve, it seems the later rutting activity has been largely removed. We don’t see as much hard chasing and crazy behavior after MLK day. My theory has always been that one reason AL has such later breeding dates has more to do with mismanagement and poor sex ratios than anything else. Breeding is definitely later in parts of south AL and areas in north AL where southern deer were used in restocking, but it’s been made worse by the sex ratio issues prevalent in so many areas.

Just thought yall may find that interesting, especially those of you from the Fayette, Marion, Lamar, Tuscaloosa, Pickens areas, which always had dates within a few days of this property in Fayette.

Have you seen any conception dates around the last week of November there?

Never. I’ve seen a few around Dec 10-15th.

Matt how do you know the exact conception dates of the fetuses? My measurements or weights?

You measure the fetuses to get the exact conception date.

That’s pretty cool.

Like this

States doing nothing I can assure you of that. Thanks for the information Brock, we appreciate it.

We collected data for years, but had stopped by the time I left. I’ve heard it’s no longer a priority. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Very cool!

As always Thanks for the field proven data not just a guess from a book educated non hunter.

Matt, with a mid January rut, when would a doe need to be harvested to get this information?

Around the beginning of March?

How as Fayette County

1) Improved Habitat

2) Improved Sex Ratios

Killing does by the truckload

Cool information, thanks for sharing......I always like to read up on research and studies concerning deer.....

Not in south bama. I helped Matt's old boss collect a bunch of fetal data and blood samples in Marengo, Greene, Clarke, Dallas and Wilcox over a 5 yr period, roughly 20 yrs ago. Lot of that went into the Alabama "Rut Map" that we show on here every year. We always started our data collection in those counties around May. I always assumed that the main reason was that with the sex ratios so far out of whack (this was before the free for all doe slaughter), there does being bred on their second and third cycles in some areas, which put them being bred all the way into late Feb and March. We wanted to make sure that if we took them out of the herd, to get the fetal data, that the fetus was bigger than a butterbean. Beginning of March is too early IMO for the south end of the state. We shot all the way into June in some of those years.

Interesting stuff that the state needs to be doing.

For private land owners, do you have to get permission to kill outside of season?

Matt dont come in here with Scientific Data to back your claims of what you want aldeer to believe. You know thats not acceptable here.

I’m bad at math, but in the example on the scale, that fetus was roughly 7 weeks old right? If bucks are locked up with does middle of January, then the first couple of weeks of march would put it around 7 weeks right? Like I said I’m bad at math. I might have missed a month somewhere lol

I helped some buddies who work for the state with the fetal study for the rut map about 8 years or so ago. What was surprising to me were the outlier does that were bred earlier or later than the majority. We sampled one once that measured as being bred in mid March.