How long is a doe in estrus???

[T.R. Michels]

This was one of the questions on the Whitetail Der Hunters Survey.


About 50% of the people got it wrong. Answers ranged 12 hours to 4 months.

Here is the answer:

In his study in Georgia, Dr. Larry Marchinton found that the estrus cycles of does ranged from 21 to 30 days, with an average of 26 days, and that does may recycle up to 7 times. Another note of interest is that the does were in estrus from 24 to 48 hours, not the 22-24 hours previously thought.

Any buck chasing a doe may spend up to three days with her without returning to its core area. If you have set up on uck trail or buck rub-route, where you have sen a buck before, but don't see it for a few days - stay there a few more, or come back and try again. If the buck is with an estrus doe, he will generally return to his core area after she is unwilling to breed, and then he will again begin to move along his normal route, until he finds another estrus doe.

God bless,

T.R.