Triplets

cookingfat

Well-Known Member
Doing my rounds feeding and checking traps every morning I see lots of deer and get to.know most of the animals on the estate, I have been seeing a doe and three fawns for some time and haven't taken much notice now all the corn is cut I notice them much more.
My qeston is do roe have triplets ? And has anybody else seen them ? Been a keeper/ stalker for 30 + years and never seen triplets.
 
cf. I stalked a roe doe and followers a couple of years ago in March near Alyth. I could see a doe and 2 youngsters. I shot one of the youngsters and then the doe and 2 surviving youngsters moved across in front of me about 30yds away. Clearly these had been triplets. The farmer reports seeing triplets this year too. Rgds JCS
 
Roe triplets are fairly common in Southern Sweden but I have never seen any in the UK.
I once took twin foetus from a Red-deer hind in the Lake District. This was the start of a lifetime friendship with the late Lea MacNally who had bred twins from one of his hinds at Torridon.

HWH
 
I have not seen triplets myself but have friends that have seen them in the past.

ATB
 
Given good feeding, lack of diturbance and a well conditioned doe, it is not that uncommon for roe deer to give birth to triplets.
I have seen them throughout Scotland over the years, though I would guess they are more common in the south.
Surprised you have never heard or seen that this is the case in your 30yr stint!
S.
 
Not that uncommon, but conditions need to be good, plentiful food supply, with not to much competition
Have seen surviving triplets on a few occassions, have seen even more foetus triplets when gralloching late season
Does, the question is how many would have survived, or been reabsorbed, if live birth how many would survive to maturity.

I dont know the answer, will be interested to see what others think.
 
About three years ago we had a nice big doe who successfully raised triplets all bucks.
nige
 
Roe triplets are fairly common in Southern Sweden but I have never seen any in the UK.
I once took twin foetus from a Red-deer hind in the Lake District. This was the start of a lifetime friendship with the late Lea MacNally who had bred twins from one of his hinds at Torridon.

HWH

HWH Now this is really interesting, and I knew of Lea's twins also known of twins born in deer parks and deer farms
but never have known of twins in the wild, were these foetus's from a truly wild hind.

In the 1980s I was approached by a university professor, as were several other estate stalkers, in the area to look for and record any instances of twin foetus's this study ran for 3 years, not one instance was recorded, since then I have made a point of a thorough inspection and have never found twins.

One year I did have a hind with two followers but as there was quite a difference in size of the calves I would have said one was older than the other, I suspect this was a case of a hind adopting an orphaned calve, but I will never be sure.
 
Thanks gents for your info, had'nt realized how common this is, must be me, gralloched over 50 doe's last season mostly twin's no triplets.

CF
 
My old hind was wild and shot on Kirkstone Pass, Cumbria.
It was the leading hind of a small group and had no follower with it. When gralloched the twins were found and I placed them on a stone and took a picture of them.
I had read a report a while previously of Lea MacNally producing a set of twins from one of his semi-tame hinds at Torridon and wrote to him enclosing a photograph of my pair.
He replied and said he was envious of my experience and had never personally found twins in a wild hind.
It was the start of a friendship which continued until his demise .
When in Scotland I sometimes used to visit him at Torridon.
HWH.
 
One of Lea`s tame hinds at Torridon.
HWH.
DSC_0194.jpg
 
I'm sure I read some years ago that most roe does have three eggs fertilised and start pregnancy with three feotuses (??) usually aborting one early in their development. Perhaps I'm wrong- I've only ever seen one roe doe with 3 young at heel and that was many years ago.
Cheers, Pete.
 
I have seen quite a few threes i am sure some are natural and a few are forced. I had an incident two years ago were i shot a doe and one kid in december i had watch them for a while and had only seen one kid. On the apraoch my dog went way off line and got a single kid up just 10-15 mtrs to the left of the two dead deer. He followed it and it ran off the dog came back (he dont chase live deer was just cruruos ) I graloched the two deer and sat back about 80 or so mtrs and waited and waited no sign of the kid and i decided i would go back in the morning any way i didnt see that kid again for weeks then on the same patch just a wee bit further on i saw a doe and three kids. My only conclusion was she had taken on the kid . That group stayed all thorough the winter and lived as a three some. I have seen three kids on my low ground but this year there are many doubles but also alot of singles my feeling because of the weather. Picture for the sake of it taken wen,s

SeptemberBuck.jpg
 
HWH Now this is really interesting, and I knew of Lea's twins also known of twins born in deer parks and deer farms
but never have known of twins in the wild, were these foetus's from a truly wild hind.

In the 1980s I was approached by a university professor, as were several other estate stalkers, in the area to look for and record any instances of twin foetus's this study ran for 3 years, not one instance was recorded, since then I have made a point of a thorough inspection and have never found twins.

One year I did have a hind with two followers but as there was quite a difference in size of the calves I would have said one was older than the other, I suspect this was a case of a hind adopting an orphaned calve, but I will never be sure.

A photo here copied from the same one I sent to Lea MacNally.
Sorry for the poor resolution but any record is better than none.
HWH.
BUGGYCROWS035.jpg
 
I know the threads really about roe, but to follow up the red deer conversation, I gather twins is very common in NZ- also roe triples not unheard of here in devon
Tom
 
We seem to get a lot of triplets here in Suffolk. I had two lots on one of my estates last year which all survived, well- until I shot some of them!:oops:I also gralloched two does with triplets inside too!
I've heard of Muntjac twins locally too! Nothing substantiated as yet though. Now that will be interesting if it becomes more common!:eek:
Fallow being covered inside the first year also seems to be increasing. It's no wonder the deer population continues to rise eh?!
MS:)
 
ive seen triplets a few times now but i was suprissed to see them this year after the winter we had but saterday morning i saw a doe with three young in northumberland
 
Back
Top