fallow fact or fiction

ndt man

Well-Known Member
i have been told by a couple of different stalkers from different areas that fallow deer drive the roe out of there habitat. is this a fact or fiction ? now i must add that i have never noticed this on my ground and i have fallow and roe so what do you think fact or fiction ?
 
ive noticed where i shoot fallow and areas were the fallow have been in good numbers their hav'nt been alot of roe but still present in small numbers ive always thought its competion for browse as well
 
Not the case where I am concerned,the Roe are quite tolerant of the Fallow but dont tolerate the Reds so well though!!
 
One patch we have has both. On occasions I've watched both species in the same cover crop just out from the wood.
I think it's more to do with density than whether they co-exist together.

Just my thoughts

jon
 
I shot 5 deer today in a few minutes, 3 roe and 2 fallow, from the same point. They were grazing all within a few yards of each other. I think the roe do tolerate the fallow but if the fallow numbers rise too much the roe move, more out of seeking browsing than not tolerating them. As others have said more to do with densities and food availability.
 
The only thing I have seen on occasion is if you have frisky Fallow prickets in the same area as Roe, the prickets harass the roe back into the woods or across the fields.The does of both species seem very tolerant of one another, but do feed in their own groups.
 
The only thing I have seen on occasion is if you have frisky Fallow prickets in the same area as Roe, the prickets harass the roe back into the woods or across the fields.The does of both species seem very tolerant of one another, but do feed in their own groups.


I have also seen Fallow bucks chasing Roe during the rut on a couple of occasions, whether or not this takes places outside of the rut or between does (lets face it Fallow Does can be pretty territorial) i'm not sure. I would also agree with the comment that areas that carry high numbers of Fallow tend to be poor for Roe whether this is simply down to feeding its hard to say.
 
There was a study published in the bds magazine (last year I think it was) that concluded fallow are actively and passively aggressive to roe and that although they co-exist roe are uneasy around them. I think the jist of it was that in areas with lots of roe present then fallow don't really affect them but in areas where roe are colonising they establish better if fallow are not present. I think the study was done in Sweden but I my be wrong if someone can dig it out.
 
On our grounds its a bit like this, according to the Fallows all day long activity, even worse where mufflons are around....
Less roe where a lot of fallow show up, graze all day long and cruise through the woods....
 
Fiction! … Roe and Fallow co-exist in almost all areas under our management without any problems. I have several photos somewhere and some film footage of Roe and Fallow feeding together.

Regards,

Mike.

Mike Allison
Managing Director - Jelen Deer Services
01264 811155
 
Possibly it depends on the area and density of fallow then.

25-30 years ago almost all roe apart from the ornamental fallow herd around the big house, fast forward 20 years never seen a roe for years on same ground, ti's only the last 5 or so years after some very hard culling u occasionally see an odd roe moving in but still very few, but do seem to be staying in the same places/territories, but still plenty of fallow and only see the roe in the less dense areas
 
Possibly it depends on the area and density of fallow then.

25-30 years ago almost all roe apart from the ornamental fallow herd around the big house, fast forward 20 years never seen a roe for years on same ground, ti's only the last 5 or so years after some very hard culling u occasionally see an odd roe moving in but still very few, but do seem to be staying in the same places/territories, but still plenty of fallow and only see the roe in the less dense areas

I think you're right there. It's probable that Fallow, especially in high densities, cause a massive decrease in biodiversity effectively destroying at least one of the three basic requirements - Feeding, Shelter and Security - that Roe deer need in order to live in an area.

However I don't believe that Fallow actually chase Roe away from areas as has been suggested. I have regularly seen Roe and Fallow chasing each other around in what appears to be playful behaviour. After a good ten minutes of 'play' they have then settled down and began feeding again only metres from each other.

Regards,

Mike.

Mike Allison
Managing Director - Jelen Deer Services
01264 811155
 
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