Combine exceptional nutrition with good genes and you’ve got the ideal mix to see a doe produce fawn triplets more than once.
Question: I saw a doe with three fawns last year around the farm, and now again this summer I’ve noticed a doe with three fawns. I would guess it is the same doe, and she’s had triplets two years in row. How likely would it be that her offspring would have triplets if they lived to be healthy adult does? — Randall P.
Answer: The number of fawns a doe has depends on several things, particularly age and habitat (nutrition). Most does will first breed as yearlings and give birth to a singleton, although instances of doe fawns breeding have been documented in areas of extremely good nutrition.
Mature does most commonly give birth to twins, though under highly favorable circumstances they sometimes produce three fawns. In one study on supplementally-fed deer in a Michigan enclosure, 14 percent of mature does had triplets. Other studies indicate the proportion of triplets in free-range deer could be as high as 15 to 20 percent in areas with sufficient nutrition.
While it is possible the doe you observed has a genetic propensity to produce triplets, additional research suggests fecundity is based more on nutrition than genetics. One study showed that 20 to 25 percent of twin fawns were sired by two different bucks, and an Auburn University study documented multiple paternity in a set of triplets.
Whatever you’re doing for habitat management on your farm, keep it up.