A doe with four fawns?

Is it possible for a doe to have 4 fawns? I wish I had my phone on me to take a picture. We were quite shocked. I thought for sure another doe would appear, I never heard of quadruplets. but no other doe in sight. This doe was traveling with 4 frolicking fawns through our back yard. They all look the same size. They were here all this week. Middlefield Village

Wow, that’s a full house!

While it’s common for White-tailed Deer mothers to have a single fawn their first year, they often birth two or more fawns in later years.

One study from the University of Illinois found that the average litter size for a Midwestern doe was two, but that litter sizes as large as five were possible.  (That’s a lot of fawns!)

It’s possible that your doe is tending a large litter, or that she’s part of a group that has “herded up.” Keep an eye on them and see what they do as spring continues!

Thanks for sharing!

-Naturalist Chris Mentrek