Fallow Colour

[beast 1,884]

quick question, just for my personal interest. what are the prevailing colours of fallow in your area? the local forest carries about 800 fallow, and around % per cent are black. i was watching a herd of 90 odd the other day, and of them there was one menil, two white and 12 spotted (normal). interestingly, 5 or 6 of the blacks had a regular white tail marking, which i havent seen before, whereas the others were dark in that area

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

I see 3 separate populations regularly. The biggest population contains mostly mlanistic and dark browns. Another has a range of colours, with the majority on the darker side, but plenty of menil and all the in-between shades too. The 3rd and smallest herd, has mostly menil, with a fair portion of whites.

[J Darcy 5,871]

It is natural to have dark fallow. The menil colour we all like has been produced by breeding for that specific trait. left alone the meil dies out and is taken over by the dark brown.

[bunnys 1,228]

so true evolution was meant for the dark seen in the fallows has natural and everything in between his begot from mans intervention for something different the large estates like ta see menil and white bucks the hinds neva ta far away lol. atb bunnys.

[khakibob 1]

so true evolution was meant for the dark seen in the fallows has natural and everything in between his begot from mans intervention for something different the large estates like ta see menil and white bucks the hinds neva ta far away lol. atb bunnys.

"Common" (spotted summer coat with dark dorsal stripe & black caudal stripes) is the "natural/true" colour for both species of fallow deer (Persians are more orange than the Europeans though). The white, black & menil pelage are all domesticated colour morphs.

 

Khakibob

[beast 1,884]

menil, black and white are not domesticated colours, or produced deliberately, they are naturally occurring colour mutations, BUT it would be true to say that they have been ENCOURAGED by humans, either by selctive breeding or by selective culling. its not possible to artificially produce a colour (except possibly by some sort of genetic engineering in a lab!) but it IS possible to selectively breed these colours when they do occur

[sussex 5,776]

On one of my perms the farmer liked the white ones , which ment they got a life ticket which obviously affected the ratio of white ones in the deer population , it ended after 4 or5 seasons when he realised they eat his wheat , trample the maize , bust the fences just like all the other colours needless to say they are now back on the menu . If you see a bunch of perhaps 40 deer its quite common to see 8 or 9 white ones , before he made me leave them you might see 1 or possibly 2 .

[wi11ow 2,657]

over the years i have seen some real whites alot darks only one white hart but a great animal to watch

[wi11ow 2,657]

seen some great rutts

[wi11ow 2,657]

[paulus 26]

[wi11ow 2,657]

wild ones paulus

[beast 1,884]

nice pictures chaps

[andy stalker68 4]

 

 

white fallow

[wi11ow 2,657]

any stags in the group