> as lemmas

c1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Vesp. B.xii) (1904) 22 Þe herte gooþ rather to þe Rutte and is raþer in his seson agayne.

?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xx Than the bucke gothe to the rotte, and so wolde the ramme.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 144^v The tyme when you shall suffer them to goe to rutte, is in Autume.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §758 We finde, that the Time of Going to Rut of Deere is in September.

1648 T. Winyard Midsummer-moone 1 He was begot ith' Dog-dayes, or at Michaelmas when his Dam went to Rut.

1735 Sportsman's Dict. I. at Hart In September and October, they [sc. harts] leave their thickets and go to the rut, during which season they have no certain place either for food or harbour.

1838 New Sporting Mag. Aug. 79 Wild Boar Hunting... After the beginning of February they are considered out of season, as at that time they begin to go to rut.

1905 W. H. P. Greswell Forests & Deer Parks Somerset xiv. 237 The first year a hart is called a calf, the second a bullock (and this year they go to rut), the third year a brocket.

2005 80 Days in Captivity 91 Rutting time; the season when deer go to rut. The population is copulating behind closed doors.

2008 Wells Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 18 Dec. 44 The stags are generally five to six years old before they go to the rut.