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From online resources/blog posts/forums etc, I gather that you cannot simply include a custom object in your change set and expect all the fields to go with it; you need to specify which fields you're including to update.
I'm wondering, if this is the case, what does get included when you deploy a custom object?
It basically deploys the bare minimum amount needed to satisfy the request. This means the Name, Label/Plural Label, Vowel/Gender, Data Type/Format, Sharing Model, API/Search/Sharing/Chatter/Feed/Field Tracking Settings, Organization Wide Defaults, Default Button Overrides, Search/Lookup Layouts, and Compact Layout Settings. Note that this means if you don't deploy any dependencies, like a page override, this can result in a failed deployment. If a page layout is not provided, it uses the default layout (name and audit fields). Always review the View Dependencies button to make sure you have everything you want.
While this is not documented as what goes when you deploy a custom object, but a good way to look at this is at the Custom Object Metadata information. An excerpt below from the documentaiton.
Represents a custom object that stores data unique to your organization or an external object that maps to data stored outside your org.This type extends the Metadata metadata type and inherits its fullName field.
When you create a custom object, there is a bunch of other information (metadata) associated to the object itself apart from its fields. So if you don't add the fields during deployment, all other metadata information of the Custom object is carried forward in the deployment.
The Fields section on the metadata documentation provides a good way to look at what information does a custom object contain of and provides a perspective of what is deployed.
