Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. Charles Alsheimer is an award-winning outdoor writer, nature photographer, lecturer, and whitetail consultant from Bath, New York. Do you know that antler growth also has a specific pace? The antlers become mineralized, harden up, and blood eventually stops flowing to the velvet. Researchers at the MSU Deer Lab have done a lot of work around whitetails and antler production, and one of the labs recent studies explores nature (genetics) vs. nurture (nutrition) and the potential for genetically smaller bucks, from areas lacking in nutrition, to grow larger antlers. Theres a grim joke circulating among wildlife biologists who fought wild pigs and lost: The average sow gives birth to eight piglets, and nine of them will survive. Plug this fatalistic humor into a mathematical, If every buck in your woods and fields drops their antlers every winter, why isnt the landscape littered with them? Antler size is one of the details we use to help determine age, but only one in a long list of aspects like body size and shape, muscle tone, the appearance of certain features, etc. You can see real data from three different soil-quality regions of Mississippi, expressed in some very eye-opening illustrations first published in Quality Whitetails by Drs. So he is not quite 1 1/2 yet and his sixth point is branching off to its eighth point. Could this be the same buck? 7 to 9-month-old deer: the second molar can be seen but not the third. The month begins with a bucks antlers being very bulbous. Written Sam White The sun had barely cleared the horizon as two shadowy forms slowly crept along the edge of a pristine, white sand flat just a few miles from Islamorada in the Florida Keys. The primary reason for this is that the amount of daylight is much less than what it will be in June. It is slow to start, growing from the tip out. But as far as scouting, get your cameras out and check them only every 2 weeks or so. Antler size is greater at all ages when deer have access to better quality forages. The skeletal sites are replenished later through dietary intake.. Of course, acorns and other mast are great across the board. In most cases, typical deer antlers begin growing out a buck's head in a backward motion then quickly change direction and sweep forward as we commonly know. Compact bone forms the outer shell of the antler, and its greater density and stiffness provide strength for fighting. The land owner has been telling me that within 3 days the corn out it is all gone. But you may think why the other months of the year are not mentioned here. The velvet is packed with blood vessels that rapidly bring blood, oxygen, and nutrients that the antlers need for growth. August: Growth will continue into early August, but dont expect a whole lot of new growth once you get into the back half of the month. Both products are harvested from an ancient seabed and provide deer with the balanced nutrients they need for improved health and antler growth. These examples of antler conformations and their gross and net Boone and Crockett scores are all deer harvested in Mississippi. Yes, deer need salts for proper nutrition, growth, and survival. So without further adieu, the new and improved whitetail antler growth timeline, with illustrations! Here is a general timeline of the antler growth cycle, although, depending on the area or species, the exact months may differ. August 6 This is why information on salt licks is so important to their survival. Since antlers are sexual secondary characteristics, their annual cycles of growth have evolved to be closely coordinated to the reproductive cycle which, in temperate species, is linked to the photoperiod. The velvet dries, and afterward, it takes about 24 hours for a buck or bull to shed his velvet. Leaner sporting a nicely developed frame on July 28. Stages of antler growth.A) one day after antler shed,B) 15 days after shed, scab still attached,C) 30 days after shed, scab is shed (A, B, C same animal),D) about three months after shed by different animal,E) about five months after shed antler growth is completed, with one additional month used to complete hardening and drying of velvet (D and E same animal), andF) hardened antler with shreds of dried velvet on a third animal. Like the best things in life, antlers get better with time. He earned his journalism degree at the University of Georgia. Once mineralized, chondroclasts resorb the cartilage, and bone is laid down on the remaining "scaffold" by osteoblasts. This was especially the case for the genetically smaller deer. Since the dawn of creation, man has been fascinated by deer antlers. Why havent you walked a few steps into the trees and found not only this, Good news is scarce in the fight against chronic wasting disease, so Im pleased that I have some to share. Once the antler is cast, the top of the pedicle can be considered an open wound. The antler beams are all visible within the end. Growing antlers are sensitive. As a result, a young buck is born with tiny pedicles, hidden under the skin of his forehead. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community. I was lucky to get to participate in a day of deer research, Texas-style. This recipe is perfect for any leftover turkey meat you might have. Awareness of this rule provides a bridge over many of the false expectations, myths, mistakes and frustrations that lie waiting along your path to QDM success. His specialty both as a writer and photographer is the white-tailed deer. Those that are hard to see and kill fall victim to other things like hemmorhagic disease, infections of the skull and brain caused by fighting injuries, automobiles, rut exertion followed by winter stress, and more. Thats the bell-curve in action. A bucks antlers are both extremely delicate and sensitive to the touch during antler development. ): Steven Ross, I have a 5 year-old 14 pointt buck who just developed a huge drop tine this year. The enlarged and columnar chondrocytes then begin the process of mineralization. April through May (Spring) For example, most humans have average intelligence (the peak of the bell curve), while geniuses (the far right slope of the bell curve) and those with very low intelligence (far left) are rare. Because of the incredible amount of energy it takes to grow antlers, they will remain smaller as well. The same deer at 10 years (A) and at 14 years of age, just prior to his death (B). In the spring or early summer, two nubs form at the pedicles and are covered in a sensitive type of skin called velvet. This area reacts like any wound, bleeding for a short period and developing a scab-like covering called a "wound epithelium" within 2-3 weeks. June to July (Mid Summer) Well, we got it all covered. So, some diseases affect the optimum growth of deer antlers, and thats why you should try to keep the deer around you healthy. Antlers growth suddenly increases a lot, and its beam achieves half of its growth. Crank out sheer numbers of bucks in older age classes and you increase the occurrence of those rare top-performers. One of the key nutrients in a deer's diet that can increase antler growth is protein. However, they also may have a pot belly and a sagging back. Diagram of a growing antler tip illustrating the main anatomical regions. But to do this on a large scale, well, thats the subject of another article. If animals are born during the spring, and its during the fall hunting season, they obviously will be nearest the half year of whatever year they are in. While the DNA sequence in deer remains the same, environmental conditions cause small changes, and over generations, those changes will alter the expression of the genes. The antlers are bony, and like bones are made mostly out of calcium. Their antlers can show age-related abnormalities such as abnormal points or wavy or curvy tines, and they have an overall weathered appearance. Ive seen many hunters over the years get comfortable and fail to take the next step to becoming a truly talented and successful deer hunter. Fortunately, they grow them back annually. The rule is this: If you could know all the gross antler scores for every buck a local population could potentially produce, the scores for each age class will form a bell-shaped curve when plotted on a graph. While its easy to think about big-racked bucks producing more big-racked bucks, the devil is in the details. Help us continue producing great, educational content by joining the National Deer Association or making a tax-deductible donation. Expect whitetailsand other animalsto visit your site often, especially in spring and summer. Realize your favorite hunting jacket is just not going to work this year? However, in a QDM program, you can shift the entire bell curve to the right (increasing antler-score potential in each age class) by improving habitat, sex ratios, herd health and other factors. Daniel Haas tells the special meaning behind this year's painting for the 2023 Wild Turkey Stamp. June is really all about frame, and then in July you'll really see tine length. This off switch keeps animals from growing larger in a particularly good year, only to be hurt when forage quality returns to normal.. Thats our average, and thus the 130-class represents the peak of the bell curve. While body size in the first generation remained somewhat consistent to their respective regions, antler size did increase. Moreover, the yearlings may have less antler growth than adults. October-December (Fall to Winter) From region to region, the span of the bell curve will change positions along the X-axis. Stick till the end to find out. Deer antlers take a lot of energy to grow. Here is a general timeline of the antler growth cycle, although, depending on the area or species, the exact months may differ. The hardened antlers are now dead bone, and at this point bucks or bulls use them for the things that they do best during the rut: rubbing trees, fighting, showing off to females, and getting into all sorts of trouble. These deer in well-managed areas with good genetics can sometimes have multiple points (10 or more) and even have spreads outside their ears. Whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose, caribou, and many other antlered animals across the globe are part of the same deer family, known as Cervidae. In terms of wild, high-quality forage some examples cited by the QDMA are blackgum in the north, beggars lice in the south, and partridge peas into parts of the Midwest. Key factors of annual buck antler growth in whitetail include: White-tailed deer antler growth usually begins during the month of March or April. Can you help with an answer? Antler growth suddenly decreases in August and it goes towards the ceasing the process. In fact, cells of the frontal bone begin differentiating into something called the antlerogenic periosteum in the embryonic stage. For more details on this process see the review by Price et al. 4 to 6-month-old deer: the first molar is clearly visible but not the second. Antler growth in bucks generally increases annually as a buck ages, gets older. Whether its while in your treestand or when viewing trail camera photos, it is important to learn to judge age by looking at an animal. Before a buck can be called a monster, a hawg, a toad, or booner, it has to survive a few seasons. I look forward to the day when no shoulder mount of a buck displays the full accomplishment without the jawbone, or a cementum annuli lab report, mounted nearby for all to see. Moreover, the growth is not the same in different-aged deer. Is that true? In recent years, deer antler supplements more specifically, deer velvet extracts and powders have been gaining popularity among bodybuilders and athletes looking . Because the antler growth rate is the highest in this month. And your picks really enhance what you shared. The cartilaginous antler is a pre-calcified stage of growth. But no matter where you put your finger on the map, you find a bell-shaped curve in every buck age class. The most important age to protect is the easiest to spot. 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