They seem to be living in harmony with one another. Bucks will instead use posture, bumping, and pawing to assert themselves. These methods avoid putting the sensitive velvet at risk.
Around Labor Day each year, the velvet shedding season begins in earnest, and lasts until approximately late September. Once the velvet is shed, all bets are off. As noted, bucks will pal up with other males during the velvet stage of antler growth through the summer.
These gangs of males will forage for food together, sleep close to each other, and generally just be buddies. Bachelor groups of deer can reach over 10 bucks and very few dominance displays are evident. We know the rut happens shortly after velvet shedding, but bucks react differently to the transformation. For example:. Of course, some will engage in all-out war and fight with each other.
They will also be more visible and engage in pre-mating behaviors. With the velvet shed, the full-strength antlers are now on display and are used during the rut. Eventually, deer shed the antlers themselves, and start the process anew. Deer Velvet Shedding. Without a proper supply of nutrient enriched blood, minerals can no longer be deposited into the boney tissue beneath the skin and the growth and development of these characteristic structures ceases.
A critical reduction in blood reaching the nerves in the velvet causes these cells to die from a lack of oxygen. As feeling in their antlers begins to completely fade, the buck develops the urge to rub this mass of bone on a sapling. It is quite common for a small buck with only spikes or 4 points to loosen the velvety skin and completely shed this covering in a single scraping session. Older bucks that have six or more points often require several periods of vigorous rubbing to rid their rack of all the scraps of velvet.
At this time of year, a large buck may be seen with small pieces of velvet hanging from the junction of a central beam and one of its larger tines. Even after a buck has completely removed all of the velvet from its antlers, he continues to periodically rub them on saplings in an attempt to advertise his presence to other deer in the immediate region.
For a doe, a healthy buck that seems to have a sizeable rack will be a worthy breeding partner. For other bucks in the general area, a healthy rival means that a confrontation is likely, and sparring for control of the area is inevitable. Throughout the next two months bucks frequently engage in pushing and shoving matches using their set of antlers. The primary hormones responsible for antler growth are testosterone and IGF insulin like growth factor.
The rise and fall of testosterone levels initiates the hardening of the antler, the peeling off of antler velvet and casting or shedding of the antlers. The IGF that is produced in the liver promotes actual growth. The longer days correspond with a drop in melatonin production this kicks off the hormone cycle for antler growth. This, in turn, influences testosterone and IGF levels. If you have ever noticed the bucks that are late in the velvet shedding process are often the yearling bucks and older bucks that have survived and are past their prime.
This is directly related to the lower levels of testosterone produced. The pedicle is the base from where the antlers will form and are located on the frontal bone of the skull. Buttons begin to grow from the pedicles sometime around six months of age in male whitetails. Underneath this furry membrane, the antlers are supplied by a very rich supply of blood and nutrients from veins that run on the outside of the antlers and back down to the base. During the growing stages, antlers are high in water and blood content and low in dry matter.
While in the velvet stages, antlers feel alive and warm to the touch because of all the activity taking place within. I was lucky enough to feel this first hand while helping to raise whitetails for a couple years. When antlers are in velvet, they are very vulnerable to being injured.
Bucks seem to be very aware that they have this fragile treasure on their head and are very careful in their actions throughout antler genesis. Bruises, cuts, or tears to the velvet can all have an impact on the formation of the antler. These injuries often result in abnormal points or in serious injuries and complete deformation. It is worth noting that leg, body or pedicel injuries can also lead to deformed antlers.
Injuries on the rear legs affect the opposite side antler, where front leg or shoulder injuries will affect the same side. Pedicel injuries can happen during the numerous fights during the rut causing part of the pedicel to shed with the antler.
With the days of late summer getting shorter, testosterone levels begin to rise and the growth cycle begins to slow down initiating the process of hardening or mineralizing of the antlers. So how does the velvet come off? The velvet ceases to be fed by blood by the formation of what some call the base or the burr on the antler.
In as little as a few hours, the drying velvet is rubbed off on trees and bushes the buck is left with a blood stained rack that he will continue to polish for several days. I think many early fall rubs that are seen are areas where bucks use saplings and bushes to scrub the drying velvet from their newly hardened set of antlers.
It can also be eaten off by other deer or birds and any velvet that does hit the forest floor is quickly scavenged by mice and other critters because of its high nutrient content.
There are rare cases where a buck does not shed his antlers, and instead keeps a velvet covered rack that continually grows throughout the year. The condition is referred to as cryptorchidism. The age at which the injury occurs will determine the severity of antler deformation or interruption in the normal antler cycle. Fawns that are castrated will likely not develop a pedicel and therefore never grow any antlers.
Antler velvet will peel sometime over the next few weeks in most areas of the country. Our fascination with antlers officially begins and from here on in it is all about wrapping your hands around a set of those beautiful horns. Most bucks complete growing their antlers by mid-August.
Antler tissue begins to mineralize and harden around that time and once the blood flow ceases and the tips of the antler harden, the peeling process begins. This is a great time to get trail camera shots of peeling bucks. Lucky trail camera buffs sometimes get pics of bloody faced bucks working brush or using their hind hooves to work the soft peeling skin from their antlers.
Most just pick up the change; one day he is in velvet, a day or two later he is hard horned. Most buck watchers will see some indication of antler peeling sometime between now and mid-September.
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