When bucks shed their antlers ...

[R.J.]

In the 32 years I have been chasing Whitetails , this is the earliest I have ever seen a buck shed his antlers ?

The latest I saw was many years ago ( approx 15 years ago ) ... A small 7 point buck was hit buy a car in April and still had both sides on ?

As a rule ... most all bucks have shed by Feb / March ...

I'm not sure why they are sheding early this year ??

Does anyone have any information on why ?

I searched the net and found some info ...

Believe it or not, the 23 degree tilt of the Earth¹s axis is the ultimate
cause for the annual cycles in deer antlers. This tilt is what causes
Earth's annually recurring seasons. Deer have adapted their physiology and
behavior to these seasonal changes, including antler growth. The
environmental cue that regulates antler growth is the amount of day
length, or photoperiod.


The physiological cue is the male hormone testosterone. The way this works
is complicated, but changing day lengths are sensed by the eyes, which
send this message, via the optic nerve, to the pineal gland. The pineal
gland - a pea-sized organ at the base of the brain - produces many
different hormones. One hormone produced is luteinizing hormone, which
controls the amount of testoserone produced in the testes.


The antler cycle lags behind the changes in day length because the
hormonal changes take time. During fall, decreasing day lengths cause
melatonin production to increase, resulting in decreased production of
both luteinizing hormone and testosterone. Decreasing testosterone levels
then cause the antlers to shed.

In the past, it was believed that deer withdrew to secluded places to shed
their antlers in order to avoid the loss of virility in 'public.' However,
it is likely that deer are unaware of when they will lose their antlers.
Antlers are shed when a thin layer of tissue destruction, called the
abscission layer, forms between the antler and the pedicle. This layer
forms as a result of the decrease in testosterone. As the connective
tissue is dissolved, the antler loosens and is either broken free, or
falls off on its own. This degeneration of the bone-to-bone bond between
the antler and the pedicle is the fastest deterioration of living tissue
known in the animal kingdom.


In whitetails, a restricted diet has been found to cause bucks to shed
their antlers early. It has been suspected that the lack of adequate
nutrition somehow effects testosterone output. Nutritionally-stressed
bucks may also grow their antlers and shed their velvet later. Older-aged
bucks are thought to shed their antlers earlier than younger bucks. It has
also been reported that higher-ranked (more dominant) bucks cast their
antlers sooner than lower-ranked (subordinant) bucks. Older-aged, more
dominant bucks probably shed their antlers sooner because of the high
energy costs incurred in maintaining a higher dominance rank.


The farther deer are from the equator, the more defined their antler
cycle. In other words, northern deer have a shorter "window" of when
antler shedding can occur, compared to deer herds in southern states. In
addition, the specific date when a buck will shed his antlers may be
determined more by his individual antler cycle than any other factor. This
cycle is independent of other bucks and is believed to be centered on each
animal's birth date.


Penned deer studies have allowed scientists to measure the exact dates of
antler shedding for individual deer year after year. One study in
Mississippi found that individual bucks usually shed their antlers at the
same time each year and almost always during the same week. Yearling bucks
with only spike antlers shed sooner than yearling bucks with forked
antlers, likely because they were more nutritionally stressed than
fork-antlered bucks. This study also indicated there was no relationship
between antler mass and date of antler shedding, although other studies
have shown that bucks shed their antlers earlier as they grow older.
Additional penned studies have also revealed that bucks usually shed both
antlers within three days of each other.


Although there is no clear evidence that weather directly affects antler
shedding, it is likely that severe winters may also cause bucks to shed
their antlers earlier than normal because of the nutritional stress this
causes.


Why Do Bucks Shed Antlers?


We have examined the environmental and physiological changes that occur to
cause bucks to shed their antlers every year, but we still haven't
addressed the question of why bucks shed antlers. Why do bucks spend so
much energy in growing antlers, only to shed these antlers a few months
later, forcing them to reinvest an enormous amount of energy to regrow the
antlers again the following year? Why don¹t deer antlers stay attached and
continue to grow throughout life like the horns of sheep, goats, and
cattle?


Scientists have pondered these same questions for many years and they
still do not know the answers. However, several theories have been
developed to explain why antlers are shed every year. One of the most
common theories is that bucks shed their antlers annually so that they
have the potential to replace any damage to antlers that may have occurred
in the form of broken tines, or a broken main beam. This theory seems
valid because antlers are extremely important in display for acquiring
females and because they are used during dominance fights with other
bucks. If a buck breaks a main beam and is not able to replace that
antler, it may not be able to acquire future breeding privileges.


A second related theory suggests that bucks shed antlers annually so that
they can regrow larger antlers the following year, in order to keep pace
with their increasing body size. This theory is based on the fact that
antlers quickly mature into nongrowing structures before the buck is able
to attain full body size.


A third theory states that antlers are shed simply because of an accident
of evolutionary chance. In other words, there is no real reason why
antlers are shed. Antlers are different from horns, not because they need
to be, but because of different evolutionary origin. A fourth theory
suggests that antlers are shed in order to stop the die-back process, that
occurs at the junction of the pedicle and antler, from traveling down into
the skull.


Another theory suggests that antler shedding developed in the primitive
antlers of ancestral deer from temperate zones. Antlers of deer in these
colder climates would have been vulnerable to freezing in winter if they
were not shed. The only way to prevent freezing would have been to stop
the blood supply to antlers before the onset of winter.


It is thought that ancestral males shed their antlers so that they were
able to mimic the healthier, nonantlered females. In theory, this reduced
their vulnerability to predation, because predators may have actively
searched for antlered males due to their weakened condition.


One final theory simply suggests that antlers are shed each year as an
energy-conserving measure, so that males don¹t have the added weight from
the antlers to carry outside of the breeding season. Antlers are
cumbersome and energy-expensive structures that are not needed after the
breeding season. However, for this to be true, it must also be true that
regrowing the antlers each year is less energy-expensive than maintaining
the antlers through winter. (By Dr. Mickey Hellickson )

[huntman]

Very Intersting! Thanks RJ

[chris4570]

Very good read RJ!!! Always looking to further my whitetail knowledge.

I have seen bucks carrying their antlers late March-early April. Very difficult to pick up sheds when they are still wearing them.

[cdup]

Thanks for sharing!

[Sandman]

Thanks for the read RJ~!

[Mike P]

That is excellent information R.J.!

I have been blown away with the early sheds up in the great white north this year.

The bucks here still have all their head gear and I expect them to maintain their racks well through Jan and into Feb.

[hetichunter]

They still have racks here in northern illinois. They usually shed in late January here.

[Doe Master]

One of the guys hunting out of one of my stands had a buck come in that had an antler only on one side left .
Maybe this ontario chinook will make it a little easier on them for the winter

[VixChix]

Was talking to someone today that told me that locally because of all the rain this summer, the crops this year have only 50% of their usual nutritional value. If that's true, perhaps that's part of the reason?

[chris4570]

Found a fresh rub this morning. Bark shavings on top of the snow. No deer seen though . Too darn windy. Trees were falling all over. Pine cones and branches coming down on me.

[Kenton]

Very good info RJ. I would however like to propose my own theory. I don't think much can be decerned from studies of penned deer. A great percentage of the biological information we have on whitetails has been gained strictly from penned deer. While some of this info is good, some in inaccurate because penned deer are different from wild deer, period.

Now on to my theory (no statistical evidence). RJ mentioned the energy demands of carrying antlers all year long. But antlers are cast by the mechanism of reabsorbsion. The deer's body weakens the base of the antlers by taking back some of the nutrients in the antler. I believe antlers serve as nutrient storage. Before North America was settled, the winter months were very hard on whitetails, as no leftover grain or food plots, but only browse was available. Browse provides some energy in the form of carbohydrates and added to a deers fat reserves provide enough nutrition except for certain nutrients that deer need in small amounts throughout the year. The amount of these nutrients in antlers are incredibly small but it could be the difference in a deer surviving a harsh winter.

I do not claim that this is the only or even the main function of antlers but is often an overlooked one. As to the original question of why some bucks shed well before others. In nearly every (there are always exceptions) instance I have seen antlers dropping early, the deer has been injured in some way, whether it be car accident or misguided shot.

In Ohio, we had a below average crop season due to lack of rain last year
and a heavy snow fall in february. By the time March rolled around sheds were hard to find. This year was an average crop year but much of it is on the ground because of wind damage. With lots of food available, I expect a late drop barring heavy snows. Just my opinion and only time will tell.

[Crockett&boon]

i've found here in east tennessee that march or april give or take 2 weeks due to how much or less food their was that year