Anterlers

[Shleprock]

After deer shed their anterlers do they begin to grow back imediately or is there a stage inbetween sheding and new growth?

[suzie_shooter]

there is a small stage between shedding and regrowth but every deer is different so the time period is different for each deer

[Roy Steele]

Here in WV they mostly lose the antlers by the end 0f FEB,and I've seen nubs buy 2 of APR.I don't really know but I'd say at least 2 weeks.

[Herdbull]

It's hard say when any individual deer sheds its antlers unless they are captive. I have seen deer loose there antler here in Illinois as early as the first week in December. The pedicels scab over, but I can't image they start to grow again in 2 weeks because the animal would be going through the toughest and coldest part of the year. Raised blood vessels of active growing tissue with little protection would be detrimental. The staging between antler loss and regrowth is defined by the individual and the time it was lost. Some animals will loose their antlers earier in years of stress due to hormonal changes.
Gene Wensel told me he saw bucks yesterday with antlers still on their head along side other bucks that had already started to grow theirs. He is in souther Iowa, but further north into Wisconsin we don't see anters starting to grow back until the end of April and early May. Mike

[Killdeer]

Whoops!
I thought you were talking about anteriors...
never mind.

[Shleprock]

Thanks. I just put my first game camera out last week and was wondering what I may get on it. I checked it once and had deer and a coyote. I moved it to a better location now that I experimented with it. Hopefully I will get some new growth pictures.

[mqqse]

I've seen bucks with antlers into late March here and nubs as early as the first week of May.

[Dave Bulla]

Yup, bucks with antlers still on in late March is common near me too.

Mike, never thought about that.  I always figured that a bucks antlers came off because the new growth was ready to start.  Kinda like a baby tooth falling out when the permanent tooth has formed under it.  But if that were the case, you'd see deer with nubs showing in Feb and Mar if they lost in December through a normal shedding process.

Maybe deer that loose due to stress or injury are a little different than normal.  I wonder if the "norm" is for an antler to stay in place until the new growth is ready in the pedicel.  BUT this might be largely determined by the amount of daylight just like the rut.  I'm wondering if a deer that looses it's antlers in December due to stress, injury or sickness, near starvation etc WOULD have kept them till say March if healthy.  Maybe the new growth "trigger" still occurs at the normal time but between the time of abnormal shedding and the time of new growth, he's just in antler limbo.

I also wonder if when a deer was born effects when it sheds and starts growth.  I mean, if a doe is bred early say in October, the fawn will be born early compared to does bred in Nov or Dec.  Each fall, that deer is "older" than the other deer born the same year so would it start it's antler growth sooner?  I expect maybe for it's very first rack yes but by the second year, it's probably just timed off normal seasonal cues and genetics but what the heck do I know!?

[doeboy]

you kill me killdeer!

[George D. Stout]

Killdeer,  anterlers are kinda like Russian Jewelery....totally misunderstood 8^).

Anterlers:  device for measuring ants.  Like calipers, but not used on cals.