Post by Woody Williams on Jul 10, 2006 9:13:40 GMT -5
................and do they grow until the buck sheds his velvet?
This is from a good friend of mine who knows more about deer than I could ever imagine.
The majority of growth is complete now. Most of what you'll see from mid-July until the antlers stop growing in early to mid-August is increased tine length.
Antlers stop growing about a month before velvet shedding. It takes about a month to mineralize the antlers, which are grown as a soft protein matrix. Mineralization turns that protein matrix into bone. The antlers are done growing before this process starts.
The easiest way to tell if a buck is still growing more antler material is to look at the ends of the tines. If the ends are somewhat "bulbous" and shiney, the antlers are still growing. If they have shrunk down to nearly a sharp point, the antlers are done growing and he is hardening them before velvet shedding.
Take a look at the two pictures of the same buck below. In the first pic, the tips of the tines of the diamond-shaped 8-pointers (the one looking at the camera) are still rounded--kind of bulb-like--and shiney. In the second pic (also the buck looking at the camera) notice how his tine-tips have shrunk down to sharper points and are no longer shiney. In the second pic, the buck's antlers have finished growing.
This is from a good friend of mine who knows more about deer than I could ever imagine.
The majority of growth is complete now. Most of what you'll see from mid-July until the antlers stop growing in early to mid-August is increased tine length.
Antlers stop growing about a month before velvet shedding. It takes about a month to mineralize the antlers, which are grown as a soft protein matrix. Mineralization turns that protein matrix into bone. The antlers are done growing before this process starts.
The easiest way to tell if a buck is still growing more antler material is to look at the ends of the tines. If the ends are somewhat "bulbous" and shiney, the antlers are still growing. If they have shrunk down to nearly a sharp point, the antlers are done growing and he is hardening them before velvet shedding.
Take a look at the two pictures of the same buck below. In the first pic, the tips of the tines of the diamond-shaped 8-pointers (the one looking at the camera) are still rounded--kind of bulb-like--and shiney. In the second pic (also the buck looking at the camera) notice how his tine-tips have shrunk down to sharper points and are no longer shiney. In the second pic, the buck's antlers have finished growing.
