Antlers are one of the most fascinating features of deer and make many of us wonder how much they weigh. When you see a deer shedding its antlers, you might wonder if the animal is feeling any pain. Before you find answers to when deer shed their antlers, you have to know the purpose of antlers.
Males depend on their antlers to aid in establishing their dominance over other male deer in their community. Adult bucks tend to battle over does with their antlers that serve to be their weapons whole crashing their heads onto each other. In some instances, the antlers get tangled together and when they fail to separate themselves, they die out of starvation.
Antlers also signify how healthy and strong the male deer is. That’s because the growth of antlers depends on good genes, food habits, and age. The growth of antlers can be limited due to some injury or disease. Only a strong adult buck will grow its heavy rack with loads of points that remain coveted among trophy hunters.
What are antlers? How do they grow?
Antlers are pieces of bones growing outside the deer’s body and out of its pedicles. They vary according to the age, genetics, nutrition, breed, and feeding habits of the deer. Antlers grow at varying paces and strengths for different breeds. Moose and mule deer use their antlers during mating season.
The growth of antlers generally takes off in the early part of spring with the days becoming longer and temperature warming. Antlers are made from bone tissue and during growth, they remain covered with a hairy and soft layer of skin referred to as velvet. It is responsible for supplying blood as well as nutrients to the fast-growing bone tissues of the antler.
With the rise in the testosterone levels of the male deer during early fall, antlers become hard causing the velvet to become dry and strip off. Thus, the antlers start becoming hard and tough weapons and they will not grow any further in the current season.
Antlers start forming when the deer reaches 10 months. The growth, as well as the shedding of antlers, is a periodical feature of deer. In most cases, deer antlers shedding happens every year and they do not feel any pain. As you wonder when deer shed their antlers, it generally starts with the onset of winter and continues till March.
After this period is over, deer do not drop their antlers anymore. At the beginning of the mating season or rut, if the male deer is successful, the antlers will assist him in finding the desirable mate and pass on the genes to the offspring.
When does a deer shed its antler?
One thing that’s clear in this regard is that after the mating season is over, the testosterone levels of the deer start ebbing down. After it reaches a certain level, antlers are dropped. Since this happens at varying times in varying parts of the earth, there is something that instigates the testosterone levels to vary. Therefore, it’s important to find out the reason behind varying testosterone levels.
Testosterone remains high in male deer while they chase after does with high estrogen levels. According to a researcher working with a captive deer, when male bucks are in poor health condition is become diseased or injured, they will shed the antlers faster compared to a healthy doe.
In early winter, with the end of the rutting season, the antlers have performed the job they were meant for. With another change of hormones, antlers are dropped off one by one. This can happen anywhere between late December to March depending on where they live.
The neck of the male deer turns swollen during the mating season to help assist the weight of the antlers in getting back to its previous size. At present, the primary concern of the male deer is to find adequate food for surviving the harsh winter and living away from predators. If he is fortunate enough, he will be able to survive till spring when the process of antler growth will start all over again.