When the deer hunters cut off
the lights, fasten the doors and lock the gates on the hunting camp on the final
day of the hunting season, they leave behind in the woods a multitude of deer
sporting full sets of antlers.
When
the hunters arrive back at camp the following fall to sweep away the cobwebs and
get ready for a new season, they do so content in knowing the same bucks inhabit
the same woods and they, too, will be sporting full sets of antlers.
For
deer hunters, it almost seems as if antlers are always there.
During
the spring and summer when hunters are cutting the grass at home, making casts
into their favorite lake or swinging a golf club, little thought goes into the
fact that in the woods near the hunting camp, one of nature’s greatest wonders
is taking place. Almost unnoticed is the fact that during that relatively short
time away, bucks shed their antlers and quickly grow another pair in their
place.
It’s
no wonder most deer hunters understand a lot about whitetail deer
characteristics, yet know so little about the dynamics of antler growth. The
200-day antler-growing period occurs in the deep woods at a time of the year
hunters are away from the camp and thinking about everything but hunting. Most
hunters concern themselves with antler growth about like they concern themselves
with the sun coming up each morning. “Sure, it’s a complicated process, but
it’s going to happen. So why lose sleep over it”?
Unfortunately,
most hunters will be more concerned in fall with planting crops that will suck
average-sized deer out of the woods so they can be shot, rather than planting a
crops such as Imperial Whitetail Clover, Alfa-Rack and No-Plow that will not
only draw bucks into food plots during hunting season, but also manipulate the
all-important 200-day antler growing process.
Why
do deer grow antlers?
Amazingly, as much as the
whitetail deer has been studied by experts, there is still a lot of argument as
to the reason whitetail deer grow antlers.
One
theory is that antlers serve as a secondary sexual characteristic. Some believe
antlers play an important role in the breeding process and allow the more
dominant buck to pass on those genes to the herd.
Some
argue, however, that the largest and strongest males sometimes don’t have the
largest set of antlers, thus poorer genes are often passed on by this process.
They also argue that since antlers serve no real purpose for whitetail deer, why
would it be important to pass on the genes of large antlers? Would it not be
more important to pass on the genes of superior strength or speed, or the
ability to smell?
Others
believe antlers are a defense against predators. Many experts scoff at that
saying whitetail deer have no predators other than man and automobiles. Coyote
you say? When is the last time you saw a whitetail buck stay and fight a coyote
rather than running? It’s true that fawns are susceptible to coyote and even
wild dog attacks, but fawns have no antlers with which to defend themselves.
What
experts do know is how antlers grow and what makes for large sets of antlers.
It’s important to start at the end of the rut when trying to understand the
200-day antler-growing period, one expert says.
Once
the rut is concluded, testosterone levels dramatically drop and this decline in
the male hormone eventually causes the antlers to drop off. The bucks go into a
recovery mode at this point and will spend the next six weeks resting and
replenishing muscle and body fat lost during hectic rut when bucks are more
concerned about breeding than keeping their bodies up.
While
antlers do not grow during this period, this time plays an important role in the
quality of antlers bucks will produce in the upcoming months, experts say.
The
buck must first replenish its bodily needs with a diet that includes protein,
calcium, phosphorus and other nutrients and minerals before any of those can be
directed to antler growth. If the body is still lacking these nutrients and
minerals when antlers first break through the skin, the body will continue to
replenish itself first, then direct those nutrients and minerals toward antler
growth once the body is satisfied.
A
high-protein diet – coupled with important essential minerals and vitamins –
that is available to a deer herd in late winter and early spring, quickly
replenishes the body and gives bucks a head-start on antler growth over other
bucks eating native browses which have low amounts of protein.
Antlers,
or horns?
Many incorrectly call deer
racks “horns” and the horns on cows and other domesticated animals
“antlers”. There’s a major difference. Cows and goats carry their horns
for a lifetime. Antlers are shed annually.
Unlike
the horns on cows and other domesticated animals, antler growth is not a
lifelong process. If it were, all that would be required to produce a big buck
would be age.
Instead,
antler growth is a rapid, 200-day process where antlers are capable of growing a
1/8 of an inch per day, the fastest bone growth known to man. It doesn’t take
a genius to see how missing three weeks of growing time out of the 200 days due
to a low-protein and mineral deficient diet could severely curtail a buck’s
antler potential.
Antlers
first appear as a soft, fleshy, flexible orb covered by fine hair. The antlers
at this point feel much like a tennis ball. The velvet-covered antlers are
easily damaged at this stage and bucks are usually extra careful not to brush
them against trees, rocks or other objects. The antlers carry a large supply of
blood at this point and tearing one of the developing antlers away could result
in death by hemorrhaging.
A
high-protein diet combined with the right combination of essential minerals and
vitamins that Imperial 30-06 mineral products and Cutting Edge nutritional
supplements provide and that are available at this stage can greatly enhance
antler growth and allows the antlers to reach their full potential.
The
antlers will continue to develop throughout the summer, but by August, the
buck’s testosterone level begins to rise again. It’s at this point that the
antlers begin to harden and the bucks eventually begin to scrape away the velvet
on trees.
At
this time, Imperial Clover begins the second phase of its dual role. Yes, it has
been providing up to 30-35% antler-building protein during the entire 200-day
antler growing process. Now, it will continue to be available the rest of the
year and attract deer to your food plots better than anything else you can
plant. Imperial Clover will also be available when the 200-day antler growing
process begins next spring.
High
Protein + Quality Minerals
And
Vitamins = TROPHY BUCKS