#3121675 - 01/13/13 09:48 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: deerhunter10]
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Hollar Hunter
8 Point
Registered: 11/05/10
Posts: 1666
Loc: TN
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They for the MOST part drop the last week of Feb through March. Of course there will be a few earlier and later. Health and rut stress does have a lot to do with when each individual deer drops...
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#3121681 - 01/13/13 09:50 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: Hollar Hunter]
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Football Hunter
18 Point
Registered: 10/22/07
Posts: 24550
Loc: Wilson Co/Perry Co
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yep,normal
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#3121723 - 01/13/13 10:12 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: Football Hunter]
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deerhunter10
8 Point
Registered: 08/21/12
Posts: 1074
Loc: maury county tn
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well I guess that makes sense in the neighborhood and at our farm the rut is rockin and hits the deer very hard.
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#3121925 - 01/13/13 01:18 PM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: deerhunter10]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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I don't think it has anything to do with stress...
It has everything to do with stress. Deer are NOT genetically predisposed to drop antlers in January. They are genetically predisposed to drop antlers in late February through early April. Nutritional and/or physical stresses cause early antler drop.
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"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#3121931 - 01/13/13 01:21 PM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: BSK]
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deerhunter10
8 Point
Registered: 08/21/12
Posts: 1074
Loc: maury county tn
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Thanks bsk i just thought every deer was different and just dropped randomly.
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#3122437 - 01/13/13 07:12 PM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: deerhunter10]
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Quailman
8 Point
Registered: 08/04/03
Posts: 1329
Loc: Winchester, TN
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Talked to my farm neighbor in Illinois today, and he found 14 sheds after he finised hunting yesterday. Since our farms have exceptional habitat and food resources (until recently), I can only assume these bucks are dropping early due to the recent extremely cold weather we've had up there over the last 2 weeks. 12+ inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits at night must have put a lot of stress on the deer. Based on trail camera photos over the years, most of our bucks drop their antlers from late February into early March. This is the earliest we have ever seen bucks lose their antlers.
Definitely been a strange year.
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#3122443 - 01/13/13 07:17 PM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: BSK]
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BlountArrow
8 Point
Registered: 07/13/12
Posts: 1276
Loc: SouthEast Tenn
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I don't think it has anything to do with stress... It has everything to do with stress. Deer are NOT genetically predisposed to drop antlers in January. They are genetically predisposed to drop antlers in late February through early April. Nutritional and/or physical stresses cause early antler drop.
^^^Well, this makes me feel good about what we're doing. I have several pics from last March with many bucks still holding their antlers.
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#3122910 - 01/14/13 07:51 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: Quailman]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Talked to my farm neighbor in Illinois today, and he found 14 sheds after he finised hunting yesterday. Since our farms have exceptional habitat and food resources (until recently), I can only assume these bucks are dropping early due to the recent extremely cold weather we've had up there over the last 2 weeks. 12+ inches of snow and temperatures in the single digits at night must have put a lot of stress on the deer. Based on trail camera photos over the years, most of our bucks drop their antlers from late February into early March. This is the earliest we have ever seen bucks lose their antlers.
Definitely been a strange year.
Is your property in southern or middle IL? I ask because northern deer (borealis sub-species) ARE gnetically programmed to lose antlers early. Although antlers don't weigh that much, a few less pounds to carry through deep winter snows may mean the difference between life and death for that sub-species.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#3122916 - 01/14/13 07:54 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: BlountArrow]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59548
Loc: Nashville, TN
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I don't think it has anything to do with stress... It has everything to do with stress. Deer are NOT genetically predisposed to drop antlers in January. They are genetically predisposed to drop antlers in late February through early April. Nutritional and/or physical stresses cause early antler drop. ^^^Well, this makes me feel good about what we're doing. I have several pics from last March with many bucks still holding their antlers.
For a healthy Southeastern deer population, expect to see the beginning of antler drop sometime in mid-February, but most bucks holding antlers until mid-March. A few bucks will hold antlers into the start of turkey season in early April.
Now one or two of the bucks that were the most intense participants in the rut losing antler in January is not a concern. That is a natural part of the stress of the rut on the most active participants. But seeing a lot of bucks losing antlers in January (in TN) is a bad sign.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#3122975 - 01/14/13 08:56 AM
Re: deer already losing horns
[Re: BSK]
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woodsman87
6 Point
Registered: 09/27/12
Posts: 615
Loc: south TN
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I have seen bucks with velvet forked nubs almost in the middle of April and have seen deer with hard antlers in late march early april. I have also seen one sided racks many times during mid to late february. It is just a little different every year.
This is north AL and southern TN.
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