Shed Antlers & Scrapes

[grundsow]

I noticed that the only buck that is still working this scrape, is also the one that still has antlers. Any connection?

Here in PA most adult does are bred at the beginning of November, fawn does about a month later. But this pic was taken in March (3 months after the fawns breed). A group of 6 buck passed by the scrape, 5 of them had shed their antlers, and all 5 passed by without stopping. Only this one with antlers stopped to work the scrape.

 

[BSK]

A direct link between having antlers and working the scrape.

Antlergenesis--the process of growing new antlers--starts with a surge of testosterone produced by a buck's body. This surge of male hormone not only caused the old antlers to fall off and the new set to start growing, but it also causes the buck to suddenly act "rutty" again. He will go through all the behaviors of a buck in rut, including making/working scrapes. In fact, this process is so predictable that the timing of antlergenesis can be determined for the local area by watching for a sudden surge in new scrapes to appear in spring. For much of TN, that surge in scrape-making usually occurs in late March and early April. Every year, right around the opening of turkey season, I get a flurry of calls and emails from hunters worried their deer herd is all screwed up because bucks are working scrapes in late March. But again, this spring scrape-making is just a byproduct of the antler growth process.

 

[grundsow]

Thanks!!

 

[Mike Belt]

I understand the scraping at the onset of antler growth but the original question wasn't answered. Could the only buck holding his antlers at that time of the year be interested in scraping or was it just coincidence?

 

[BSK]

I understand the scraping at the onset of antler growth but the original question wasn't answered. Could the only buck holding his antlers at that time of the year be interested in scraping or was it just coincidence?

He still had enough testosterone to be interested in working the scrape.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

I understand the scraping at the onset of antler growth but the original question wasn't answered. Could the only buck holding his antlers at that time of the year be interested in scraping or was it just coincidence?

He still had enough testosterone to be interested in working the scrape.

BSK,the shed antler of a . Mature buck that I found this spring was laying in a scrape,and when I think back I have found them around scrapes in the past.is this common

 

[BSK]

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[BSK]

BSK,the shed antler of a . Mature buck that I found this spring was laying in a scrape,and when I think back I have found them around scrapes in the past.is this common

Common, no; but I can certainly see how it would happen. The buck rakes his antlers through the overhanging limb, and that extra pressure knocks off an antler that is already loose. Sometime bucks really work the overhanging limb VERY aggressively, getting the branches all caught up in their antlers.