How long do antlers grow on a deer

Since the dawn of creation, man has been fascinated by deer antlers. They are the fastest growing bone material known to man, and over a course of days from late March through early August, a mature buck can grow in excess of inches of bone on his head. Many believe that having great summer growing conditions is the key to optimum antler growth.

Though extremely important, there is far more to the antler growing equation than having a great growing season. For a buck to truly reach his potential he must be healthy and have great food sources year round. If either of these factors is lacking he will not reach his potential. At this age, its neck should be full and its chest should be deep.

The spread of the antlers should grow past the width of the ears with an adequate mass. At four years old, the buck has developed into a strong, healthy deer. It is skinnier than it will be at full maturity. Most bucks reach more than three-quarters of their optimal antler growth at age four. Generally, bucks' antlers fully mature between five and seven years old.

During this time, they have also reached their optimal body mass to have a full, strong appearance. The fullness and complexity of their antlers will depend on their access to nutrition and their genetic makeup. Since most free-range deer are hunted during their prime age of five to seven, you will find few deer older than eight years old.

Until this age, deer antlers get bigger each year. As deer age, the shape and size of their antlers will decrease and their body mass will shrink. A deer of this age will have weathered antlers to show their fights with other deer and their journey through life. Whitetail deer begin to grow their antlers in the spring, and you'll start to see deer losing antlers in the winter.

Here is the general timeline of the whitetail deer antler growth process by month. Deer begin to grow antlers between late March and early April. During this time, two stumps of bone pop out from the deer's pedicles, wrapped in a thin layer of velvet skin.

The velvet contains the oxygen and nutrients needed for the antlers to grow into healthy, mature antlers. When the antlers of the whitetail deer are in velvet, deer try to keep their antlers from injury. Any injuries brought on by weather, knocking into objects or other deer could result in abnormalities in their antlers. Since deer use nutrients from their entire body — such as the bones in their legs — they need to have proper nutrition from a young age.

April In the middle of spring, May is when more nutritious foods are available to bucks. During this time, whitetails prefer food and forage that is high in protein and other essential nutrients. With time to fully recover from the winter, the whitetail deer's body can now fully focus on antler growth. At the end of May, deer should start to show a second point on their deer rack. The antler beams should also be about half of what their length will be at full maturity.

May During the summer, after a healthy season of rainfall, lush, nutritious food will be available for deer to continue their growth process. With more daylight available in June, deer produce the hormones needed to accelerate the antler growth process.

By the end of June, a deer will have grown nearly all the primary points on its antler racks. At the beginning of this mid-summer month, the buck's antlers should be very bulbous. Throughout the month, the beams and points of the antler will grow. By the middle of July, the buck should have massive mature antlers. Adequate rainfall in the spring and summer will make more nutrition-rich foods available to deer to promote health antler growth.

Antler growth could be hindered by a drought and a lack of nutritious foods for the deer. By the end of July, most bucks' antlers have fully formed, and they can begin the hardening process. Most bucks will complete their antler growth in the middle of August when the blood flow to the antlers decreases.

The antlers will harden over the next 20 to 25 days. The site navigation utilizes arrow, enter, escape, and space bar key commands. Up and Down arrows will open main level menus and toggle through sub tier links. Enter and space open menus and escape closes them as well. Tab will move on to the next part of the site rather than go through menu items. Photo via Shutterstock. It sometimes seems as if white-tailed deer grow antlers overnight.

In reality, that's not too far from the truth. Antlers, which are made of bone, grow quickly. They are one of the fastest-growing tissues in all of the animal kingdom. A white-tailed deer's antlers can grow as much as a quarter-inch per day, according to Popular Science. But that's nothing compared to elk and moose. Antlers from the same deer at ages 3, 4, and 5 years showing consistency of general conformation, annual variation in presence of tines a , and abnormal points increasing at older ages b.

Antlers Why Antlers? Donate Now. Listen Now. Latest News. Beneath the wound epithelium are cells which will create the antler growth zones. Antler Conformation Antler shape or form, known as conformation, is highly variable and depends on age, genetics, and nutrition.

Pedicle and Abscission Line Diagram of a growing antler tip illustrating the main anatomical regions. Abscission Surface Abscission line at the antler — pedicle interface. Stages of Antler Growth Stages of antler growth. X-Cut Of Base X-ray of cross sections at the antler base showshows the range of variation in relative amount of spongy dark center and compact bone.

Antler Conformation These examples of antler conformations and their gross and net Boone and Crockett scores are all deer harvested in Mississippi. Antler Conformation Consistency Antlers from the same deer at ages 3, 4, and 5 years showing consistency of general conformation, annual variation in presence of tines a , and abnormal points increasing at older ages b.