Photo courtesy of Annie Buzzell Edgerly, July 7, 2009
This is the time of year when male deer carry a velvety covering on their new seasonal antlers. Antler development begins in March or April, Deer have pedicels, or knobby, skin-covered nubs that protrude from the skull and support the developing deer antlers. Velvet is the name given to the living tissue, rich in blood vessels, and extremely sensitive, which produce the bone-like material in antlers. Deer antlers are fully grown by August or September. Deer antlers are solid, not hollow like cow horns.
During the first year, just the nubs appear. During the second year, straight spikes usually develop. In the third year, the first branching begins, and so on. The number of branches on the rack generally increases with age but the size of the rack is more dependent on the health and nutrition of the animal. Because of hunting, most deer do not live past three years. At seven years, a well-fed buck would carry a sizeable rack.
In the growth phase, generally lasting two to four months, the antlers are covered with velvet. The velvet is filled with blood vessels that build up the bone growth. In time, a ring forms at the base of the antlers. The antlers harden and the velvet dries up. Some falls off naturally and some is rubbed off on tree bark by the deer. In the early fall, look for deer rubs on low tree branches and young saplings.
The antlers of deer are used for defense, to battle another male for dominance, to find food in the snow, and to attract females. Deer will shed their antlers as early as December, but more commonly between January and March. It is hard to spot fallen deer antlers in the snow, but looking for them can be an off-season past-time of its own.
Deer antlers contain the fastest growing cell tissue in the mammal world. Deer antlers can grow as much as one-half an inch per day during peak development. In most cases, the antlers grow backward away from the head, then curve around forward.
