

When bucks reach 4-6 months of age, the antlers begin to grow from the pedicle. After birth, early stimulation from testosterone is then required for final pedicle development. Antler pedicles start developing on the frontal bones of male white-tailed deer fawns during late fetal development. The two circular areas that grow antlers from a buck's skull are known as pedicles. This is a time when most antler damage or breakage can occur, despite the common misconception that most deer antler breakage occurs during the fighting stages of the rut or breeding season. During deer antler development, the deer’s antlers are very delicate and extremely sensitive. Growing antlers are covered with a living tissue called velvet. The deer antler development process can vary greatly depending upon the genetics and nutrition of each deer.

Deer antler tissue has been documented to grow from ¼ inch to ¾ inches in a day, or 24 hour period. Whitetail deer tissue growth in antlers in among the fastest growing tissues in the entire animal kingdom. In most cases the typical deer antlers begins growth out of the head in a backward motion, then quickly changes direction and sweeps forward. Your gonna have to love whitetail bucks to read this article as it’s information that the novice whitetail hunter may not appreciate.ĭeer antler growth normally begins here in the Midwestern United States in March or April. Let us explore the details of whitetail deer antler growth and information. Topics that surround how fast deer antlers grow, what elements are essential for trophy deer antler growth, what States provide the basic ingredients needed for antler growth of deer, conservation programs to assist in antler development of whitetail deer, and much more. Thus I thought it would be interesting to provide information about whitetail deer antlers.

As much as I hate to admit it, whitetail deer hunting’s focal point has become the harvest of trophy whitetail bucks, which in turn are determined by deer antlers.
