Antler Growth

[DEERHNTR]

This may be a stupid question but when do deer start developing new antlers? Last year I didn't put my trail camera out until August, I would like to put it out earlier this yeer so I can hopefully get pictures of bucks developing.

[luv 2 bowhunt]

Each buck is going to develop a little differently than the next, but you should already begin to see some new growth of antlers right now.
I raised Whitetailed deer for over 20 years and the antler growth during the summer can be a fascinating thing to observe. It seemed like in our pen from mid June to mid July we saw the most dramatic growth. On the older bucks, 4 to 5 years old it is amazing how fast the antlers seemed to grow.
The younger bucks obviously don't get very large racks so it seems like they don't grow as fast, but they are still fun to watch daily.

[jk hillsdale]

Each buck is going to develop a little differently than the next, but you should already begin to see some new growth of antlers right now.
I raised Whitetailed deer for over 20 years and the antler growth during the summer can be a fascinating thing to observe. It seemed like in our pen from mid June to mid July we saw the most dramatic growth. On the older bucks, 4 to 5 years old it is amazing how fast the antlers seemed to grow.
The younger bucks obviously don't get very large racks so it seems like they don't grow as fast, but they are still fun to watch daily.

If you compare a 1 1/2 year old buck with his first rack to a 4 1/2 year old buck that will grow a large rack, do they both grow antlers for the same LENGTH of time? In other words, do they both start and end growth about the same time, and it's a matter of the older bucks antlers growing much faster during that time period? Or, does the larger buck begin antler growth earlier and continue later into the summer?

I've asked this question before on this forum and never received an answer, and your experience with raising whitetails leads me to believe that you'd have the scoop on this. Thanks!

[luv 2 bowhunt]

The older bucks seemed to "sprout" new antlers a few weeks ahead of the youngsters, but they all showed some sign of new growth by early May every year. The younger ones just don't seem to grow at the same speed. I think that more of their growth energy is being spent on skeletal size and body size.
The bucks both young and old continued to grow throughout July and sometime, around early to mid August they just start dry out.
It is amazing how large the "In velvet" antlers are.
When they start to dry out and finally rub off the velvet the mass sure disappears in a hurry.
One of the strangest things we saw the first year we observed one of our bucks rubbing off his velvet was that they immediately EAT the velvet as soon as they can swing it into their mouths. Kind of strange watching a deer eating a bloody skinlike substance.
But watching the does give birth was enlightening also, watching them eat up all of the afterbirth and lick up all of the blood in the area of having the fawns.

[jk hillsdale]

The older bucks seemed to "sprout" new antlers a few weeks ahead of the youngsters, but they all showed some sign of new growth by early May every year. The younger ones just don't seem to grow at the same speed. I think that more of their growth energy is being spent on skeletal size and body size.
The bucks both young and old continued to grow throughout July and sometime, around early to mid August they just start dry out.
It is amazing how large the "In velvet" antlers are.
When they start to dry out and finally rub off the velvet the mass sure disappears in a hurry.
One of the strangest things we saw the first year we observed one of our bucks rubbing off his velvet was that they immediately EAT the velvet as soon as they can swing it into their mouths. Kind of strange watching a deer eating a bloody skinlike substance.
But watching the does give birth was enlightening also, watching them eat up all of the afterbirth and lick up all of the blood in the area of having the fawns.

What you were able to observe with your deer really sounds fascinating. If you don't mind, I might at some point have some additional questions for you relating to the do's and don'ts of keeping a few captive deer. It might be something I'd like to pursue in the future.