![]() ![]() However, a 1-1/2-year old buck on a high-protein diet can be an 8 point. But at the age of 6-1/2-years, a deer’s antlers often begin to decline and actually may be smaller than they have been earlier in a buck’s life. Sheffer comments that studies done in Pennsylvania have revealed that if a buck gets all the food he needs, until he is 5-1/2-years old, his antlers usually will grow bigger each year. But I believe 90 percent of the influence on antler development is dependent on the nutrition of that animal.” Spikes may produce smaller-antlered bucks later in life than fork-horned deer do. However, some evidence does show that spikes can be controlled genetically. Although a theory at one time has been that a spike always will be a spike, this concept is not valid. The amount of food, the quality of that food and the general well-being of the individual buck are some of the major contributing factors to antler growth and development. Once bucks are adults, their antler development depends more on the amount of nutrition they receive than any other factor. However, generally, younger deer will have smaller antlers than the older deer. Teer replies that, “No direct correlation exists between the number of points a buck has on its rack and the age of the animal. When asked about what can be determined from the number of points on a deer’s rack as well as its size, Dr. Teer, today the Director Emeritus of the Welder Wildlife Foundation, in Sinton, Texas. What Biologists Know about the Facts and Myths Concerning Buck Deer Antlers Day 2: Nutrition Is the Key to a Buck Deer’s AntlersĮditor’s Note: What can you learn about deer from antlers? Do bucks grow new antlers each year? If a buck’s an 8-point deer one year, will he be a 9 point the next year? What causes some deer to have high, wide-racked antlers, while other deer may have narrow, spindly antlers? These are just a few of the questions we posed some years ago to two of the nation’s leading wildlife scientists – Dale Sheffer, the then Director of the Bureau of Wildlife Management for the State of Pennsylvania, and Dr. ![]()
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