VIDEO: HOW WHEN & WHY BUCKS PEEL THEIR VELVET. Thatâs an easy one: Because the cessation in blood flow leads to the âdeathâ of the velvet covering. Like so much that happens in the cycle of the whitetailâs year, the timing of bucks shedding their antler velvet is closely tied to photoperiod (the number of hours of daylight in a day). It is a rare event when a buck will peel his velvet in less than three hours. The tarsal glands of cryptorchid bucks are rarely stained because the bucks do not rub-urinate. When they first form, antlers are covered with a layer of skin called velvet, which nourishes the bone as it grows. This is when blood flow ceases to the velvet-clad antlers and the drying process begins. These same results can sometimes be produced in a buck that is born normal but subsequently suffers a testicular injury. Bear and Elk Hunting Forum. Older bucks that have six or more points often require several periods of vigorous rubbing to rid their rack of all the scraps of velvet. Does the time when a buckâs antlers harden translate when they will peel their velvet, or is it random? The hunt on Saturday November 9, 2013, was a heart-breaker for Ryne Wade of Marion, Illinois. Severe droughts and winter weather (Iâm talking really severe, not just a few weeks here or there) can also affect things. However, I must slightly preface this answer. ... they have a covering of âvelvet,â a soft membrane that is a layer of skin. As days begin to get shorter, a buck’s testosterone level declines. Some folks believe bucks peel their velvet because it âitches.â I doubt this is the case as much as it reeks; it attracts insects (bees, flies, you name it), and that annoyance along with the odor (which surely attracts predators) is something a buck does not want on his headgear for long. The antlers no longer fill with blood or ⦠Key word there is âbegins.â, READ MORE: HOW TO PRESERVE VELVET ANTLERS. Whitetail bucks have velvet covered antlers from late spring until late summer. The exact time will depend on a number of factors including the ones I have highlighted above. Rules and Announcements. When Ryne told his taxidermist about the velvet, the taxidermist explained what a rare buck Ryne really had, and he also guessed the buck didn’t have normal testicles. Sometime between September 1 and 15 bucks shed the velvet. This is why bucks will most times have their racks completely polished of velvet with hours of their racks becoming hardened. Big Game Hunting. These bucks do not breed or participate in the rut and are basically social outcasts. Their antlers never lose their velvet and the antlers themselves never are shed. Bottom line The bottom line is that there is no universal answer to when do bucks lose their antlers. A very prolonged recovered from an injury, for example, can affect the antler processes. “But then I went and looked at the buck. Town. Cryptorchid bucks are different. Why do bucks shed their velvet? These deer werenât hunted and were provided with ample nutrition year-round (a key factor). Bucks are shedding velvet. He currently serves as Senior Advisor for QDMA. As the end of summer approaches, the dayâs length decreases, making the testosterone of male deer increase. A true hermaphrodite is a buck that has both male and female sex organs with antlers, but these deer typically stay in velvet and shed their antlers early. The exact timing depends on the age of the animal, as well as the latitude of its habitat at the point after the rut has concluded. Around Labor Day each year, the velvet shedding season begins in earnest, and lasts until approximately late September. Sometime between September 1 and 15 bucks will shed their velvet. The actual time between losing the velvet, start to finish, is only one day. Cryptorchid bucks don’t participate in signpost behavior by making rubs or scrapes. Any coorelations here?â. This is a network of blood vessels and tissue, which delivers the nutrients needed for growth to the growing antlers. Velvet peeling typically takes a day or two to complete and if you are lucky enough to catch a buck in mid-peel, as photographer Don Jones has done here, it is a pretty dramatic sight. Sponsors . Velvet shedding is the official start of the fall dispersal. They grow and shed antlers on their own clock so in one heard there may be a newly shed buck, a hard horn buck and a buck in velvet. Everything Deer. Almost as if someone flipped a switch, bucks undergo a rapid transformation. First Buck To Shed Velvet By Robert Hoague Sep 9, 2008 - 1:06:56 PM When do the bucks loose their velvet? In turn, that gland secretes hormones that start and stop both processes. *Here is the story of the buck, told by Joey. I saw him in the morning on September 1 as I was taking pictures in the food ⦠For starters, the white-tailed buckâs antler-growing process begins and ends each year from about April 1 to July 15. It was a very rare case that a buck would deviate more than a 3 days from its genetically programmed date. From a deer management perspective, stag bucks do not contribute anything do a deer herd. In normal bucks, a rise in testosterone levels occurs in late summer with increasing day length. This condition in whitetail bucks that results in antlers in velvet beyond the normal velvet-shedding date of late August to early September is usually caused by a birth defect known as cryptorchidism. Buck Shedding Velvet . In 2000, he was awarded the Deer Management Career Achievement Award from The Wildlife Society. Field Gear and Gadgets . San Francisco Bay Area, California. As the days shorten in August, the level of testosterone in a buckâs system starts to increase. In Virginia, most deer are in hard antler by September 15. The velvet-peeling process is physically taxing for the white-tailed deer. That doesnât mean scouting them is a waste of time. But the next morning presented another unusual opportunity when, after a brief staring contest, Ryne found himself drawing on a big buck he had never seen before (seen in the photo above). The antlers eventually fall off. Having lost his protective headgear, a buck has obvious survival advantages in being a member of a bachelor group. It is a rare event when a buck will peel his velvet in less than three hours. It ⦠These men paved the way for generations of whitetail enthusiasts. Velvet peeling typically takes a day or two to complete and if you are lucky enough to catch a buck in mid-peel, as photographer Don Jones has done here, it is a pretty dramatic sight. READ MORE: VELVET BUCKS ARE TRUE TROPHIES. 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