Why did this buck not shed the velvet from his antlers?
Filed under: Deer Biology
Question
Hey Grant I harvested a Deer on Missouri’s opening day for Gun Season. When I approached my buck I noticed that it was still in full velvet it did not look like he tried to scrap it off at all, his antlers were hard, also his testicals have not dropped at all. I was wondering if you knew what was wrong with my deer? If you could email me back that would be wonderful thanks! Have a good one!
Tanner,
Congratulations on taking a unique trophy!
Did you find testicals in the body cavity? if not, it was likely an antlered doe. Often antlered does don’t shed velvet.
If there were testicals in the body cavity were there signs of an injury? If not, it sounds like the buck had cryptorchidism. Check out the following link for a good explanation.
https://www.qdma.com/articles/when-bucks-dont-shed-their-velvet
Enjoy creation,
grant
November 27, 2015
