How much weight do they lose?

[125py]

How much weight on average will a 3.5/4.5 yr old buck lose during the rut? I killed one Saturday and he only weighed 165 dressed...he was very thin! I am guessing he has lost around 30lbs. We have a good buck to doe ratio here and a good number of mature bucks also, if that helps you figuring.

[Schultzy]

I was always told around 70% of there body fat was lost during the rut from chasing and not eating. My dad has two 4.5 year old bucks that weighed 160lbs dressed a piece that were shot In the 1st and 2nd week of November. I know dang well both of them bucks were 200lb deer a month before.

[TreednNC]

I killed a 4.5y/o here in NC the day before Thanksgiving, seemingly trailing a doe that passed through before daylight before I got there, that weighed 136lbs live weight...big neck and chest, small body.

[GMMAT]

I've killed 5 NC bucks 2.5yrs and older.

I took 3 of them in 2006.....and they all three weighed within 3lbs (live weight) of one another. The lightest was the 3.5yr old I killed on 12/9 that weighed 170#'s. Have no idea what he "would have" weighed. Heaviest was a 2.5yr old that I took on 9/30/06.

The 4.5yr old I killed in '07 weighed 200#'s (again, live weight). I took this deer on 11/6/07.

The 2.5yr old I took on 11/28 this year I admittedly didn't weigh. I'd say he weighed less than any of the previous deer mentioned.

[sandilands]

A wildlife biologist from up here told me they can lose up to 30% of there body weight during the rut. I kind of shook my head........ 30% of a 300lb deer would put him at 200lbs.
he also noted that this is why big bucks and fawns may have a hard time getting through winter. This is gonna be a hard winter. Nevember was ok but when december hit we had some severe cold temps and still are. I may take some of my bear bait and winter feed thje deer on the property I hunt. Me and my hunting buddies are sitting on 1500lbs of oats. Whats 500lbs....... could feed alot of deer. The good thing is we don't have much snow so they can still get to food

[GregH]

ORIGINAL: sandilands

A wildlife biologist from up here told me they can lose up to 30% of there body weight during the rut.

I've read that mature bucks can lose up to 25% of their body weight during the rut, which is close to what you were told. I've found that where I hunt in southern Wis and Northern Ill that the bucks seem to lose about 10% of their body weight. Here, a buck that may dress out at 205 in late October/early November, might dress at 185 in December. There may be other reasons for this but I think that in the food rich (crops) areas where I hunt there is always something for a rutting buck to nibble on when he's not.........rutting??!!

One of the other reasons is that it depends on how much rutting the buck is doing.