Ok Guys,
Let me throw one on you that might just muck up both of your thinking. A few years ago a deer was hit by a car in July, It was a 10 piont Doe, yep, I said doe. What caused the doe to have horns in the first place? Why didn't they drop off in the late winter/early spring? A wildlife biologist confirmed that this was a lactating doe. A year earlier a deer with only 1 antler was shot by a late season hunter, this also was a doe, the lost antler was from the natural sheding process, this took place in late December. Also confirmed by biologist as an adult breeding doe with a fetus.
So low or lowering testosterone{sp} levels might explain the antler drop and it might also explain the lack of dropping the antlers but why one and not the other. Given these where in a close areas with similar weather conditions in both years, nearly or the same hunting pressures and same food sources.
Your comments welcomed:>
Misplaced Buckeye