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Coat color?
I noticed in Duke's thread he mentioned how "grey" the old doe's coat was that he took over the weekend. I saw an old doe last year that had a really "ashen" colored grey coat. I know the 4.5 yr old buck I took earlier this month had a noticeably more grey coat than his younger counterparts.
I also came into the forum and told about a really grey looking deer that appeared to me to be older.......but didn't have a big rack (at all). At that time....most here told me that different color phases in deer meant nothing....and that he probably wasn't an older deer. Which is it? |
RE: Coat color?
This is one of my bucks. Notice that he isn't that brown at all. He is almost totally grey.
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RE: Coat color?
I have at least two dark grey ones running around here that were born this year.
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RE: Coat color?
I'm more talking about a lighter/ashen type grey color.
My dog is getting a lot of grey hair as she ages. My head's almost entirely grey:D. Wouldn't it make sense that deer age this way, too? I have no idea of what I'm talking about.....just asking. |
RE: Coat color?
I really like the slate gray look that I sometimes see on a winter coated deer.
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RE: Coat color?
I dunno Jeff.....The buck I shot this year was very grey, but I honestly don't think he was more than 4 1/2....Actually, I believe he was 3 1/2....Won't know for sure until my taxi ages him.
It would seem logical that deer would grey as they turn older though. But I know that's never talked about as a way of aging deer. |
RE: Coat color?
I do too, Jimmi....and I realize from all my gamecam photos the transformation that takes place in coat.
(here's a good example of one in mid-change)  But I've seen two deer that were REALLY a light grey color and looked "old". People told me last year it was just a color phase thing. When I saw Duke's comment....I thought I'd ask, again. |
RE: Coat color?
I think their age shows more in the face in regards to color. The rest of the coat color is dependent on the season. An old deer wont always have a big rack either, they can loose the ability to grow what they previously had...degenerative if you will.
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RE: Coat color?
Ya know Jeff, I don't know either, but I always felt it was just a variation from deer to deer.
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RE: Coat color?
I always thought the color changes were due to seasons. The tans and browns for the earlier season while things are still growing and then turn gray towards the end of fall when thngs start dying and the weather gets gray and gloomy. The age thing does make sense as well though...This is too much thinking for 7:15am
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RE: Coat color?
I know for around here......to see a deer that's 4.5 yrs or older is rare. The FIRST thing I noticed about my recent buck .....was how grey he looked (COMPARATIVELY). When you see fawns, yearlings and the occasional 2.5 yr old on a regular basis (actually....not that many 2.5yr olds in 2+ yrs hunting)......an "older" deer (more grey??) is somewhat more noticeable.
Like I said.....Duke's comment just got me thinking....... |
RE: Coat color?
I beleive that some get that old looking grey to them in the face. I seen a couple doe's this year that i' passed up being I only had one tag this year that I beleive were in that 6.5 to 7.5 year old range if not older(They had no fawns either). They looked to be 140 to 150lb doe's with gigantic long wide heads with some of that old looking gray in them.
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RE: Coat color?
Jeff:
That huge doe that Dan took last season had the gray color to her as well. I don't know if this color change is a rule among older deer, but it certainly seems common. |
RE: Coat color?
The old, grey doe I saw last year had loose skin and she wasREALLY a very light ashengrey. She was being dogged by a 2.5 yr old buck....and to be honest....I could have shot either of them. I regret not taking the DOE!:D
The buck I'm referring to (from last year) was only a 5 pointer....and I remember posting that I thought he was an old guy and on the downhill side. Nearly everyone in the forum told me that color phase had nothing to do with age. So....again...Duke's comments intrigued me. |
RE: Coat color?
ORIGINAL: GMMAT The old, grey doe I saw last year had loose skin and she wasREALLY a very light ashengrey. She was being dogged by a 2.5 yr old buck....and to be honest....I could have shot either of them. I regret not taking the DOE!:D The buck I'm referring to (from last year) was only a 5 pointer....and I remember posting that I thought he was an old guy and on the downhill side. Nearly everyone in the forum told me that color phase had nothing to do with age. So....again...Duke's comments intrigued me. |
RE: Coat color?
My nanny wacker which I will post a bit later was pretty grey. She weights close to 160lbs.
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RE: Coat color?
No photo of the deer I was talking about (either of them), from last year. The buck I shot this year, now....I've got a "couple"....lying around, somewhere!;):D
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RE: Coat color?
I have a buck I call old Grey. He's a grey ghost and my brother got a 3 second glimpes of him at about 300 yards .. Sat. First time we've seen him since I filmed him two summers ago.. Even his summer coat has a real noticeable grey tint to it..
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RE: Coat color?
In Illinois one time,I saw this pig of a buck in a field feeding with a bunch of other deer. He would havegone 250pounds easy. He was noticebly more gray than every other deer in that field. I'll never forget the sight of that buck. He was amazing.
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RE: Coat color?
Sometimes I think we hunters think too much.
Every deer first is different. Each is born with a diff. mother and father which gives up their own genetic make up. With that being said some deer are greyer than others, some are browner than others etc. etc. etc. But as many fur bearing mammals age.. they loose some pigmentation in their hair causing more grey.. or white.. what have you. Similiar to a dog or cat that also reaches older age. So it's really just a combination of several diff. factors. I would not doubt that diet and health play a role as well. |
RE: Coat color?
The doe I shot early in the season was very gray. She wasbig and Ifigured her for an older doe. I have also only seen her in the back field, so I tend to think she sticks to the thicks like the older bucks around here. Since it was early and (with the very mild weather) everything was still lush and green, it makes me wonder.
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RE: Coat color?
I can't remember where I read it, but i read that the older a deergets thelighter it's hair gets! Not more grey, just lighter! It loses color, or something to that effect! I'll see if I can find it!
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RE: Coat color?
ORIGINAL: dukemichaels Sometimes I think we hunters think too much. Every deer first is different. Each is born with a diff. mother and father which gives up their own genetic make up. With that being said some deer are greyer than others, some are browner than others etc. etc. etc. But as many fur bearing mammals age.. they loose some pigmentation in their hair causing more grey.. or white.. what have you. Similiar to a dog or cat that also reaches older age. So it's really just a combination of several diff. factors. I would not doubt that diet and health play a role as well. At least this thread is more interesting than the bows are easier than guns ones. |
RE: Coat color?
ORIGINAL: Lubricious ORIGINAL: dukemichaels Sometimes I think we hunters think too much. Every deer first is different. Each is born with a diff. mother and father which gives up their own genetic make up. With that being said some deer are greyer than others, some are browner than others etc. etc. etc. But as many fur bearing mammals age.. they loose some pigmentation in their hair causing more grey.. or white.. what have you. Similiar to a dog or cat that also reaches older age. So it's really just a combination of several diff. factors. I would not doubt that diet and health play a role as well. At least this thread is more interesting than the bows are easier than guns ones.  |
RE: Coat color?
I'm sorry Lubricious...
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RE: Coat color?
ORIGINAL: dukemichaels I'm sorry Lubricious... I really don't like that post either...[&:]  |
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