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01-21-2003 | 10:33 PM
#2
Boone & Crockett
Joined: Oct 1998
Posts: 18,322
Likes: 0
From: Hughesville, PA USA
RE: When do deer drop their antlers?
Depending on where you live and the testosterone level in the bucks in question, that can be anywhere towards the end of Nov through the begining of spring when the new growth actually forces last years antlers off the pedicle.
The pituitary gland is the control mechanism that starts antler growth in spring and stops it in early fall. The gland is stimulated by daylight hours. Once the breeding season is over, the decreased activity in the pituitary gland triggered by the diminishing number of daylight hours causes a drop in a bucks testosterone level.
At this time a layer of cells at the pedicle (where the antlers join the skull) begin to dissolve into a granular form. One or both the antlers can drop off by themselves.
<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>
<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>
The pituitary gland is the control mechanism that starts antler growth in spring and stops it in early fall. The gland is stimulated by daylight hours. Once the breeding season is over, the decreased activity in the pituitary gland triggered by the diminishing number of daylight hours causes a drop in a bucks testosterone level.
At this time a layer of cells at the pedicle (where the antlers join the skull) begin to dissolve into a granular form. One or both the antlers can drop off by themselves.
<font color=blue>Good Luck and Good Shooting</font id=blue>
<font color=red>Rob</font id=red>
