speyrjb

Every year we kill 2 or 3 bucks that are still in velvet. None of them have had testicals. This year we have killed 4 already and there is definately another that has been spotted. The exception is that one of the furry heads this year had testicals and was rutting! Up to that point, we had assumed that the velvet bucks were sterile but now we are not so sure. My question is this....What causes this? Is it some sort of injury? None of the deer that we have killed like this have any scars or evidence of any major injury. Or is it genetic? We are completely dumbfounded by this.

Thanks for your replies.

Tazman

I have heard of bucks without testicles having antlers in velvet, but they are very rare and normally it is due to injury, I have never heard of one in velvet mating and am unaware of anyplace where they are common.

Where do you hunt? Have you all always had sterile in velvet bucks there?

mddittman

Are the squirrels really aggressive where you hunt? Maybe the squirrels ran out of nuts?

trmichels

Spey,

As with some other sesonal breeders, testosterone levels play a huge part in the whether or not the animal is capable of breeding. And age has a lot to do with when testosterone levels rise. Younger animals generally have lower testosterone levels than older animals, and their levels don't peak until later in the breeding season. In deer, testosterone levels also determine when the velvet begins to dry.

Testes size and apperaance is also related to age, and testosterone levels. In many animals the testes are not dropped down (or visible) until the appropriate testosterone levels have been reached.

In other words, velvet bucks may not exhibit noticeable testes, especially young bucks.

How old are the deer you are taking, and what state are you in?

There are bucks that may not exhibit testes at all. But, it is rare, and it generally wouldn't occur in a small area (as in a county) in the numbers you have stated.

T.R.

speyrjb

Thanks for your replies.

trmichels,

none of the bucks that have been taken are younger than 2 1/2. A few have been 3 1/2 and a couple have even been 4 1/2. A few bucks had pea sized testicals, some of them had absolutely none (we have disected them to see if they just haven't dropped). None of them had any scars or anything that would indicate some sort of injury. The one buck this year that had testicals had full sized testicals, horns still in velvet, and he was definately rutting.

Taz,

I hunt in the Hill Country in Texas West of Austin in Llano County. We have this phoenomenon every year. This year is just a bumper crop of the furry heads.

Up until now, we didn't think these deer could damage our genetics because they don't breed. We thought they were just eating all our food, but now that we killed the one that was rutting we are not so sure.

We have even kicked around the idea of maybe these deer are injesting something that is causing this. We have an Emu ranch next door to us and we thought that maybe that rancher feeds his Emus some sort of hormone or something that would cause this in deer because before this season, every one of the stags were taken in the same area on the ranch (near the Emu ranch). This year, they are all over the place.

tabby

Something strange is going on. I would test the ground and food for chemicals. Have you talked to a local biologist?

trmichels

Just because a buck is rutting doesn't mean it is capable of causing conception.

This could be a genetic trait, passed on by some older buck, or it could be due to some food, or chemical factor.

I'd take one of those bucks to the state deeer biologist. I'd also contact someone at one of the universites that has a wildlife program. You could also talk to Ray Scott at the Whitetail Institute.

You need to get to the bottom of this, and keep me posted.

T.R.

Tazman

I agree as usual with TR, this is something that needs to be looked into.

webejonesin2

thats very odd!! i agree with TR. this is strange, sounds like a Stephen King novel.

GBhunter

i think you should talk to a local DNR officer and see what he/she thinks. also, try talking to the other people who hunt around you see if they are having the same problem.