It grows, as the antlers grow, to protect them as they get bigger. Some spike bulls never shed there first year velvet. Females can use their antlers in the winter to clear away snow from their food sources. Virtually all mule deer will be in full velvet until the latter weeks of September, possibly later. With the exception of several spike bulls I have seen over the years, I cannot think of a single branch-antlered bull I have seen in full velvet by the season opener. Females, or cows, weigh 500 to 600 pounds. As the antler hardens, the male moose scratches … The season usually opens around the 21st, and they don't have velvet. In most parts of the country, the antler growth for whitetail deer is done for the year. +1 6pointbull 2nd or third week of August. After it serves its purpose of protecting the young antlers, the soft furry velvet is no longer needed. It’s that time of the year again when bull elk shed the velvet that has been nourishing their antler growth for the last six months. Just talking about this stuff gets me all geeked up. The bulls I saw yesterday were still in velvet, and appeared to still be growing. It did seem that the bucks shed velvet a bit sooner this year than most. When the antlers are full grown the velvet dries up, and the reindeer begin to rub it off because it itches. "I was kind of surprised that elk shed that much earlier than deer.". When that velvet dies, it starts to decompose. Bull elk can be easily identified by their impressive antlers during the summer and fall, some growing over 300″ of new bone over the course of just a few months. Late summer in Alaska. Just a few weeks after a whitetail deer or elk sheds its antlers, a new set begins to grow. Spring months in elk country are unpredictable at … the velvet starts to shed in sep-oct and it itches, so they help rub it off using saplings, etc. I usually find velvet the first weekend of season here in Colorado. I didn't have the heart to tell him he was going to get the crap kicked out of him in a couple of weeks. Horns are keratinized tissue and antlers are organs. 6pointbull 05-Aug-10. The tarsal glands of cryptorchid bucks are rarely stained because the bucks do not rub-urinate. Once the males are just about finished the females start losing their velvet. Very round at the tips. AZStickman 05-Aug-10. It seems around here that they shed velvet around September 3 or 4 (with some starting a week earlier). Answer. Some have suggested that early velvet shedding is drought related. I have not seen one shed yet this year, be it branched bull or spikes. Even saw one nice 6x6 with this guy that had rounded tips on his top end and still has some growth to do. Growth is triggered by increasing daylight and subsequent testosterone production. The Archery season opened a week earlier than usual. If you’ve ever been around dried velvet antlers, they can get pretty funky pretty fast. All the smaller bulls are still in full velvet. I’m a lifelong Alaskan and proud to share the love of my state on my own site and nowhere on the blog at The Reindeer farm. Contributors to this thread: FlatLndr 05-Aug-10. Maybe the first buck to shed in 2012 was an anomaly, but the second buck (a 3.5+ year-old) shed on August 25, which was four days sooner than the next earliest date (in 2008). I will be out again this coming weekend to stash some supplies and I bet the big 6x6s will be without velvet. That’s an easy one: Because the cessation in blood flow leads to the “death” of the velvet covering. As of Thursday of last week Idaho bulls had their velvet on. A healthy bull elk can produce up to 10 pounds of velvet a year! Elk 'velvet' is the outermost layer of skin covering a growing antler. A: First, what is the difference between horns and antlers? So come by for a visit and look for the reindeer scraping and rubbing their antlers in the hopes of finally shedding their velvet. Still totally in velvet second week of the season - don't think he COULD rub it off. In fact, antlers are the fastest bone growth in the world. I saw two branch antlered bulls last week here in Colorado and both were rubbed clean, very white. The farm provides cut trees and, oddly enough, street sweeper brushes at this time of year to aid the reindeer in this process. Male (bull) elk grow a new set of antlers every year, beginning when they are 1 year old. The elk are losing their velvet, which is the fuzzy growing layer that covers their antlers from spring until…about this time of the year. On a reindeer farm, there’s a lot going on as well. He and one other really big bull were rubbed already. I’ve been lucky enough to take pictures of whitetail deer nearly every day the last 20 years, beginning in 1996 when I moved from the city to deer counntry and subsiquently put Bowhunting.net online. Bull moose shed their antlers in late autumn or early winter, after the end of the breeding season. Q: Why do tule elk drop their antlers every year?-Teresa, El Cerrito. The antlers no longer fill with blood or nutrients, and the velvet will eventually dry off. Furthermore, the antlers continue to grow as the animal matures. Bullhound 05-Aug-10. All good questions my friends, I’ve got answers straight from the farmers! Antlers are not shed, and they remain in velvet year round. Nice shots CK! Wiki User Answered . Antlers have blood vessels, nerves, skin, cartilage and bone. The good nutrition helps maintain a deer’s testosterone levels for longer. Click here to Learn more about activities, Click here to Learn more about winter reindeer tour, Click here to Learn more about santa experience tour, Click here to Learn more about gift certificates, Click here to Learn more about summer 2021 reindeer tour, Click here to Learn more about all activities, Click here to Learn more about reindeer sale & rental, Click here to Learn more about covid-19 mitigation plan, Click here to return to REINDEER FARM BLOG, Click here to email reindeertours@gmail.com, Click here to view location Reindeer Farm 5561 S Bodenburg Loop Rd, Palmer, AK 99645. I wish I had pics of the bull one of our clients got when I was guiding on the west slope 2 years ago. Click here to Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. In the spring months of March and April, bull elk drop their antlers due to biological changes in their hormone levels. Many domestic animals like goats, sheep, and cattle have horns. Then the hardening process begins, which usually takes 20 to 25 days. Underneath the velvet is the bony antler that is so important to the reindeer. Velvet is hair-like in appearance and tex I have seen them in winter with velvet many times. Horns are permanent, they grow from their base up, and both males and females may have them. Those antlers are so needed! Deer typically shed their antlers in starting in January, but mostly in February and early March. LOL. I am excited that I finally got my cameras out so it is going to be interesting. … We All Know Buck’s Shed Their Velvet. I would say around the 15th-25th depending on the year. It was a 4 point, so it was legal, but its antlers looked like 2 old indian war clubs. Why do bull elk shed their antlers each year? Why do elk have velvet on their antlers? I have found shed velvet in bushy type trees; serviceberry, willow, gamble oak etc..They mostly strip off in one day. On rare occasions, bulls carry full racks up to six months later than average or don’t shed their antlers at all, usually a side effect from injury or irregular hormone levels. August is one of my favorite months in Alaska, the days are a little more balanced light wise, the mountains are occasionally tipped with fresh snow and the air is crisp and fresh. This time of year is also when reindeer shed their velvet. The third buck (1.5 years) shed on August 28. I am assuming with only a month away from hunting season the big bulls are or have shed their velvet.Do they usually rub it off,the velvet:),in the same area? Elk Velvet When the antlers are growing, they are soft to the touch or spongy, unlike horns. In winter, long, coarse guard hairs overlay wooly underfur. Cowboy in Colorado 05-Aug-10. Why do bucks shed their velvet? Within days it would have shed. Why do reindeer shed their velvet? The procedure is generally done around June in the Northern Hemisphere and December in the Southern Hemisphere. Calendar Last year I found the velvet in the pic above. One was at about 6500 ft and one was at timberline. You don’t even have to do anything – just leave them somewhere to dry and you are finished. By this time, these antlers have hardened and are solid bone. Top Answer. This shedding process is amongst the goriest sights in nature as the dense blood vessels burst and the velvet falls in red rags from the deer’s rack of antlers. Usually around mid aug. around here. Elk, on the other hand, start losing their antlers in March and into April. Around the 14th of August. 2010-05-16 17:54:37 2010-05-16 17:54:37. At this time, an elk's body is tawny brown or brownish gray, with the nec… And why do they shed it? Measured out close to 300" but with only about a 26" spread. Saw a fair number that were rubbed off and some that were not or were just starting. But When? The bull’s new growing bone is covered by skin with numerous blood vessels which we refer to as “velvet”. In their natural state, they are used to create rustic chandeliers, lamps, and table centerpieces, or simply as wall decor.As a raw material, they can be turned into knife handles, jewelry, decorative carvings, key fobs, and a variety of other items. A mature male elk, called a bull, stands 50 to 60 inches at the shoulder and weighs 600 to 1,000 pounds. A buddy of mine shot an Idaho bull one Sept (seems to me it was middle of the month even) that had barely started to rub. 5 6 7. Elk shed last, between January and April, though the great majority lose their racks in March. As males age, their antlers grow in bigger each year. We say that the antlers have completed their growth at this stage as they are no longer receiving nutrients. Click here to learn more. Posted by Robert Hoague | Sep 5, 2016. to get rid of it. However, it can range over a week period or more, easily. I’m SO happy you’re here and reading this. One of the bigger bull killed that year (340ish) looked like he had a glove on the whale's tail on one side - rest of the antler was clean, just a rawhide looking chunk of velvet on the tip of that one side... Never have found velvet on a rubbed sapling or tree. Deer, elk, and moose, actually all drop their antlers at different times starting in those shortest days. This one is looking like he has an itch to scratch...From 8/14. Last year, the several bulls I saw at the beginning of the CO season were bare whereas the several mule deer I saw were all in velvet. If you live in Jackson Hole or an area with an elk population, you might have recently heard bull elk bugling during the fall rut, or breeding season. Deer antler velvet is the yes, deer shed their antlers in january-february. By the time a deer (or moose, elk, caribou…) has shed its antlers in fall, all of the living tissue in the antlers will have dried up. I hope to get some nice photos like CK has. Killed 15 Aug last year. I believe they rub saplings/small trees for marking territory and staging/displying after the velvet is shed and continue through the rut. So if you’re planning a visit to Alaska in August or September be sure to plan a visit to the Reindeer Farm. (Unlike deer and elk, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats do not shed their horns each year, so don’t expect to find them as “sheds.”) Elk here in west central Colorado have no velvet by opening day, except for some young bulls. In late summer and early autumn, the antlers shed off the velvet skin, leaving the bull with a set of 40-pound antlers. Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. Deer antlers are the only mammalian bone structures to regenerate completely every year. They rub on just about anything to get that velvet off and uncover the antler that most of us would recognize. Why do reindeer shed their velvet? 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