antler question

I saw this young buck yesterday - as you can see, he had lots of antler growth on one side and just a knob on the other. Is this genetic, health-related or just the way things go?

Neat photo!

The lost antler could have resulted from any of your assumptions, but it's probably least likely that it is related to genetics. My guess is that he could have gotten into a fight with another buck, which resulted in a broken antler. I'm not sure if antlers are easier to break while they're still covered in velvet...

Could be either.

Genetics do play a role in antler growth, however proper nutrition plays a much bigger role. Parasites can burrow into the soft antlers as they are rich in blood vessels and cause deformities to occur, I imagine this could also decrease antler growth as well.

I doubt this was a result of a fight with another buck. This time of year the males are a pretty tight nit group, until of course the fall rut hits. The antler does not appear broken, just not as long as the other.

Don't count this guy out yet though. Antlers are the fastest growing tissue known to man, a lot of cancer research has been done because of this. Antlers can grow as much as 1''/day again with the proper diet.

Yes, when the antlers are growing and covered in velvet they are very soft and would be easy to break. It isn't until the late summer/early fall when blood get diverted from the antlers to "other areas" in response to the upcoming mating season. This causes the antlers to harden and the velevt to peel away. Bucks have been known to actually eat the velvet as it drops away, making them actually an omnivore and not a true herbivore. The velvet is rich in blood and nutrients.

Contrary to popular belief, bucks do not rub their antlers against trees to get rid of the velvet, however it is to deposit scent from a gland on their head and to also make visual markers of their territory.

Is it deer season yet?

BucketMan wrote in post #8363293
Could be either.

Genetics do play a role in antler growth, however proper nutrition plays a much bigger role. Parasites can burrow into the soft antlers as they are rich in blood vessels and cause deformities to occur, I imagine this could also decrease antler growth as well.

I doubt this was a result of a fight with another buck. This time of year the males are a pretty tight nit group, until of course the fall rut hits. The antler does not appear broken, just not as long as the other.

Don't count this guy out yet though. Antlers are the fastest growing tissue known to man, a lot of cancer research has been done because of this. Antlers can grow as much as 1''/day again with the proper diet.

Yes, when the antlers are growing and covered in velvet they are very soft and would be easy to break. It isn't until the late summer/early fall when blood get diverted from the antlers to "other areas" in response to the upcoming mating season. This causes the antlers to harden and the velevt to peel away. Bucks have been known to actually eat the velvet as it drops away, making them actually an omnivore and not a true herbivore. The velvet is rich in blood and nutrients.

Contrary to popular belief, bucks do not rub their antlers against trees to get rid of the velvet, however it is to deposit scent from a gland on their head and to also make visual markers of their territory.

Is it deer season yet?

great info - thanks!
The place where I get to see the deer closes down to outsiders in October, so I miss a good part of the mating ritual.

ACTUALLY, there has been some research done that says when the velvet starts dying, it starts itching them(i don't know how, but that's what the research said)

back to the OP's question...
a lot of times an antler deformity comes from leg injuries(yes...LEG injuries) and many times it is the opposite rear leg(which would be the right rear in this case). a fight with another buck would not be the case here as bucketman said. starting about Feb/March, bucks form groups until the weather starts cooling off and does start coming into heat