Sitting patiently in my turkey blind, I was suddenly startled to see three whitetail deer emerge from a tree line just 30 yards away. The blind had just been “popped” a day before so each stood and stared it down. The third deer was nearly white, what I suspect will be a pie-bald deer in the coming season. Additionally, I could see “buttons” the first hint of antlers on the unusual deer.
Watch them Grow
Since whitetail deer and wild turkeys often occupy the same habitat, you will probably see deer as you hunt the spring season, yet not antlers above or beyond the ears in spring, yet you may well see the inception of antler growth. Additionally, you will witness the “shedding season” as whitetails lose their heavily insulating winter hair and the shorter, more red colored summer hair grows in.
Amazing Antlers
Whitetail deer are among the most interesting topics in nature and a number of interesting experiments have been conducted. Scientists believe that the amount of daylight triggers hormonal reactions in the body which cause antlers to grow and eventually, lose their blood supply. A deer taken from North America to the Southern Hemisphere may actually grow two sets of antlers in the same calendar year because it receives the “grow” signal in both springs.
Could be a Stag
It’s possible that you could see a buck with a velvet-covered crown this spring. Occasionally, a male deer is born without testicles or had them damages jumping a fence or fighting with another deer. Since the testicles release hormones that affect antler growth, without such boddy signals, the pedicle stays in tact and the rack do not shed. Additionally, the rack usually remains velvet covered. I was fortunate enough to take such a deer in South Dakota in 2015, ironically, the only one I’d seen if 50 years of hunting.
Kevin McKeon offers lots more information about deer antlers in this Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=whitetail%20deer%20antlers
