September Whitetail Bucks “Shedding the Velvet”

In an earlier post I spoke about the development stages of the whitetails antlers and the time frame of when they grow, early spring (March) to late summer (August/September). In our region, Missouri, the whitetail velvet shedding time is around the first week in September give or take a week or two. Over the years my sons and I have been monitoring this ritual with use of 4 or 5 trail cameras. It is exciting to see what the quality of the deer herd in an area can produce.

Whitetail deer antlers seem to grow the fastest between early June and the end of July.  The tips of the antlers have a blackish color and somewhat of a round ball at the tip of each point. Using this observation informs you the antlers are still gowing rapidly. This time period is when the velvet antlers are growing the fastest and the velvet looks fresh and lush. While the whitetails antlers are developing it is a critical time for them not to do any sparring with other whitetail bucks because the antlers are soft and can be damaged very eaily.  

Peak Development is Reached

As we monitor the deer through the use of cameras we can also tell when the growth starts to subside. As day length decreases in September, the pituitary gland indirectly increases the secretion of testosterone and testicular volume increases. As this happens the velvet on the antlers starts to dry and shrivel up. The whitetail buck that one week earlier looked huge on camera now is starting to dry down. when the velvet starts to let loose around the antlers the whitetail buck will start rubbing trees to remove the shedding velvet. We also start to notice fresh tree rubs. The bucks will become less visible druring the daytime hours. This doesn’t mean they leave the area from my experience it happens the same way every year.

Clean Polished Antlers

When the velvet gets rubbed off the whitetail antlers they are covered red with blood. As they rub their antlers on trees they begin to polish then slick and clean. Older more mature bucks can have  rough areas around the base of the velvet antlers that may remain dark in color because the blood cannot be completely removed by rubbing trees.