Elk 'velvet' is the outermost layer of skin covering a growing antler. Once the males are just about finished the females start losing their velvet. As the antler hardens, the male moose scratches … The bulls I saw yesterday were still in velvet, and appeared to still be growing. On the 13th here in CO I saw a small 4 point that had just rubbed out and still had a small amount of velvet on a couple points. It was a weird bull, though... apparently perfectly healthy but a really tall & narrow rack. Horns are keratinized tissue and antlers are organs. I have seen them in winter with velvet many times. I don't remember ever seeing a branch antlered bull with velvet by the end of August. See photos of these two bucks in the Gallery below. Spring months in elk country are unpredictable at … 10 Amazing Photos of a Buck Shedding Velvet These rare photos of a big buck rubbing off his early-season velvet are insane By Craig Dougherty and Donald M. Jones Furthermore, the antlers continue to grow as the animal matures. 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). So come by for a visit and look for the reindeer scraping and rubbing their antlers in the hopes of finally shedding their velvet. When the antlers are full grown the velvet dries up, and the reindeer begin to rub it off because it itches. Driven by increasing day-length (photoperiodism), a mature bucks antler growth begins around April 1 in the North and ends when velvet is peeled around September. And why do they shed it? Killed 15 Aug last year. At this time, an elk's body is tawny brown or brownish gray, with the nec… The bull’s new growing bone is covered by skin with numerous blood vessels which we refer to as “velvet”. If you’ve ever been around dried velvet antlers, they can get pretty funky pretty fast. It was a 4 point, so it was legal, but its antlers looked like 2 old indian war clubs. Favorite Answer. 6pointbull 05-Aug-10. Contrastingly, deer in areas with poor nutrition tend to shed their antlers earlier in mid-December. 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. Saw a fair number that were rubbed off and some that were not or were just starting. Stik'n String 05-Aug-10. Measured out close to 300" but with only about a 26" spread. He still has it (just the rack) mounted with the velvet still on it. The tarsal glands of cryptorchid bucks are rarely stained because the bucks do not rub-urinate. The antlers can be used as protection from predators, one toss of their head can inflict some serious damage! The cue for antler hardening and velvet shedding is the change in photo-period caused by decreasing daylight and increasing darkness, which results in a significant increase in the bucks’ testosterone. they start growing antlers back in may-june and are in velvet then. These two bulls were hanging together when I photographed them on Aug. 12. two weeks ago almost all the bulls (out of 30+ elk, 10 were bulls),all had velvet from what I could tell. It did seem that the bucks shed velvet a bit sooner this year than most. The spikes may have velvet well into September. 5 6 7. Velvet is hair-like in appearance and tex As of Thursday of last week Idaho bulls had their velvet on. Speaking of nutrition, deer that roam the Midwestern farm counties, where nutrition is good to tend to shed antlers later on in mid-January. Why do reindeer shed their velvet? The antlers no longer fill with blood or nutrients, and the velvet will eventually dry off. All good questions my friends, I’ve got answers straight from the farmers! Elk are much larger and heavier than white-tailed deer. Like deer and elk, moose shed their antlers every year in the late winter or early spring. … I believe they rub saplings/small trees for marking territory and staging/displying after the velvet is shed and continue through the rut. Last year I found the velvet in the pic above. In late summer and early autumn, the antlers shed off the velvet skin, leaving the bull with a set of 40-pound antlers. Also, the necks of cryptorchid bucks do not swell as the breeding season approaches. BigAl 05-Aug-10. Not only is the beauty of Alaska so full and rich at this time of year the pace of the farm is a little slower and definitely more relaxed. Shed hunters can only pick up antlers that have been naturally shed by deer and elk in the wild. They rub on just about anything to get that velvet off and uncover the antler that most of us would recognize. Antlers are not shed, and they remain in velvet year round. Male (bull) elk grow a new set of antlers every year, beginning when they are 1 year old. Reindeer Farm  5561 S Bodenburg Loop Rd, Palmer, AK 99645. The busy summer season is winding down, and the days are a little less busy, and the farm begins to prepare for fall. I’m SO happy you’re here and reading this. I was kind of surprised that elk shed that much earlier than deer. The procedure is generally done around June in the Northern Hemisphere and December in the Southern Hemisphere. 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? rambows 06-Aug-10. Here's a bull that was fully rubbed on Aug 11th this year. Then the hardening process begins, which usually takes 20 to 25 days. As males age, their antlers grow in bigger each year. I seen 6 big bulls 8/15 and they were all clean also so seen a 5+5 rubing.8/15. On the same glassing run I saw a big bull that had not rubbed at all. In fact, antlers are the fastest bone growth in the world. It is almost exactly like what it sounds like, a soft velvety fur cover on their fresh antlers. Elk Velvet When the antlers are growing, they are soft to the touch or spongy, unlike horns. yes, deer shed their antlers in january-february. the velvet starts to shed in sep-oct and it itches, so they help rub it off using saplings, etc. This means that these shed antlers are very easy to preserve. ​ Deer antlers are the only mammalian bone structures to regenerate completely every year. Underneath the velvet is the bony antler that is so important to the reindeer. Just talking about this stuff gets me all geeked up. Deer, elk, and moose, actually all drop their antlers at different times starting in those shortest days. Last year, there were bulls killed in velvet in Utah. The summer pelage is short, thin and colored reddish brown. Cant wait for Sept! 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. "I was kind of surprised that elk shed that much earlier than deer.". Bullhound 05-Aug-10. The farm provides cut trees and, oddly enough, street sweeper brushes at this time of year to aid the reindeer in this process. 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. 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. All the smaller bulls are still in full velvet. Q: Why do tule elk drop their antlers every year?-Teresa, El Cerrito. Nice shots CK! Many domestic animals like goats, sheep, and cattle have horns. This one is looking like he has an itch to scratch...From 8/14. However, it can range over a week period or more, easily. Elk shedding velvet Elk. I saw two branch antlered bulls last week here in Colorado and both were rubbed clean, very white. 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. First of all both male and female reindeer grow antlers. After it serves its purpose of protecting the young antlers, the soft furry velvet is no longer needed. I wish I had pics of the bull one of our clients got when I was guiding on the west slope 2 years ago. Cowboy in Colorado 05-Aug-10. Why do reindeer shed their velvet? 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. Click here to learn more. In … It’s definitely an interesting time to visit the farm. Most bucks in the North are finished growing their antlers by August 10 when blood flow to the antlers ceases and the velvet begins dying and degrading. If you were to come by the reindeer farm at this time of year you would probably get to see some of the reindeer rubbing and scraping off this velvet. AZStickman 05-Aug-10. The largest bulls polish first and are usually done by the end of August. Very round at the tips. cnelk 06-Aug-10. In the spring months of March and April, bull elk drop their antlers due to biological changes in their hormone levels. They literally rot, and the odor will hit a 10 out of 10 on the gag meter. They shed these antlers every year in late winter or early spring and begin to grow a new set of antlers in spring. Why do bull elk shed their antlers each year? 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. 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. +1 6pointbull 2nd or third week of August. Even saw one nice 6x6 with this guy that had rounded tips on his top end and still has some growth to do. Click here to Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. Time Lapse Antler Growth The fuzzy skin that covers antlers as they grow is terrifically concentrated with blood vessels and nerves. Within days it would have shed. to get rid of it. Whitetail deer antler sheds have a wide variety of uses and are becoming more popular as a crafting material and for home decor. Every other bull we saw that week was fully shed and dark with rubs in the middle of the rut, except this guy. Antlers have blood vessels, nerves, skin, cartilage and bone. 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. Wiki User Answered . 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