Unread postby rudy78 » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:23 am
There are a few factors that go into antler growth and having a mild winter will be a factor that surely helps them grow bigger racks. Antler growth is second to bone development, so their first energy always goes into bone/body development with antlers being secondary. This is the reason that as a deer gets older their racks get bigger (til 6.5 or older) because they are putting less energy into their bodies growing, so more goes into their racks. Nutrition in the spring is another huge factor because usually it is to build their body up from the winter and go into antlers. So the more & better the food, the better their bodies and antlers grow. There is also the mineral factor of having the right balance of good minerals to promote bone/antler development.
So a mild winter should be a huge help for antler & overall deer health, but if the spring is really bad with very little greens and minerals available then it won't have a very big overall impact on it. Green up in the spring is huge for does for 2 reasons, for food to help produce milk but also for cover for the fawns during the first 6 weeks of their lives which is the most critical time for them. If the green up isn't very good it means the less dominate does will end up in places where predators can easily get the fawns so that is probably a bigger factor for overall deer numbers then a mild winter. It doesn't matter if mom and fawn are healthier if they can't hide from predators.
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