Antlers Away by Joan McKee photography by Jim Rathert Why does a buck need a hatrack? And after growing one all year, why just throw it away? In all the pictures we see of white-tailed deer, bucks (males) have big racks, but in early spring, it can be difficult to tell a buck from a doe. That's because around January or February each year, bucks shed their antlers. You wonder why they bother; they will just grow another set. Starting in April or May, the blood traveling through a soft layer of skin on top of a buck's head contains lots of calcium, phosphorus and protein. During the next four to five months, these minerals form into antlers. When antlers first appear, they are called "buds." They're hard underneath, but they look soft because they are covered with what looks like, and is called, velvet. The fuzzy outer coating of skin and short hair remains on the antlers as they grow during the summer. By August or September, antlers reach their full size for that growing season. Fawns born in the spring usually have only small "buttons" or bumps on the head. Yearlings often have a set of small forked or unforked tines, though sometimes these young deer grow larger racks. Each year, as a deer gets older, its antlers grow larger. The largest deer with the biggest antlers usually are found in northern Missouri, where good soil produces plenty of food rich in the minerals and nutrients that make antlers grow. Genetics play a role, too. Just as kids often look like their parents, bucks whose fathers had big antlers will probably have large racks, too. After the antlers reach full size, the blood vessels stop delivering the minerals to them, and the velvet coating dries out. Bucks rub their antlers against trees and shrubs to help remove this dried skin and to polish the antlers. Bucks also rub the scent gland on their forehead against trees. The scents left on the tree warn young bucks that older, more dominant males are in the area. The odor also helps attract does. Dominance is important to bucks because it allows them to breed with more does. A buck's antler size often reflects its dominance or strength. Young bucks often spar with their antlers but, because their antlers are small, they usually don't hurt one another. Deer with big antlers fight less often because other deer are afraid of them. When big bucks battle, however, they ram and gouge one another with their multi-pointed racks. Sometimes one or both of the fighting bucks is injured or killed. After the breeding season, sometime in January or February, the bone around the base of the antlers weakens and the antlers just fall to the ground. With more than 80,000 deer losing antlers in Missouri each winter, you might think that these antlers, called sheds, would be easy to find along trails where deer roam, but they're not. Mice, rabbits and other rodents gnaw at them for their minerals and proteins. It doesn't take long before the antlers are gone. Shed antlers have always been treasured. Native Americans used them to help make stone arrowheads. They pressed the antler against the edges of the stone to hone the final sharp edge. They also made antlers into tools, weapons, musical instruments and jewelry. Today, shed antlers are used as decorations or to make pieces of art or furniture. Hunters, photographers and wildlife watchers sometimes use antlers to get a closer view of large bucks. In the fall, they rattle the antlers together to simulate the sound of two bucks sparring. This sometimes brings in curious bucks-often big ones-to defend their territory. Be sure to wear hunter orange colored clothing while doing this during hunting season. If you are out walking in the woods this winter, keep your eyes peeled for one or a pair of smoothly polished antlers. You might find an antler or two to hang on your wall. It's OK to keep such trophies. The buck doesn't need them any longer.

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