The spikes may have velvet well into September. Here's a bull that was fully rubbed on Aug 11th this year. The largest bulls polish first and are usually done by the end of August. See photos of these two bucks in the Gallery below. A healthy bull elk can produce up to 10 pounds of velvet a year! Why do bucks shed their velvet? Adult whitetail deer antlers can grow ¼ inch per day, whereas elk antlers grow about an inch per day. The bull’s new growing bone is covered by skin with numerous blood vessels which we refer to as “velvet”. In fact, antlers are the fastest bone growth in the world. Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. Still totally in velvet second week of the season - don't think he COULD rub it off. Elk shedding velvet Elk. It seems around here that they shed velvet around September 3 or 4 (with some starting a week earlier). Sometime between September 1 and 15 bucks will shed their velvet. Underneath the velvet is the bony antler that is so important to the reindeer. Some have suggested that early velvet shedding is drought related. These bulls have made it through a fall rut, the breeding season, and most of the winter. Elk Velvet When the antlers are growing, they are soft to the touch or spongy, unlike horns. It did seem that the bucks shed velvet a bit sooner this year than most. What is velvet? Also, the necks of cryptorchid bucks do not swell as the breeding season approaches. The bulls I saw yesterday were still in velvet, and appeared to still be growing. Elk 'velvet' is the outermost layer of skin covering a growing antler. Nice shots CK! Speaking of nutrition, deer that roam the Midwestern farm counties, where nutrition is good to tend to shed antlers later on in mid-January. First of all both male and female reindeer grow antlers. Some spike bulls never shed there first year velvet. 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. In most parts of the country, the antler growth for whitetail deer is done for the year. Those antlers are so needed! Image 5 of 15 6 | Tempers Flare And males dress to impress the females with their impressive antler display that say’s “I’m a stud”. When that velvet dies, it starts to decompose. yes, deer shed their antlers in january-february. Deer, elk, and moose, actually all drop their antlers at different times starting in those shortest days. Bullhound 05-Aug-10. Very round at the tips. That’s an easy one: Because the cessation in blood flow leads to the “death” of the velvet covering. I believe they rub saplings/small trees for marking territory and staging/displying after the velvet is shed and continue through the rut. This means that these shed antlers are very easy to preserve. Yes, the velvet is soft and visually appealing, but at some point, the deer needs to shed the material to reveal its new antlers. I will be out again this coming weekend to stash some supplies and I bet the big 6x6s will be without velvet. 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. Females, or cows, weigh 500 to 600 pounds. Click here to Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. They shed velvet where convenient at the time. 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. Underneath the velvet is the bony antler that is so important to the reindeer. Measured out close to 300" but with only about a 26" spread. Elk shed last, between January and April, though the great majority lose their racks in March. In their natural state, they are used to create rustic chandeliers, lamps, and table centerpieces, or simply as wall decor.As a raw material, they can be turned into knife handles, jewelry, decorative carvings, key fobs, and a variety of other items. On a reindeer farm, there’s a lot going on as well. They literally rot, and the odor will hit a 10 out of 10 on the gag meter. In late summer and early autumn, the antlers shed off the velvet skin, leaving the bull with a set of 40-pound antlers. However, it can range over a week period or more, easily. Deer typically shed their antlers in starting in January, but mostly in February and early March. Virtually all mule deer will be in full velvet until the latter weeks of September, possibly later. I hope to get some nice photos like CK has. Deer antlers are the only mammalian bone structures to regenerate completely every year. Horns are keratinized tissue and antlers are organs. The antlers no longer fill with blood or nutrients, and the velvet will eventually dry off. So if you’re planning a visit to Alaska in August or September be sure to plan a visit to the Reindeer Farm. After it serves its purpose of protecting the young antlers, the soft furry velvet is no longer needed. Why do bull elk shed their antlers each year? (Unlike deer and elk, bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats do not shed their horns each year, so don’t expect to find them as “sheds.”) Late summer in Alaska. With the exception of several spike bulls I have seen over the years, I cannot think of a single branch-antlered bull I have seen in full velvet by the season opener. That is why if you are shed hunting in March you may be finding larger fresh sheds (“browns”) while at the same time observing smaller bulls with antlers still attached. The season usually opens around the 21st, and they don't have velvet. 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. Like deer and elk, moose shed their antlers every year in the late winter or early spring. When they grow in, a moose’s antlers are covered in velvet. 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. 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. I have not seen one shed yet this year, be it branched bull or spikes. It was a weird bull, though... apparently perfectly healthy but a really tall & narrow rack. I’m SO happy you’re here and reading this. to get rid of it. Cant wait for Sept! This time of year is also when reindeer shed their velvet. When the antlers are full grown the velvet dries up, and the reindeer begin to rub it off because it itches. All the smaller bulls are still in full velvet. Click here to learn more. 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. They rub on just about anything to get that velvet off and uncover the antler that most of us would recognize. And why do they shed it? Around the 14th of August. "I was kind of surprised that elk shed that much earlier than deer.". Elk, on the other hand, start losing their antlers in March and into April. 2010-05-16 17:54:37 2010-05-16 17:54:37. But When? Every other bull we saw that week was fully shed and dark with rubs in the middle of the rut, except this guy. Wiki User Answered . they start growing antlers back in may-june and are in velvet then. A mature male elk, called a bull, stands 50 to 60 inches at the shoulder and weighs 600 to 1,000 pounds. Why do reindeer shed their velvet? Q: Why do tule elk drop their antlers every year?-Teresa, El Cerrito. 5 6 7. In … I wish I had pics of the bull one of our clients got when I was guiding on the west slope 2 years ago. rambows 06-Aug-10. The Archery season opened a week earlier than usual. It was a 4 point, so it was legal, but its antlers looked like 2 old indian war clubs. 5 point I saw yesterdat was clean and running a herd of approximately 50 cows. Posted by Robert Hoague | Sep 5, 2016. 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. BigAl 05-Aug-10. Reproductively, they are in neutral. LOL. On rare occasions, bulls carry full racks up to six months later than average or don’t shed their antlers at all, usually a side effect from injury or irregular hormone levels. Many domestic animals like goats, sheep, and cattle have horns. All good questions my friends, I’ve got answers straight from the farmers! Hi, it’s Laura here from Little House Big Alaska, I’ll be taking over the blog here at The Reindeer Farm for a little while. While moose start dropping their antlers the earliest (in December). Usually around mid aug. around here. August is one of my favorite months in Alaska, the days are a little more balanced light wise, the mountains are occasionally tipped with fresh snow and the air is crisp and fresh. A: First, what is the difference between horns and antlers? Time Lapse Antler Growth The fuzzy skin that covers antlers as they grow is terrifically concentrated with blood vessels and nerves. Elk are much larger and heavier than white-tailed deer. cnelk 06-Aug-10. Last year, there were bulls killed in velvet in Utah. We say that the antlers have completed their growth at this stage as they are no longer receiving nutrients. 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. Interestingly the males lose their velvet in August, starting earlier than the females. Answer. Bull moose shed their antlers in late autumn or early winter, after the end of the breeding season. In the spring months of March and April, bull elk drop their antlers due to biological changes in their hormone levels. I don't remember ever seeing a branch antlered bull with velvet by the end of August. By the time a deer (or moose, elk, caribou…) has shed its antlers in fall, all of the living tissue in the antlers will have dried up. +1 6pointbull 2nd or third week of August. Stillman 05-Aug-10. While the antlers are developing and growing they are covered with a soft substance called velvet. Then over the course of the summer, their antlers grow back. I would say around the 15th-25th depending on the year. He still has it (just the rack) mounted with the velvet still on it. It’s definitely an interesting time to visit the farm. One was at about 6500 ft and one was at timberline. I have seen them in winter with velvet many times. The procedure is generally done around June in the Northern Hemisphere and December in the Southern Hemisphere. So if you ’ re planning a visit to the “ death ” of the velvet dries,! 600 to 1,000 pounds outermost layer of skin covering a growing antler late winter or spring. 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