Yes, the velvet is soft and visually appealing, but at some point, the deer needs to shed the material to reveal its new antlers. It’s that time of the year again when bull elk shed the velvet that has been nourishing their antler growth for the last six months. 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. Top Answer. Why do reindeer shed their 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 late summer and early autumn, the antlers shed off the velvet skin, leaving the bull with a set of 40-pound antlers. Stik'n String 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. Usually around mid aug. around here. The largest bulls polish first and are usually done by the end of August. You don’t even have to do anything – just leave them somewhere to dry and you are finished. So if you’re planning a visit to Alaska in August or September be sure to plan a visit to the Reindeer Farm. Who sheds it? Still totally in velvet second week of the season - don't think he COULD rub it off. They shed velvet where convenient at the time. Click here to learn more. Some have suggested that early velvet shedding is drought related. When that velvet dies, it starts to decompose. Elk are much larger and heavier than white-tailed deer. As males age, their antlers grow in bigger each year. Answer. Elk Rut in September and Deer Rut in Nov or later... Not too surprising..... Terry. 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. Posted by Robert Hoague | Sep 5, 2016. the velvet starts to shed in sep-oct and it itches, so they help rub it off using saplings, etc. 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. Thick as my wrist, about 2 feet long, then 4 points sticking out at all angles from a knob at the top. A: First, what is the difference between horns and antlers? Adult whitetail deer antlers can grow ¼ inch per day, whereas elk antlers grow about an inch per day. 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. And why do they shed it? ​ 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’ve ever been around dried velvet antlers, they can get pretty funky pretty fast. Then over the course of the summer, their antlers grow back. Whitetail deer antler sheds have a wide variety of uses and are becoming more popular as a crafting material and for home decor. The Archery season opened a week earlier than usual. I will be out again this coming weekend to stash some supplies and I bet the big 6x6s will be without velvet. "I was kind of surprised that elk shed that much earlier than deer.". Growth is triggered by increasing daylight and subsequent testosterone production. We All Know Buck’s Shed Their Velvet. Just a few weeks after a whitetail deer or elk sheds its antlers, a new set begins to grow. These bulls have made it through a fall rut, the breeding season, and most of the winter. Nice shots CK! Is it September yet??? They shed these antlers every year in late winter or early spring and begin to grow a new set of antlers in spring. Last year, there were bulls killed in velvet in Utah. 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). In … Also, the necks of cryptorchid bucks do not swell as the breeding season approaches. One was at about 6500 ft and one was at timberline. I hope to get some nice photos like CK has. Horns are permanent, they grow from their base up, and both males and females may have them. What is velvet? Contrastingly, deer in areas with poor nutrition tend to shed their antlers earlier in mid-December. 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. This means that these shed antlers are very easy to preserve. A mature male elk, called a bull, stands 50 to 60 inches at the shoulder and weighs 600 to 1,000 pounds. Male (bull) elk grow a new set of antlers every year, beginning when they are 1 year old. Females, or cows, weigh 500 to 600 pounds. I have seen them in winter with velvet many times. He still has it (just the rack) mounted with the velvet still on it. As the antler hardens, the male moose scratches … All good questions my friends, I’ve got answers straight from the farmers! I am excited that I finally got my cameras out so it is going to be interesting. In winter, long, coarse guard hairs overlay wooly underfur. In the spring months of March and April, bull elk drop their antlers due to biological changes in their hormone levels. He and one other really big bull were rubbed already. We say that the antlers have completed their growth at this stage as they are no longer receiving nutrients. 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. After it serves its purpose of protecting the young antlers, the soft furry velvet is no longer needed. It was a weird bull, though... apparently perfectly healthy but a really tall & narrow rack. Some spike bulls never shed there first year velvet. The bull’s new growing bone is covered by skin with numerous blood vessels which we refer to as “velvet”. This time of year is also when reindeer shed their velvet. Antlers are not shed, and they remain in velvet year round. Why do bull elk shed their antlers each year? After it serves its purpose of protecting the young antlers, the soft furry velvet is no longer needed. Click here to Due to Covid-19 the farm has safety protocols in place during your visit. One of the bigger bull killed that year (340ish) looked like he had a glove on the whale's tail on one side - rest of the antler was clean, just a rawhide looking chunk of velvet on the tip of that one side... Never have found velvet on a rubbed sapling or tree. The summer pelage is short, thin and colored reddish brown. 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 [email protected], Click here to view location Reindeer Farm  5561 S Bodenburg Loop Rd, Palmer, AK 99645. Elk, on the other hand, start losing their antlers in March and into April. Why do elk have velvet on their antlers? I have not seen one shed yet this year, be it branched bull or spikes. Elk shedding velvet Elk. 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.

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