Deer Antler Growth
Deer antlers start out as bone-like growths that have a thin covering of hair and skin called velvet. These proto-antlers increase in size at incredible rates. The antler racks of most deer will grow to full size in just three to four months. This growth rate makes the deer antler the fastest growing living tissue in the animal kingdom. To get the energy to grow these enormous antler racks, deer must eat as much as one hundred to one hundred and fifty pounds of calcium every season; no mean feat when the diet of deer is mostly bark, leaves, and plants.
The antlers themselves are comprised of dead bone. A deer's antlers growth will begin from two nubs at the base of the head, called pedicels, during late winter. Grow will usually continue into early spring. Antlers reach full growth sometime in mid-summer to mid-fall, usually no later than October. Antlers normally have branches. An individual deer's overall maturity, nutrition, environment and genetics will determine an antler's final size and formation.
After the deer antlers have grown to maximum size, blood vessels near the antler's base close down. This causes the skin around the antlers to dry up and peel away. The deer helps this process along by rubbing the antlers against trees. As the velvet begins to peel away, the deer will eat the newly removed skin. Once the velvet is completely removed, only the hard bony core of the antler remains, to be used as a powerful weapon during mating season.
