By Matt Harper
In sales, you constantly drive toward the last day of the fiscal or calendar year, when you know if you met or fell short of your goal. If you succeed, you’ll feel fulfilled as you look back at the effort and hard work it took to reach that point.
But then you’re unceremoniously pushed off the pinnacle. The next day, you’re back at the beginning, facing another arduous climb up the mountain. The only difference is you will likely be asked to climb even higher. Many things in life are cyclic — continuous processes of beginning, growth, finality and then renewal. Antler growth provides a perfect example, and it’s similar to the growing cycle. Both involve many aspects and activities that ultimately determine the final numbers or score, and they’re constrained at the top end by ability or market conditions. Reaching that top end hinges on several inputs, all of which must be perfect to achieve maximum potential. Every year, a salesperson is asked to sell more, and each year that a buck ages, it naturally tries to grow bigger antlers. Sometimes, it seems like nothing is happening, whether sales aren’t increasing or antlers aren’t growing. However, there’s always activity that will affect the outcome.How
Long is the Antler Growing Cycle?
Some people define the
antler growing cycle as the period when visible growth occurs. Depending on
where you live, the first signs of protruding velvet antler buds mark the
beginning of the antler growing cycle. In many parts of the country, that’s
late March or April, with growth continuing through spring and summer until
early fall, when velvet is shed, revealing hardened antlers. Velvet shedding
typically occurs in September, which means about six months have passed from
the time the antler appeared to when growth stopped. Quick back-of-the-napkin
math indicates that’s about 180 days of antler growth, but the actual number varies
somewhat, so you often see the growing period listed as 160 to 200 days. Does
that mean the antler growing cycle averages 160 to 200 days? Not exactly. That
seems contradictory, but a closer look reveals more. The antler growing period
is when active growth occurs, which covers a 160- to 200- day period. However,
the cycle arguably occurs year-round — a 365-day process. Factors directly affect
antler growth when the antler is growing, but others indirectly affect antler
growth outside the growing period. Let’s examine what happens during each
period.
Active
Antler Growth
Antler growth begins at a small
level — so small, in fact, that you cannot see it without a microscope. A layer
of regenerative cells on a region of the deer’s skull called the pedicle lets
the antlers grow every year. Without those cells, antler regeneration is not
possible. That’s been proven by surgically removing the pedicle, which
essentially stops antler regrowth. This also occurs in the wild when a pedicle
is damaged, resulting in irregular antler growth or the lack of growth. Antler
growth is controlled hormonally. After the rut, testosterone levels decrease,
which causes the eventual shedding of the hardened antler. A slight increase in
testosterone occurs in late winter and early spring, triggering the beginning
of antler growth. Then testosterone levels decrease until early fall.
Testosterone levels are low during most of the growth period, but hormonal
variances are not limited to testosterone, as prolactin and luteinizing hormone
are also low during antler growth but peak in winter. Conversely, growth-promoting
hormones such as insulin-like growth factors are highest during the peak of
antler growth. To go into great detail on hormonal functions and activity would require
several articles, but I wanted to provide a few examples to show the effects the
endocrine system has on antler growth. The onset of antler growth prompts an increase
in nutritional requirements. Because antler growth sometimes begins before spring
green-up, nutritional deficiencies can occur. Studies have shown that nutritional
deficits early in antler growth can lead to decreased overall antler size, meaning
compensatory gains might not occur after higher-quality green vegetation becomes
available. Any lack of nutrition is exacerbated when bucks enter late winter or
early spring in poor condition, but we’ll discuss that later. During early antler
growth, a buck’s protein needs start to increase from a 10 to 12 percent protein
requirement in winter to 18 percent or more during antler growth. That’s partly
driven because additional protein is needed to build the growing antler. Energy
requirements and mineral and vitamin needs also begin to increase. When early
spring rolls into late spring and summer, the antler growth rate begins to peak.
Protein requirements remain at 18 percent or more as collagen continues to form
the antler structure. Collagen is the most prevalent protein in an antler and essentially
forms a matrix, or framework. Analysis of a growing antler will show that it
can be as high as 80 percent protein. Mineral needs also increase in late spring
and early summer in preparation for antler mineralization (hardening). It’s often
thought that minerals consumed and digested by bucks are transported directly to
the antler. Actually, minerals in growing antlers are taken from the skeletal system
and transported via the bloodstream and velvet of a growing antler to be
deposited on the collagen matrix. That doesn’t mean dietary mineral
requirements are not important. Antler growth is secondary to body health and
condition, and unless a buck has adequate digestible minerals in its diet, the
buck’s body will not sacrifice skeletal structure and general health to grow
bigger antlers. As summer turns to early fall, mineralization increases, and in
September, a buck sheds velvet to expose a hardened antler. A hardened antler
is a little more than 50 percent mineral, and although it consists of several
minerals, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium comprise the majority.
The Other Part
of the Antler Growing Cycle
When antler growth has stopped and bucks sport a set of hardened bone atop their heads, you might think the cycle is complete. That’s partially correct. However, the cycle is not finished, because factors that begin when velvet is shed can affect the next year’s cycle. In fact, you might argue that the emergence of hardened antlers is not the end but the beginning. Remember, a buck will not sacrifice skeletal health to transport more mineral to a growing antler to increase density and mass. That health-over-antler prioritization is not specific to minerals but rather for the entire nutritional plane. Antlers are secondary sex characteristics and will always be trumped by body condition and overall health. If a buck requires nutrients to rebuild its body, it will do that first before shifting them to antler growth. Think of it like a bucket with small holes. As you fill the bucket with water, some leaks out. But only when the bucket is full will most of the water spill as it overflows. Some nutrients — the leaks — will go to antler growth, but only when the bucket of body condition and health are maximized will most nutrients spill over the top and be used for antler growth. During the rut, bucks burn energy by fighting other bucks, and seeking, chasing and breeding does. They are constantly on the move during the weekslong preoccupation for copulation and can dramatically decrease their body condition. In fact, during the rut, bucks can lose 20 to 25 percent of their body weight, leaving them a shadow of the deer they were in early fall. The end of breeding season coincides with winter, which, at least in most of the country, is the time with the least quality and quantity of nutrition. A buck must regain its body weight and condition via whatever food it can find. That’s why older bucks are more susceptible to winter kill. Even if bucks survive winter, they must rebuild their bodies when late winter and early spring arrive before most nutrition can go toward the next set of antlers. That’s why I consider the entire year as the actual cycle. Even if antlers are not growing, the availability of nutrition to help grow and maintain body condition and health will affect the antler development the next spring, summer and fall.
Managing the
Cycle
When you understand that nutritional requirements
don’t disappear because antlers stop growing, you realize the importance of
managing nutrition on an annual cycle. Most people know that high-quality,
high-protein food plots are important during antler growth. But have you
considered how fast green-up occurs with a food plot type? Because antlers
often start growing before general green-up, choosing a food plot variety that
greens up early will get nutrition to the deer herd sooner. Imperial Whitetail Clover
is extremely cold tolerant and always one of the first food sources to green up
in spring. Because it’s a perennial, Imperial Whitetail Clover is already present
and growing, providing protein to bucks weeks or months before annuals planted
that spring. Supplements such as Imperial 30-06 and 30-06 Plus Protein are
great management tools to help provide the high level of minerals needed for
antler growth (where legal). But to fully manage the antler growing cycle, you
must also consider the nutritional needs during fall and winter. Planting
adequate amounts of food plots such as Imperial Winter Greens and Tall Tine
Tubers helps provide the nutrition bucks need to maintain good condition as
they come out of winter to begin growing antlers in spring. Where legal, Imperial
Thrive can also be used to help supplement bucks during winter.
Conclusion
By definition, a cycle is continuous.
It never stops. Yearly antler regeneration, growth and maturation is a
magnificent phenomenon. But if you want to manage the antler growing cycle,
consider all aspects. Just because it’s February and deer have temporarily
slipped from thought doesn’t mean they’re not out there and what they’re
experiencing at that time won’t affect the outcome of the cycle in September.
