Can you tell the difference between male and female on a skinned deer carcass?

[Biathlonjimmy]

Male, the only thing athletic about this chap was me and a buddy when we dragged him!View attachment 173766

WOW. That looks so damn good. Massive food envy. I'm off to get something to eat!

 

[NewForester]

Thanks for all the replies! (Including Fallow Hind and Stag!)

 

[NickJ]

Thats Liverpool for you!!!

Low blow!

 

[Heym SR20]

Any well experienced stalker and certainly any Vet or meat inspector can tell the difference. In just about all species there are quite big skeletal and muscular differences between the sexes. Not so apparent in juveniles but certainly in adults. Not least that most adult males are significantly larger than females.

If there was any doubt a quick blood or tissue test will show up differences in chromosomes. This would show up even in a finely minced burger.

 

[Overlay]

grassed some munties in suffolk/ norfolk border last year
on both inside and outside of the carcases were heavily covered in fat, kidneys hard to find
i had a good look around food wise it was maize and high clover silage and old trees with ivy. the buck had a good set of antlers and the doe just over a yearling after prepping the male still looked a buck even when it just its coat on - stature and muscle form was evident between the two
they were both on memory really heavy little deer

 

[Grannysmith]

Thats why hes an apprenice

 

[geoffw]

There's a distinct difference in smell, which is the surest first clue, the anatomical shape of the carcass relative to one another being another, you can see this when there is a male and a female hanging with the jacket off. Oh, and the ease of actually skinning a female compared to a male, particularly round the neck area. Other markers include the relative ease/ practical opening of the pelvic arch in a mature roebuck with just a knife, which is pretty impossible on an mature doe that has calved.

@Freeforester Never noted the smell difference before- (other than fallow/red in skin around the rut)- are you saying there's a difference when skinned too, and if so, is that all species, all yr round or just around the rut please?

 

[jb1]

Just read this and i chuckled to myself, the young butcher lad would be fun to be with in the local, he would certainly keep you entertained.

 

[Freeforester]

@Freeforester Never noted the smell difference before- (other than fallow/red in skin around the rut)- are you saying there's a difference when skinned too, and if so, is that all species, all yr round or just around the rut please?

I personally find it easy (and most preferable, lol!) to discern the sex by the smell, at any time, and you should be able to determine this whether it is in or out of the skin, but to be fair I've handled rather more carcasses than some.