Roe Buck

donsider

Well-Known Member
I was out stalking does on one of my shoots yesterday afternoon close to Alford in Aberdeenshire and among the few deer I spied both bucks and does one deer stood out in particular. Whereas all the bucks all be it young ones had no antlers one buck, and a very large one at that had a good set of antlers growing. Yes they were in velvet but the size of them a good three inches above his ears. I put the Greys scope on him for a better look and yes, they were a new set of growing antlers. This is the earliest I have seen antlers this far on so early, not even the end of December considering they usually are cast in November. It has been a mild winter so far so perhaps this may account for it, even the wood pigeons are cooing here in Aberdeen and the daffodils are well up out of the ground.

Donsider.

PS
Merry Christmas to you all
 
With his metabolism putting in the effort now to grow his antlers, will he be left weakened should there be a severe drop in temperature before his antlers are "done"?
 
I guess that would depend on how much food's available? We certainly see deer coming to the silage feeders when it gets really bad........but this year the grass is still growing here near Dundee!!!!
 
With his metabolism putting in the effort now to grow his antlers, will he be left weakened should there be a severe drop in temperature before his antlers are "done"?
They will suffer from frost bite in antlers still in velvet so I'm told if we get really cold weather.
Seasons seem really mixed up at the moment over the last week I have seen bucks freshly cast in velvet and still carrying last seasons heads
 
I have seen the same buck for two years running in the first week of November. He was in velvet with growth a couple of inches above the ears.

I have seen him again this year and he had already cast in mid October.

I have only had a glimpse of him in hard antler.
 
-9 Celsius 10 miles up the road a few nights ago. Not a mild one so far...

Nearly had to dispatch a scrawny chicken struggling with cold
 
Had a buck with well grown antlers on my patch in early December. He looks promising at the moment so looking forward to when he's clean to se what he turns out like.
 
I was out the other day stalking in on a doe + youngster and bumped a buck
Lying unseen in the hedge I was making my way down he had a full set in velvet
Nice strong looking buck should make something. That's in Cornwall. Yes he did
bump the doe + youngster and I lost them all. Alls well in stalking.
 
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