GUELPH, Ont. – Antlers make money and good health makes antlers, says
George Bubenik, who has spent the past 35 years studying deer and their
antlers.
An endocrinologist and medical doctor by training, Bubenik took up his
father’s academic research in the late 1960s, and since the early 1970s
has worked in the University of Guelph zoology department.
“Farmed deer and elk are raised for what they have on top of their
heads,” he said.
“The more they have, the more the animals will bring the farmer. So
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creating the most antler is a very big deal for farmers.”
Whether for hunting or the now-disrupted Asian medicine market, antler
size determines the value of game farmers’ inventories.
“There are three things that make good antlers: nutrition, genetics and
stress.”
Bubenik said he and other scientists have looked at increasing protein
in the diet, but feels giving the animals more than 14 percent in their
feed can cause more problems than it might solve.
“I am not a nutritionist, but I can say we have seen no dramatic antler
yield increases with high protein diets. It could even be a problem.”
Murray Woodbury of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in
Saskatoon said too much protein can actually injure deer and elk.
“Protein was boosted to over 20 percent in some research. It caused
ulcers and other problems with the animals and no real gains were
measured,” he said.
“It creates expensive urine.
High ammonia levels in the urine, caused by too much dietary protein,
can actually damage the animals’ waste elimination systems and gut, and
make them underperform rather than increase antler size.
Bubenik said one of the secrets to large antlers may lie in the amount
of calories available to the male deer.
Woodbury agreed.
“Increasing the carbohydrates in the diet at the right time may hold
one key, but more research will be needed to be sure.”
Woodbury said ensuring that energy and protein are readily available in
early spring, at least two weeks prior to “button drop,” may help set
the yield potential for the season.
“The animals’ metabolism slows dramatically over winter so we think
spring condition (of the animals) is critical.”
The researchers said overfeeding during the winter is not effective
because of cervids’ slowed, winter metabolisms.
Bubenik has seen results in the 1980s with his former test herd that
showed spring condition begins with a narrow window of opportunity in
the fall.
“You’ve got a month, maybe month and a half at most, after the rut,
before the body shuts down. Getting them into shape for winter will
give you the start for spring and potentially bigger antlers,” he said.
“You know, all through the rut they do nothing but breed and fight for
dominance. Their condition comes off. As a farmer, you have to get it
back on.”
Woodbury said a good balance of livestock minerals is important,
including calcium and phosphorus.
“The animals will take what they need.”
The researchers said the genetics that produces antlers are not
one-sided.
“It doesn’t come only from the male,” Bubenik said.
“There are two sets of chromosomes. It is up to mama and papa to make
big antlers.”
Woodbury said it’s important for producers to know the genetic heritage
of both sides of their animals.
Bubenik said nervous deer, especially those that are under stress,
should be avoided as breeding stock.
“The doe that is not very maternal will pass on some of that. She will
also stress the male fawn and he may have his future potential limited
because he was raised to worry or not respond well to stress.”
Bubenik said stocking rates and handling systems play a critical role
in producing larger antlers.
He said animals will produce smaller antlers the following year if they
are under pressure in the rut, are kept low in the herd hierarchy, or
have had to concentrate on foraging or defending small territories.
“You see big, dominant bucks that injure or lose antlers early in the
rut. They get pushed around even by the little spikers. Their antlers
will be smaller the next year.”
Bubenik believes this is due to lower testosterone levels in those deer
during the fall and that higher levels of testosterone will help set
the pattern for growth the following year.
He said too many bucks fighting over territory or does will mean many
of them will not produce the testosterone needed for good horn
development the following year.
Bubenik said all three factors work together. Healthy feeding, low
animal stress and good genetics must be combined to produce large
antler growth.
