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So much of what we do in the care and feeding of deer passes relatively unnoticed in the short term. But antler growth season is when “instant gratification” seekers can practically see results occur right before their eyes.

Growing at a rate of half an inch per day, antlers are some of the fastest growing tissues in the animal kingdom. That’s why it’s essential that deer consume the most nutritious diet of the year during antler growth season. Unfortunately, this is also the time when forage quality is typically low. However, there are things you can do to compensate.

Good Health

As winter comes to an end, breeding season is officially over, testosterone levels drop and bucks begin shedding their antlers. Usually within a month, they’ll start growing their next set.

If the required nutrients are in short supply during the antler growth period, several things can happen—none of them good:

• Antler growth rate can slow down. There’s only a small window of opportunity for antler growth (about 120 days a year), and an antler growing at the rate of 15 grams per day is obviously going to be smaller than one growing by 25 grams per day
• Less dense antlers are more subject to breakage in rut fights
• Desirable characteristics that affect Boone & Crockett Score, such as antler mass (volume and weight), number of points and beam circumference are negatively impacted by poor nutrition.

Growing a new set of antlers places huge demands on a buck’s body. Since a buck cannot eat enough in a day to mineralize his antlers, his body is forced to extract minerals from his ribs, sternum and skull and deposit them in the antlers. As a result, his bone density may actually be diminished by as much as 30 percent. So not only does a buck have to grow antlers, he has to replenish the minerals in his bones in order to be able to do the same thing again next year. (This is why mineral nutrition is so critical even after antlers are finished growing.)

Hardened antlers are high in minerals, mostly calcium (about 20 percent) and phosphorus (about 10 percent), in addition to a lot of trace minerals such as zinc, copper and manganese. Phosphorus, which is commonly deficient in many soils and plants throughout the US, is particularly critical. And what many people do not realize is that, even after they harden, antlers are still over 35% protein.

Good Nutrition

Because antler growth is low on the priority list of functions required to sustain life, antlers only receive “what’s left” of nutrients after life-sustaining needs have been met. In other words, deer will not even begin to grow antlers until they’ve regained body condition (This is why a year-round feeding program gives you such a distinct advantage.)

So what can you do to ensure the best possible outcome during the antler growth period? From now through August, try feeding a diet that is formulated especially for optimal growth, density and strength. A good option is Purina Mills® AntlerMax® Deer 20 product. This pelleted ration is 20-percent protein, highly palatable and should be fed free-choice to wild deer with access to good habitat or quality hay. Formulated with patented AntlerMax® Technology, it’s one of the most critical steps you can take right now to help deer attain their full potential—and satisfy your need for “instant gratification.”

So much of what we do in the care and feeding of deer passes relatively unnoticed in the short term. But antler growth season is when “instant gratification” seekers can practically see results occur right before their eyes.

Growing at a rate of half an inch per day, antlers are some of the fastest growing tissues in the animal kingdom. That’s why it’s essential that deer consume the most nutritious diet of the year during antler growth season. Unfortunately, this is also the time when forage quality is typically low. However, there are things you can do to compensate.

Good Health

As winter comes to an end, breeding season is officially over, testosterone levels drop and bucks begin shedding their antlers. Usually within a month, they’ll start growing their next set.

If the required nutrients are in short supply during the antler growth period, several things can happen—none of them good:

Antler growth rate can slow down. There’s only a small window of opportunity for antler growth (about 120 days a year), and an antler growing at the rate of 15 grams per day is obviously going to be smaller than one growing by 25 grams per day

Less dense antlers are more subject to breakage in rut fights

Desirable characteristics that affect Boone & Crockett Score, such as antler mass (volume and weight), number of points and beam circumference are negatively impacted by poor nutrition.

Growing a new set of antlers places huge demands on a buck’s body. Since a buck cannot eat enough in a day to mineralize his antlers, his body is forced to extract minerals from his ribs, sternum and skull and deposit them in the antlers. As a result, his bone density may actually be diminished by as much as 30 percent. So not only does a buck have to grow antlers, he has to replenish the minerals in his bones in order to be able to do the same thing again next year. (This is why mineral nutrition is so critical even after antlers are finished growing.)

Hardened antlers are high in minerals, mostly calcium (about 20 percent) and phosphorus (about 10 percent), in addition to a lot of trace minerals such as zinc, copper and manganese. Phosphorus, which is commonly deficient in many soils and plants throughout the US, is particularly critical. And what many people do not realize is that, even after they harden, antlers are still over 35% protein.

Good Nutrition

Because antler growth is low on the priority list of functions required to sustain life, antlers only receive “what’s left” of nutrients after life-sustaining needs have been met. In other words, deer will not even begin to grow antlers until they’ve regained body condition (This is why a year-round feeding program gives you such a distinct advantage.)

So what can you do to ensure the best possible outcome during the antler growth period? From now through August, try feeding a diet that is formulated especially for optimal growth, density and strength. A good option is Purina Mills® AntlerMax® Deer 20 product. This pelleted ration is 20-percent protein, highly palatable and should be fed free-choice to wild deer with access to good habitat or quality hay. Formulated with patented AntlerMax® Technology, it’s one of the most critical steps you can take right now to help deer attain their full potential—and satisfy your need for “instant gratification.”

Source material for this blog article was provided by Purina Mills, Inc. © 2008

Body Condition Scoring allows you to monitor the health and condition of your deer. Optimal Body Condition in bucks will allow for greater antler growth. Does will be more fertile: produce more high-quality milk, resulting in healthier, faster growing fawns. The Purina Mills Body Condition Scoring System allows you to visually score your deer based on fat coverage on several key body areas. Ideal Body Condition Scores lies between 3-4 (can be as high as 4.5 just prior to the rut, especially in bucks).

1. POOR – Deer is emaciated.  Majority of ribs are prominent during summer and visible but less distinct in winter.  Spine appears sharp with a steep muscle angle and prominent sawtooth appearance form the side.  Hip bone is clearly visible with sharp edges, surrounded by sunken muscles at the rump. Tail head is devoid of fat and framed by deep sunken depressions on each side, resulting in sharp looking pin bones. Belly is tucked high with hollow flanks and a sharp shelf.  Brisket is thin and narrow.
2. LEAN – Deer is thin.  Many ribs visible but not prominent during summer.  In winter, ribs are slightly prominent. Spine is evident but not sharp, with somewhat steep muscle angle and mild sawtooth side appearance.  Hip bone is clearly seen, with sharp edges and sightly sunken rump muscles.  Tail head displays sunken depressions on each side, with sharp pin bones and a small amount of observable fat.
3. PRIME – Deer is strong, muscular and healthy.  Ribs should be slightly visible but not sharp during warmer months.  Ribs are nicely covered in flesh and not visible in winter..  Spine is visible, but not prominent, and surrounded by moderately sloping muscles.  No “sawtoothing” of the spine is visible.  Rump clearly visible but not sharp, featuring flat, angular muscles.  Tail head reflects slight hollows at either side, rounded pin bone and a small bit of fat.  Belly has a slight depression with slight shelf and lean appearance with no fat rolls.  Slightly rounded brisket.
4. HEAVY – Deer is healthy, but carrying a few extra pounds, considered normal and healthy prior to rut.  Ribs are not visible.  Sine is not readily seen, with adjoining muscles rising at a gentle slope.  Hips are full with hip bone barely visible.  Slight depression can be seen beside tail head.  Pin bones appear rounded and smooth.  Flank is full with no shelf.  Slight fat rolls developing. Brisket appears full and rounded.
5. OBESE – Does may have reproductive problems. Ribs are layered in fat.  Spine lies buried in fat, surrounded by rounding muscles with little to no slope.  Hip bone is hidden by fat.  Rump appears full and overly round.  Tail head is covered with rounding at each side, pin bones are buried in fat. Belly is distended, with full flank and no shelf.  Fat rolls are clearly evident at the midline and brisket.

Source:  Purina Mills

People often want to feed deer what is handy, which might be sheep, goat, dairy, or even horse feeds. The problem is these feeds are not formulated for deer, do not meet their specific needs, and may even cause problems.

Sheep are very intolerant of dietary copper, so sheep feeds and, traditionally, most goat feeds contain very low levels of copper. They are also usually lower in protein than what deer will need. Deer, and elk, too, have fairly high copper requirements. Feed meant for sheep will be deficient in copper and most other trace minerals for deer and elk, and will likely not provide enough protein for optimal antler growth.

Commercial dairy feeds are formulated to maximize milk production, which has very different nutrient requirements than antler growth. These feeds do not have the proper starch-to-fiber ratio or the trace mineral fortification required for superior antler growth.

Horse feeds, especially textured feeds such as grain mixes, will be too high in soluble (starchy) carbohydrates for deer, inviting problems with acidosis and founder. The protein level also will not be high enough to provide for maximal antler growth. Again, the feed is designed for an animal with a different digestive tract and different production goals than deer.

If you want big, healthy deer that can achieve their genetic potential for antler growth, you need to feed a high-quality feed designed specifically for deer. Anything less will give you just that: less.

Source:  Purina Mills

There is considerable controversy regarding the percentage of dietary protein that deer should have. Many people believe that deer cannot tolerate more than 16% dietary protein and that high-protein diets are wasteful or even toxic. This simply is not true.

Research in South Texas has shown that wild deer diets at certain times of the year can be over 25% protein. Many forages highly utilized by deer are over 30% protein. Obviously, the wild deer are unharmed by consuming these high-protein plants. Indeed, excellent antler growth years were those with superb spring forage conditions. The resulting antler growth suggests that not only were the deer not harmed by their high-protein diet, they actually utilized the protein to grow bigger antlers, indicating that higher protein is necessary for a buck to achieve his genetic potential for antler growth.

Pelleted diets designed to supplement natural forage need to be greater than 16% protein because the forage portion of the diet is often inadequate in protein content. Even in a good year, the digestible protein content of major deer browse species often falls well below 10% by late summer and will likely remain there until the spring green-up. In a tough year (late winter, drought, etc.), the nutrition supplied by natural forages can be inadequate even in the spring. Without supplemental protein, deer cannot maintain optimal body condition, which is essential for maximal antler growth.

Deer in confinement being fed complete diets should have at least 16% dietary protein in order to try to maximize health, growth and antler development. Today’s champion bucks are commonly being raised on diets containing 20% protein. Some people even feed diets containing as much as 24% protein with no adverse effects.

Protein is needed for maintenance and growth of all organs in the body as well as for many physiological functions, and the individual needs for protein are affected by many factors such as genetics, environment, disease and parasite challenges, etc. The body has a “priority of life” list, and protein goes first to those functions that are deemed most important to survival. Antler growth, while desirable and important for social hierarchy, is not necessary for life and appears at the bottom of the priority list from the deer’s viewpoint. Therefore, unless there is enough protein in the diet to meet all the priority needs and have enough left over for optimal antler growth, trophy racks will not happen, no matter what the genetic potential of the buck. If you want to see giant antlers, you will need to provide the necessary protein.

Source: Purina Mills

A buck can have the best genetics in the world, but without the proper nutrition, he’ll never achieve his potential. One way to stack the deck in his favor is to supplement his nutrition. Fall is an excellent time to begin this.
But before we talk about how to initiate a supplemental feeding program, let’s evaluate the big picture.
The goal: Produce larger bucks with massive antlers. Some big obstacles to that goal:

• Lack of high quality forage in fall and winter.
• Stresses due to inclement weather.
• In fall, deer are heading into a natural period of low metabolism and poor appetite. During the rut, a buck may spend only 20 to 30 minutes per day eating.
• Burned calories during the rut will greatly deplete any existing stockpiles of nutrients.
• Antler growth is low on the priority list of functions required to sustain life, so next spring, antlers will receive “what’s left” of nutrients after life-sustaining needs have been met. Deer will not begin growing antlers until they’ve regained body condition.
• Nutritional deficiencies early in life can stunt a buck’s growth and antler size for the rest of his life, even if he is well fed as an adult.

The opportunity: Fall is one of the best times to initiate a supplemental feeding program because…

• Fall forage is less available and of poorer quality, so deer are already instinctively searching for new food sources and may be more accepting of an unfamiliar feed form.
• Getting deer to fully accept a feed form such as pellets can take weeks or months. By beginning the transition in the fall, deer can be fully acclimated by the time severe weather arrives.
• Antlers are high in protein content (which is why feeding corn won’t produce bigger antlers). Now is the prime time for the body to start stockpiling protein before spring antler-growing season.
• When a deer goes into winter in optimal body condition, it is less likely to deplete all of its nutrition stores by spring.

The plan: Now that we’ve established the need for a supplemental nutrition program, how do we do it? Here are a few basic steps:

• Provide the essentials. Deer need three basic things to survive and thrive—food, water and cover. If any one of these three critical factors is insufficient, deer will go elsewhere.
• Place your feeders along frequently used runways or trails.
• Be sure to place enough feeders so that deer do not have to travel more than one-half to three-quarters of a mile to a feeder. A good rule of thumb is one feeder per 300-400 acres.
• Make sure your feeding area has good visibility, access to fresh, clean water and an easy escape route to nearby cover.
• Place your feeders near the center of your land to keep deer on your property. Do not place feeders along fence lines, roads, power lines or in a large opening.
• Choose the right diet. With 16 percent protein, AntlerMax® Rut & Conditioning Deer
• Chow® 16 product is the ideal fall and winter body conditioning diet to set the stage for big antler growth next spring. It has a highly palatable, strong flavor to attract deer and AntlerMax® Deer & Elk Mineral supplement for strong, dense antler growth.
• One free-choice feeder can comfortably feed 25 free-ranging deer, each consuming 1 to 2 pounds of AntlerMax® Rut & Conditioning Deer Chow® 16 product per day.
• Deer do not recognize protein pellets as food, but they are accustomed to seeing corn as a food source in the wild. Entice them to the protein pellets by initially mixing corn with the pellets (start with 75 percent corn, 25 percent pellets).
• Deer do not like abrupt changes in feed, so make them gradually. Once deer are accustomed to eating protein pellets from a feeder, gradually phase out the corn. (NOTE: Although corn provides digestible energy, corn inherently lacks the nutrients needed for strong antler growth. Corn may help deer survive, but it won’t help them thrive. In fact, gorging on too much corn too fast can actually cause a deer to founder and die.)
• Remember, pellets should be a supplement to, not a replacement for forage.
• Make sure deer have access to a constant supply of fresh, clean water near your feeder. A deer requires about 3 pounds of water for every pound of dry matter consumed.
• Plan on feeding year ‘round so that bucks never slip into below-average body condition.
• Otherwise, next spring, nutrients will be allocated to “playing catch up” instead of to antler growth.
• Be sure to wear gloves when handling the feeder and feed. Human scent can repel deer.
• Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Once you’ve spent all this effort to attract deer to a feeding area, NEVER hunt near the feeding area.

Don’t get discouraged. It won’t happen overnight. In fact, the better the forage conditions, the tougher it is to get deer to start eating pellets. But fall is a prime opportunity.
There are many, many more tips and strategies for establishing a successful supplemental nutrition program than we can include here. Talk to your Purina dealer or visit

www.wildlife.purinamills.com for more information tailored to your geographic region and specific situation.