Visitors in my yard

The other day when I posted pictures of all of our snow, Sojord wanted to know if I thought the deer would be in my yard looking for food. Here is the answer.



These are 3 bucks and there were also 3 does, but they were further off. This was taken out my front window.

 

Fantastic shot Capt! I always thought the males lost their antlers in the winter?

 

They shed their antlers in early fall, and they grow back in early winter, usually just before rutting season.

 

Great shot against the backdrop of snow.

 

Pardon my ignorance about deer antlers, but if they shed them, why do some bucks wind up with such larger antlers than others? Does the number of points refer to the size of the antlers? They are really lovely to look at, CK. Nice pictures!

 

The older the deer, the bigger the antlers. The bigger the antlers, the more points. The bigger the antlers, the bigger (weight) of the deer. I don't put out food, but just in front of them covered by snow is a big patch of ground cover and the have been "trimming" it for me.

 

Thank you CK. I am beginning to see.

So in the Fall, does the whole antler fall off or just a part? If the whole thing falls off, then do older deer's antlers grow faster? Do the antlers fall off of ALL the deer? I am not trying to be dense (not doing such a good job I fear!) but I'm trying to understand why older deer have bigger antlers IF they fall off every year...

 

The antlers fall off the males, females don't have antlers except for reindeer. As the deer age, they grow bigger antlers. The same thing happens with moose too. It takes the same amount of time for the antlers to grow back in all of the deer. Ehen the new antlers grow out, they are covered with a type of skin called velvet. Yes it does resemble velvet cloth. The deer will rub their antlers on trees to rub the velvet off and this helps to harden the bone antler.

 

Great shots of the deer.

I just love deer. Thanks for sharing. I have hundreds of pictures of local deer.

KG

moderator's note: removed bold lettering

 

Nice deer! My mother watch deer almost daily out her window. They are "trimming" her English ivy.

 

Had 4 does go through the front yard this morning.

 

Here in Nebraska, we have a plentiful population of deer. I love them because they are such gentle creatures. At our lake cabin, they pass by on a regular basis, and of course are going to the lake for water. We love to watch out the window at them grazing in the corn fields this time of year. Its hard to get photos, as they're gone before I can grab the camera. They usually don't come into the yard because Missy welcomes them too enthusiastically with her barking. But, thats just as well, because they can be rather destructive on gardens (munch, munch)

 

We have lots of deer around here.Yours are so pretty in the snow.Most deer horn that they loose are eatten by squirrels is what I have been told.Thats why you don't find many in the woods.