During this past gun season up in Northern Wisconsin I was having a nice cold one at a local establishment when a local asked me my thoughts on darker antlers vs light antlers. I never really gave this much thought prior to that. He asked me if I thought it had to do with nutrition or the different oils in the trees especially in swamps. I thought for a minute and decided (Probably not right) I dont believe its from the trees because the dark antlers are dark every inch of them. They would really have to rub every single space to get like that and I dont think so. I do believe it has to do with where they spend most of their time as the swamp bucks always have darker antlers and it could be what they eat. I got back and googled this and no research has really been done but seen many different opinions on it. What is your please? T P.S.- This guy showed me one amazing collection of animals he has killed over the years. Does not have them scored and just plain enjoys them. Some neat real dark antlers for sure.
I think it has to be from their diet. I've noticed, that in SC, the dark antlers are on Hardwood Swamp bucks, and the light antlers on the pinewoods bucks. SB
Where does the buck spend most of his time? Bedding in grassy, open fields or a dark, tangled cedar swamp? Sunlight has an effct on whether antlers are dark or light.
There is a 10 point I have been trying to connect with. His rack is white but the bases up to around the brow tines are dark. He has a very neat looking rack.
I think opposite of some, I don't think it has much at all to do with internal factors as opposed to external factors. Like GregH said, how much sunlight is he exposed to? What is he rubbing on? What are his antlers touching? Maybe someone with actual knowledge will pipe up and prove me wrong, because mine is just a guess. I just see antlers as being stained, bleached, etc rather than being naturally whiter, oranger, darker...etc. You want to see some awesome antler colors? Check out a november killed POW sitka blacktail, they are literally like pumpkin orange...very awesome looking.
I am in the boat like the rest of you, I don't have the "educated" guess, but I have some "educated" questions to ask about what contributes to antler color. First: You have to ask yourself, if diet or nutrition alone is the key to antler color, why do bucks in similar bachelor groups, who feed from probably 90% of the same food sources, have different antler colors? You see this all of the time, bucks in bachelor groups who have a wide variety of antler coloration. Second: Does the color of the antler change from one antler set to the next? Meaning, does this coloration stay the same over the course of this buck's lifetime, or does it change from year to year? IF that is the case, then genetics wouldn't have much to do with antler color. Third: Do genetics play a part in antler color? Since you can find bucks with similar rack patterns, could we also find that certain does which are bred contribute to the genetical inheritance of rack color? Fourth: Back to environment. Bedding areas correlate with how much sunlight shines upon the rack, environment a buck will travel through, and where they will spend a large majority of time. With that being said, don't we still see bucks with similar bedding areas, travel patterns, etc with different color racks? While a bleached rack can happen, I.E. old sheds, can we place that much stock in a buck's bedding area and the contribution is has upon rack color? I am sure is has an effect, but I don't know how great of one. Finally: Bucks in velvet and after velvet shed. We have to take into consideration what goes into setting antlers. For a decent period of time, a buck's antler is forming underneath that velvet. At this point, besides little holes in the antler from burrowing bugs, thorns, etc, can color be affected while the antler is wrapped in velvet? Does sunlight penetrate the velvet? And most importantly, once the velvet stage IS over, and the antlers are slick, don't we see a variety of color way before "outside" environment can come into play? I don't think all bucks have chocolate horns directly after velvet shed, then because of some trees they rub or amount of sunlight they receive, one rack discolors over another. So, what really does go into rack coloration? Is it a variety of things? I really have no clue, just asking some questions to dig a little deeper into the mystery. BTW, Good question Peak.
I would suspect that genes play the greatest roles in antler color. Although other factors will play minor roles in antler color as well. Where a whitetail takes up his home range would also account for some of antler color or lack of. And nutrition likely plays some part as well. Why would I think genes play the ultimate deciding factor? I've hunted whitetail throughout Illinois.. and shed hunted it too. I can tell you that most bucks in JoDavies county, Illinois have ghost white racks. Even those who spend most of their time in hardwoods. Lake county, Illinois seems to have a dirtier (dual) color to the antler color despite whether a buck lives in swamp or woods. Hunt the west central portion and a blonde (combination color) bone seems most common. These would all indicate genes play the largest role in antler color. Either way.. it's likely not just one thing but many that help to give each whitetail his own pigment. But if you were a betting man T.. genes would be the money. A better Q would have included whitetail hides (hair) as they seem to change much more readily with a buck's personal life choices.
I pulled the following from the QDMA website from an article titles Amazing Antlers by Kip Adams. Some interesting points and backs up a little of what everyone has been saying. On a lighter note, the second question asked about different coloration in antlers. Several factors may be responsible. According to Dr. Bubenik, antler color depends partly on the amount of oxidized blood on the antlers (from velvet shedding) and partly from a chemical reaction between the blood and juices from plants on which the antlers are rubbed. If a buck begins rubbing his antlers before the velvet and blood have completely dried, the blood stains the antler and gives it a darker color. The predominant species of trees in an area also influence the color. Pines allegedly cause darker antlers, likely from bucks rubbing on exposed sap after they break the tree’s cambium layer. A buck’s genetics may also influence color. Some bucks are predisposed to having lighter or darker antlers, and to rub more or fewer trees. A buck’s age can play a role as older bucks tend to rub more than younger animals. Finally, the time of year can influence color as antlers generally lighten over time due to the bleaching effect of moisture, sunlight and extreme winter conditions. Do individual bucks maintain a consistent color from year to year? According to Dr. Mickey Hellickson, chief wildlife biologist for the King Ranch in south Texas, yes, with a few exceptions. The antlers of some individual bucks gradually become darker as the buck increases in age, likely due to increased rubbing behaviors as his dominance standing improves. The above reasons explain why you may see light, medium or dark antlers throughout the whitetail’s range.
I don't think there is a real answer to this question. Some are dark, some light. Northern bucks typically have darker racks, but what about Texas? Here in Iowa, it goes from one end of the spectrum to the other. Typically though, I think it has to do with diet, genetics, and where a buck lives. I think many of the white racks are caused by UV exposure as-much as anything. The same reason old sheds are white compared to fresh ones. The light fades the bone over-time. If a buck lives in a major CRP area, the racks will get whiter. In the thick or heavy timber, it stays darker.
Factors that Determine Antler Color and Symmetry Genetics - antler symmetry is determined almost entirely by genetic makeup. Oxidized blood/local plants - antler color depends partly on the amount of oxidized blood left over from velvet shedding and partly on a chemical reaction between the blood and sap from plants on which the antlers are rubbed.
I have seen two bucks on the same proerty about the same number of times. They both are about the same age and would score about the same.They both spend about 50% of the time in the CRP and 50% in the timber. The only difference is that one has almost bleach white antlers while the other has mud brown, i'm no deer expert but I think genetics plays the most important role in antler color.
I thought this was interesting read! Adams, QDMA Deer hunters love antlers. While antlers aren’t the primary reason most hunters pursue whitetails, it is the odd hunter who doesn’t enjoy seeing them. Here are some answers to some common questions about antlers. I had a gentleman approach me at a recent seminar and tell me he read that medical scientists were interested in antler development. Unless they were hunters, why would they be interested in antlers? I am also commonly asked why some antlers are lightly colored while others are much darker. Is it due to the habitat where the deer live or are there other factors involved? Finally, I am routinely asked what causes the “burrowed holes” you occasionally see in antlers. I have heard many hunters speculate they are caused by some species of fly that bores into the antler while a buck is in velvet. This sounds logical, but is it true? Let’s look at some basic facts about antlers first and then discuss these questions. Deer antlers can grow an inch or more per day, making them the fastest normal growing tissue known to man – only tumors and embryos grow new tissue at this rate. The antler growth cycle is driven by photoperiod (day length) and hormones. In photoperiod-controlled experiments, deer can grow up to three sets of antlers per year or retain their antlers for more than one year. The pedicle area of the skull contains unique material which enables antler growth. Damage to the pedicle results in abnormal antler growth and, interestingly enough, transplanting material from a pedicle to other skeletal regions results in growth of antler tissue in the transplanted area. Scientists have transplanted material from a pedicle onto the forehead of mice and caused them to grow antler-like projections. They have also transplanted this material onto the tibia (lower leg bone) of deer and caused them to grow an antler from their leg. I have observed bucks with a third antler arising from their forehead or face that clearly originated separately from their other antlers. Though the buck may have been born with this extra pedicle material, injury to the pedicle or adjacent skull region is more likely the cause. The annual growth and shedding of antlers is regulated by annual cyles in testosterone levels, and any interruption can potentially impact the antler cycle. For example, if the production of testosterone in an adult buck in velvet is interrupted, his antlers will continue to grow, but they’ll never harden. If the interruption occurs when the buck has hard antlers, he will shed them, and he’ll grow new antlers the following spring that will never harden. This can be observed in free-ranging bucks that injure one or both of their testicles, interrupting or diminishing the testosterone cycle. This is a common cause of the “cactus” bucks that a few hunters harvest each year. A small percentage of does grow antlers each year, too. These does have enough testosterone to grow antlers but generally not enough to harden them, so they remain in velvet. When I was a biologist with New Hampshire Fish & Game, I had a hunter bring a doe with approximately 10-inch spikes covered in velvet to a deer check station during a bucks-only season. The deer had antlers so it was legal, but the guy wasn’t sure since it was a doe. He was extremely nervous as he told me the deer didn’t have the right “male parts” when he field dressed it. Even in the face of a possible violation the hunter was honest about the deer and demonstrated the ethics we look for in all hunters. When antlers are growing, the mineral requirements to fuel this growth exceed those for skeletal growth and maintenance – in some deer species it is three times higher. Diet provides the greatest amount of calcium and phosphorus for antler growth and mineralization, but the remainder is supplied by “resorption” – stealing minerals from the skeleton and transferring them to the antlers. Ribs and shoulder blades contribute the most, and they may lose up to 40 percent of their calcium content wh
I can debunk that one. There wasn't a tree within 50 miles of this buck. It spent the majority of it's time bedded and feeding out in the open air, exposed to UV. It had to be from the alders he was rubbing his antlers on, the fact that I took him in early Sept. and that he was the dominant buck in the area, though the other bucks in the area also had similar colored antlers.
I see your point and a very good one. Also deer lose their velvet at a time when the sun is more to the southern hemisphere and honestly during this time its still warm in september so they wont be sunning per say. Gotta be genetics.
I couldn't agree more with anyone than you Kodiak... It's mainly in the genes... and I have a fair size shed antler collection to back this.
Has anyone ever cut into a dark antler to see if its dark all the way thru or if its only dark on the surface?
surface on a few sheds of mine, I've sawed a few browtines off of dark sheds for rattling antlers. white on the inside..
That was good question Todd and Troy glad you did that now you have my wheels spinning a bit on this.
