![]() Food and water were unlimited in both the fenced areas and the pen. In the pen, movement was limited, no predators occurred, and sires were selected for large antler size. Deer in two 1,000-acre fenced areas, and a 6-acre pen were observed for 14 years. The second study was even more interesting. That means management actions, such as antler point restrictions (APRs), will have little effect on the genetics of white-tailed deer antlers. Environmental variability is so large that you cannot use antler size as a decision rule for culling deer to get larger-antlered animals. ![]() Which is probably only a surprise to those who still subscribe to the “once a spike, always a spike” wives’ tale. Over the 7 years of the study, they culled 85% – 100% of yearling males at the ‘intensive’ culling rate.Ĭulling had no effect on antler expression. They captured 2,937 individual males and culled 1,333 of them. The first study tested the “inferior” genes dogma by culling 1.5-year-old males with small antlers at 3 different rates: no culling (a control), moderate, and intensive. Both studies were conducted by the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Two presentations at recent scientific meetings provide some insights into the importance of genetics in white-tailed deer and human’s ability to manipulate genetics to produce more males with larger antlers. Environmental conditions (e.g., food quantity and quality), and thenĭespite the fact that letting a deer grow older, having better nutrition, and reducing stress produces larger antlers on all males, genetics still gets much of the attention.įortunately, our ability to monitor genetics in a population has become easier and less expensive in the past decade.We have talked about the formula for big antlers multiple times in this blog over the years. ![]() Despite the many wonders of the white-tailed deer, antlers ALWAYS cast the longest shadow. ![]()
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