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Cherokee

Cherokee

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Aug 8, 2020
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Location
McMinn Co.
I guess I just never thought much about it before, but what accounts for the color variations on deer? I used to assume that it was time of year but this pic got me to thinking maybe not.
colors.webp
 
BSK said:
One deer has already molted to their winter coat while the other two have not.
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What about antler color BSK. I've only heard my whole life. That deer is dark and his antlers are dark cause he lived his life in the cedars. Or his antlers are very white looking he's lived in the hardwoods. None of that can be true I don't think. Think all that is just campfire BS. Or is there anything to say about antler color or body color due to where the deer or buck lives or born.
 
Sometimes their coats do vary, and can vary quite a bit, but that may just be the one shedding her summer coat. Not sure if genetics might be a factor or not, but I have hunted and killed deer from the same property for 30 years, and some just have darker coats than others. With the exception of scarring and facial discolorations, don't think age is a factor.
 
killingtime 41 said:
What about antler color BSK. I've only heard my whole life. That deer is dark and his antlers are dark cause he lived his life in the cedars. Or his antlers are very white looking he's lived in the hardwoods. None of that can be true I don't think. Think all that is just campfire BS. Or is there anything to say about antler color or body color due to where the deer or buck lives or born.
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The farm in NE where I grew up was 95% fields, 5% fence rows and creeks which were the only trees; antlers were always very light colored. Never saw any dark ones.
 
killingtime 41 said:
What about antler color BSK. I've only heard my whole life. That deer is dark and his antlers are dark cause he lived his life in the cedars. Or his antlers are very white looking he's lived in the hardwoods. None of that can be true I don't think. Think all that is just campfire BS. Or is there anything to say about antler color or body color due to where the deer or buck lives or born.
Click to expand...

I've always heard antler color was dictated by diet and sunlight, with ag country deer having white antlers and deep woods deer having dark. Having hunted both I can't really say I can believe it. I see bucks together all summer long and when they shed one will be dark & the other light. They both been eating the same food in the same environmental conditions so IMO the antler color has to be more biologically individual than environmental.
 
I have observed does that still have young fawns that are still heavily feeding on them tend to keep summer coat on longer for some reason. The doe that has molted to the winter coat was probably her fawn from last year and she was not bred. Still running as a family group though. I will pass summer coat does during early archery season for this reason. May not be anything to it other than nature takes place different in each animal. But from my visuals and trail cam pics, mature does that keep their summer coats longer tend to have young fawns with them.
 
Dark antlers are from them rubbing before the blood has dried up and the bone is still soft, the blood stains them, seems to be a trait that runs in area's and possibly a habit passed down, that might be something never figured out,
 
killingtime 41 said:
What about antler color BSK. I've only heard my whole life. That deer is dark and his antlers are dark cause he lived his life in the cedars. Or his antlers are very white looking he's lived in the hardwoods. None of that can be true I don't think. Think all that is just campfire BS. Or is there anything to say about antler color or body color due to where the deer or buck lives or born.
Click to expand...
Antler color is driven by when the buck sheds velvet and whether the velvet is fully dead or not. If the velvet is still a little alive, and bleeds when shedding, the rack will be dark. If the velvet is fully dead, and does not bleed when splitting, the rack will be light. In essence, the dark color on the rack is only a thin veneer of blood absorbed into the outer-most layer of antler bone.

Now this CAN be genetic. Some bucks always shed velvet before it is dead, producing a dark rack every year. Perhaps this is a genetic trait that can be inherited.
 

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