I decided to take this little guy at my ranch in South Texas. At the time I was sure he had a genetic abnormality and I did not want him passing his genes. The goofy antler is free floating on his skull. What do you guys think?
Hunting & Fishing Genetics or injury?
- Thread starter hornet shooter
- Start date
I decided to take this little guy at my ranch in South Texas. At the time I was sure he had a genetic abnormality and I did not want him passing his genes. The goofy antler is free floating on his skull. What do you guys think?
Id go with genetics but could be wrong either way its good management
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U didn't see u said it was free floating in his skull thats gotta be genetics . How long havr u been managing ur ranch ?
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Not sure anyone could answer your question correctly. I do know that things like that spread through a herd. Learned the hard way. Of not genetic, I think it can become genetic. I let a couple go and now deal with it every year. One antler, misplaced antlers, one big one small. Doubt I will get rid of it soon.
My guess would be that the antler was injured while in the velvet, and he had the antler broken off under the hide while fighting? It wouldn't have grown at all from the start not being attached to the skull base (if I'm understanding your description correctly). Sometimes abnormal antler growth will be caused from an injury to the opposite side of the body.
Nice work either way.
Nice work either way.
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Good kill, you did the right thing !
Skin out the skull and have it bleached. You will be able to see breaks and injuries that have healed.
This is good info.Abnormal antlers can be due to an injury on the animals body and it is allways to the opposite side.This said if its free floating id say it was damage during velvet myself
I have seen antlers grow out of nose, off shoulder, off rump etc. Many not attached to anything but skin. The cells that stimulate antler genesis will do so wherever they end up. They come off velvet antlers of other bucks. I can well believe that this antler simply was attached to skin. No bump or injury to the "normal" site.
I have been managing my ranch for 5 years now. The first thing I did when I ground checked him was look for a injury on his other side. He had no visible wounds or broken bones. It's crazy how that antler just flops around lol. I capped him out with the idea of having him shoulder mounted, but he is still in the freezer. I have not been able to shell out the $700 for that conversation piece yet.
