Looking for help with antler issue

With fawning season underway here at my farm I have been loving life, this is no doubt the best time of the year. I am loving deer farming right now, but unfortunately i was hit with some of the bad of raising deer. This morning I was doing a pen check on the yearlings and I seen one of my tame bucks was missing. I took a walk and found him, i immediately found him laying, with both ears pinned back like he was in a bit of pain. I then noticed that he got up to walk and when he did his one antler moved a little with each step. His anlter appears to be broken right at the base but there is no blood on either anlter, its just snapped right at the base and is hanging about an inch closer his ear than it was before the injury. it moves just a little each step. he only has 3 inched outta his head. So here is the question i have:

Should I let this go and just hit him with Banamine for the obvious pain or discomfort he is feeling? Is there any chance at all the antler will fuse back to the pedicle??

Or should I dart, remove the antler and patch him up.

I had this happen one other time in the fall, a buck snapped his antler at the skullplate while still in velvet, his whole antler was dangleing in his face, i darted and removed the anlter immediately. He was good for a while, but after a 2 months of battleing to get healthy the bucks health took a turn for the worse and he passed, from a secondary infection, went from fine one day, sick the next, then all the sudden gone.it happened so fast.

Thanks so much, I have never worked with antler with in peak bloodflow season, I imagine this is going to be bloody, I will go get some blood stop from TSC tomorrow, and the pine tar. I'll evaluate him better in the morining, but it sound as if cutting the antler ma be best. I feel bad i didnt do anything about it today, but I've had 6 fawns in the last 24 hours and i pulled some from yesterday that are sold to be started on the bottle, the little ones took all my free time tonight.

All seemed to go well tonight, took the advice of those that chimed in, thanks guys.



His skullcap was busted, so i removed the antler to take the weight off his head. I put a small rubberband between the antlers to act as a sort of brace til the pedicle re-attaches to the skull. Jonny and mark, i did rubberband his base about 10 minutes before i cut, it worked well, there was very little blood. I loved the bloodstop too, it did it job., Lastly I coated him with some alum bandage, its pretty nice stuff. As much as i tried to do what i could, I know he's in the Lords hands, I pray he gets better, and grows a good rack in a couple years. Thanks guys! it would be alot harder to be a deer farmer without these forums. and just to show how little he bled, here is a pic, there was probably only to tablespoons of bloodloss, if that.

ER, that is what this buck looked like before i cut him, and a was afraid his pedicle would never reset with the constant little motions. Your buck seems to be in the same boat judgeing by your photos, but if he is not showing pain and dosen't get swelling maybe you could get away without acting on it. i decided on my cutting ulimately becase my buck showed signs of pain, and this moring began to swell. It helps that Todd and Mark and others posted there suggestions, it gave me some confidence i was doing the right thing. Good luck with him, whatever route you go.

update photo of this buck, as of this morning. his antler is exactly to the point in growth that it was before i cut it.

here he is all finished. should be good to go next year.