Bottle feeding bucks

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I'm wondering if bottle feeding buck fawns effects their antler growth as yearling or later in life?




I believe to a point it does. I think any animal, be it cow or deer does better on the mom. Mother nature takes better care of her own. Man does a good job but nothing like the mom. We have had bottle feds at 180,s as yearlings and 280,s as 3 year olds just as the mom raised!

I have bottle fed bucks and they are growing better than being on the mother. I always say a calmer buck is always a bigger buck.

The calmer the better and usually the ones at the feeder the most are my best bucks. However they are more dangerous being bottle fed. They have no feer of man and have to be careful around them. I don't bottle bucks unless I have to afraid of them hurting someone.

I agree with you guys, moms got to be the best, but at the same time I have seen my bottlefeds outgrow my non bottlefeds in body and antlers. Up until last year I never had much trouble with bottlefed bucks being aggressive, but my yearling bottle buck needed sawed immediately last fall, he would HAVE KILLED me or someone in my family. He was and still is dangerous. First time in 7 years of raising deer that I had to cut a bucks antlers. I know everyone says don't put a cut buck in with racked bucks, but I put this cut yearling buck in with my two year olds that had headgear. He still fought and pounded on the antlered bucks. He's one tough beast. To tough for his own good, I might have to butcher him. I don't want him to go to a preserve or another farm and have him hurt someone.

I know of one that had his client harvest a battle fed buck half hour after dark so they could get out. He no longer buys bottle fed bucks. Some don't care some do.