Should a person CUT ANTLERS or NOT

Simonson1060831453299720



I am curious how many farmers cut antlers and how many dont?   I have had a few broken skulls and even one that tore the antler out of its head!  I just want to know what others are doing!  THANKS IN ADVANCE<  JIM




100% get cut here. I use 3 mature breeders for the does i want live bred in 3 different pens. They are cut. I keep my Ai does up front in the closer to the house pens and all the rest that have not been sold are cut and in a bigger pen behind the house. The bucks all together have lived together all year so they know who the boss of the pen in and they never get into all out fights.  I leave the 3 breeders in with the does until Feb or so and they have lost most of their breeding urges and i introduce them back into the buck group 1 at a time. Never had a lose from stabbing or have i ever had broken heads by fighting with buttons.  So Far!

I used to cut Jim. Then after having deer with skull and or pedical damage so often I quit cutting. Better results for me.

We do not cut antlers here. We run age groups separate til 2 years old and then all bucks that are not breeders spend the rest of their careers in the hunt preserve. We typically have 2-1/2 to 5-1/2 yr olds in the preserve and rarely lose a buck to fighting. I think we have lost 3 in the last 5 years. With a 1:1 buck to doe ratio in the preserve our bucks do kill an ocassional doe , maybe 5 or 6 each year during breeding. If the doe beds and won't get up the bucks get awful rough some times,

Simonson1060991453385456



Im really having problems with my yearlings   I have had 3 yearlings break and or pull one side out of their head!  I want to stop this problem!  




Cut or bigger pens!

I have smaller pens. Bucks in them by age group. I cut!! Leave an inch on their head. Buddy down the road does not cut....lost a beautiful 200"+ yearling plus 3 other bucks this year.

I have a small herd and its risk/reward in my view.....why risk not cutting and losing 2 deer tangled up? Or one gets gored? Cost of knocking down and having no worries beats worrying about fighting or one aggressive buck hurting others. Just my 2 cents.

We started cutting everyone two years ago in the chute and its not near as bad as you would think. I'd advise to do it as soon as they strip velvet off. It is easier to handle them at that time. The first time we didn't have everything ready until mid October and they were a hand full by then.

Cut the yearlings for sure. They're dumb and don't respect their head gear. I cut everything for two reasons. Safety for all involved- bucks, does, wife, and kids. Second- every year there's some asshat that kills someone's breeder cause they left antlers on and it's too tempting.