small late born buck question

I have a buck fawn that was born July 30 of last summer. His mother died in October, but fortunately he was weaned. For some reason this little guy is one of the tamest deer I ever had (besides my bottlefeds) he comes up and eats less than 2 feet from me. Anyway I was watching him today and I noticed that he dosent even have bumps on his head where the antlers should be, which is shocking considering that all nine of the bigger guys are at least 1.5" out in velvet, some are getting close to splitting for brow tines already. for anyone with late born bucks, how long did it take for there antlers to start to grow, and do they ever get bigger than a small spike, the way mine looks it could easily be a month or more until i see growth, and I really dout he would be bigger that a small rack spike. Also I have been unable to make up my mind on where to put him, right now he is in with 6 pregnent does and the buck that bred them. I have a bachelor buck pen, there are six going on 2 yrs old and one going on 3 yrs old, but I am afriad they will torture this little guy if I put him in there. He is only half the size of any of them, should I wait until mid summer to move him with the bucks?

Mabey bein a little guy you could just leave him with the doe's this year!Are you going to take the 2010 fawns to bottle feed?If not just keep an eye on him around the fawns or if you take them to the bottle just leave him with the doe's!!

I had one that was born in late September and left him with his mother. He was a yearling last year and never did grow but a one inch spike. His body was very small. I'm sure our Montana winters were just to much for him to do well. He will be two this year and his body is still small. If he continues to stay far behind in his age class which I think he will he should taste good this fall. I did allow him in the buck pen when I moved all the bucks together in spring and he was not bothered.

We've had a few late born fawns as well. We think it shows in that first year as a yearling, but think they usually catch up in the coming years. That is why we feel you can't always judge what a buck will do as a yearling - it depends on when he was born. I'd give him another year - see what he does at 2. He might even surprise you yet this year - it is early yet.

Here is a buck off of Blue Mountain Whitetails that was born out of a doe fawn so he was in about the same situation as yours, he started really late because being born so late. BM SHARPSHOOTER 200"@1

well, unfortunately there is no chance he will get that big, i still havent even got a 2 year old to hit close 200" yet, lol. I will probably leave him in with the does as four season whitetails suggested, because I will probably bottlefeed the fawns.

When the does fawn just watch him and the buck that they don't try to play with the fawns. They will be courious and fawns will follow anything that walks by them. I've had that problem with yearling does in with fawning does. I also caught my buck trying to play with the newborn fawns when he was in with the does while they were fawning. He wasn't trying to hurt them just playing but he did knock them down. I got after him and didn't see him do it again but nights in the deer pens are long and it's hard to tell what goes on then. I now move my breeder in with my buck yearlings for the summer. He seems happier with that arrangement and I don't have to worry so much. I check on the fawns multiple times during the day, just to make sure everyone is eating and being taken care of like they should till it's time to pull them.



Sandy Malone

Pasture Prime Farm

Rush, N.Y.