shedded bucks

[hornhuntinhaney]

LAST EDITED ON Apr-25-07 AT 09:44PM (MST)[p]one thing i have noticed over the years is that i find a lot of shedded bucks dead. and only a few of them have been lion kills. is it shedding there horns making them weak or something? just wondering what kills them cause i have found a lot of them.
-hhh

 

[rustsmit]

I thing I have noticed:
I grew up helping with winter feeding programs for the deer and I have seen what you are talking about. Many of the buck I saw that died after shedding their antlers were just worn down and sick, especially on hard winters. They just died after shedding. We started having bucks shed as early as Christmas time and through january. So they were shedding early to mid winter, and then wearing down during the cold months and dying of phenomia or other winter illness.

 

[groundhog]

Yep,
I have noticed the same thing. Most bucks and bulls that winter kill (without a bad injury or help from a predator)will die after shedding.
I have noticed that most will die after it seems that they are past the worst of winter. Even after things have "greened up" I find a lot fresh winter kills. I think they have simply slipped so far that they can't recover from a tough winter. just my two cents

 

[TwoLabs]

I am new to shed hunting but I was told that the time a deer sheds its horns is based on stress. If it is an extremely tough winter the animal will shed early. If this is true it makes sense that if a deer is sick then it will shed early also. Timing of the animal shedding my indicate the health.