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The fawns shed their coats of fine hair before cold weathercomes, thus losing their spots. A new coat is grown that con-sists of much coarser hair. These hairs are filled with a kindof pith which makes the coat more insulating. By the next fall(the deer will then be 18 months old), the males will developa button or spike, the first indication of antlers. By the follow-ing fall the antlers will have a Y. At 31/2 years of age, the buckwill probably be a six pointer. After this age, the number ofpoints and the size of the antlers will depend largely on theamount and quality of food the animal has plus other con-tributing factors. Bucks reach full maturity between the agesof six and seven years. Beyond the age of 10 or 11 years, therack declines and often becomes misshapen and unproportion-ally small. |
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