Those of you who raise Red Deer, and those of you who may happen to know....

What antler traits are good and what traits are undesirable when raising Red Deer?

I have some Stags and some Hinds. As I see the antlers develop, I wonder about which ones I might want removed from the gene pool.

Some traits are obvious, like mature deer with few points or an antler that does not crown on a 4 yr old etc.

Any recommendations on what to look for and at what age I should decide that they will be good or no good?

Thanks.

We had a good discussion about that (or at least somewhat related) not so long ago. Does any of what was said then help you further? ( Antler Development in Red Deer )
- mike

Thanks Mike,

That quickly answered a lot of my questions.

I have some 3 yr olds (3rd set of antlers) that had the double brow tine last year, and a 4 yr old that doesn't. He is now growing a very interesting tine off the back of his left antler (which is the antler with the double brow). I remembered someone saying the double brow tine was a favorable trait and the lack of the second tine was un-favorable. I was just curious how un-favorable a single brow tine was.

Now I see, it aint that big of a deal.

Thanks.