Ask The Biologist

Just Scraping the Surface

Just Scraping the Surface

By Bob Humphrey

Like most rut activities, scrape-making is fairly predictable.

QUESTION: Do bucks start making scrapes as soon as their antlers are hard?

ANSWER: Most scraping activity occurs in the fall and signals a sort of unofficial beginning to the rut as bucks paw the ground and deposit urine and other scents to signal they are ready, willing and able to breed.

This typically starts after velvet is shed, but how soon after can vary from days to weeks and probably depends on things like local population dynamics and the individual deer.

However, bucks do occasionally make scrapes even before velvet is shed, sometimes well before. I often see fresh scrapes in the spring, during turkey season. I suspect this may have something to do with day length being roughly the same as in the fall rutting period.

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