Guide

Look closerMammals

Shed deer antlers on the winter forest floor

December to March

White-tailed deer bucks drop their antlers in winter, and a lucky walker can find one on the ground. Look for tooth marks: mice, squirrels and porcupines chew shed antlers for minerals.

Why this time of year

Bucks drop their antlers through the winter, and a fallen one lies where it dropped until mice, squirrels and porcupines chew it away.

How to notice it

  1. Walk slowly along a field edge, a deer trail, or the edge of the woods and scan the ground for a curved brown stick shape.
  2. Check under shrubs and along stone walls near deer trails.
  3. If you find one, look at the thicker end without picking it up: that base is where it was attached to the skull. Look along it for gnaw marks left by mice, squirrels or porcupines.
  4. Take a photo and leave it where it lies unless you are sure the land allows taking it.

Try this with kids: Can you spot a curved brown stick on the ground, then, without picking it up, find the thick end where it was attached and any tooth marks?

Word to know: “Casting” is when a buck's antlers fall off after a hormone change weakens the join with the skull.

Safety

  • Do not pick up or remove antlers on state wildlife management areas or other public conservation land unless you have confirmed it is allowed; look and photograph.
  • If you do handle an antler where that is allowed, wash your hands afterward.
  • Parts of the deer hunting season fall in late autumn and early winter. Wear bright colors in the woods then and keep to marked trails.

Sources

  • extension.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Extension. Some males shed late December, most by early March; shedding follows breeding season as bone between pedicle and antler demineralizes; sheds are 'quickly consumed by rodents' for protein and calcium phosphate. Quotes via the fetch tool's summary, so medium confidence on exact wording. Midwestern, not New England. Refute pass confirmed exact wording via curl: 'some males shed their antlers in late December and most have shed them by early March'; 'quickly consumed by rodents'; 'Antler growth is regulated by hormones, which are controlled by photoperiod (day length).'
  • northernwoodlands.orgNorthern Woodlands (New England). Quote: 'White-tailed deer typically shed their antlers in December or January.' Hormonal changes weaken antler-pedicle connection; rodents gnaw sheds for calcium phosphate and protein; gnaw marks likely from small rodent or porcupine.
  • forestsociety.orgSociety for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Quote: 'In New Hampshire this typically happens in January, although it can vary.' And: 'Rodents like mice, chipmunks, and squirrels, as well as porcupines and raccoons, gnaw on shed antlers.' Gnawing supplies calcium and phosphorus. Refute pass also read: 'Decreased daylight lowers testosterone, which causes the connection between antler and skull to weaken and the antlers to fall off.'
  • deer.psu.eduPenn State Deer-Forest Study. Antler drop 'occurs any time from December through March'; timing tied to 'natural variation and general health'. Does not mention photoperiod; testosterone only as a hunter's theory.
  • law.cornell.eduMassachusetts regulation 321 CMR 3.01(1) via Cornell LII. WMA rule: 'No person shall remove, damage, or disturb vegetation, soil, or stones within any wildlife management area' except under permit. Antlers not mentioned, so the card claims neither allowed nor banned.

Checked against these sources on October 30, 2026.

In the guide for December, January, February, March

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