antler (redirected from Velvet antler)

antler

single-tined or branched horny outgrowths from the frontal bones of male deer. Reindeer and caribou females also have horns. Antlers grow and are shed each year, becoming more complicated in structure as the buck ages. At the beginning of the season the horns are covered with velvet, the soft, hairy skin which produces the horn and is then shed to expose the horn which is itself shed the next spring.

---

antler amputation

a dehorning technique requiring considerable skill and experience to avoid losing the deer and to ensure regrowth of the antler.

antler farming

deer farming conducted for the sole purpose of annual harvesting of the antlers for quasi-pharmaceutical use.

velvet antler

the whole of the antler, including the velvet and the outgrowth of the frontal bone, before calcification.