Hummel

Any one come across antler less stags ? (aka hummel ) I saw one 2 years in a row across a big gully he was quite large and roaring well but I had no chance for a shot , I went out today & saw 3 of the bastards , theres a slight chance I saw the same one twice but I don't think so , this one was unlucky enough to poke his head out of the Manuka on my way back to the truck , bloody typical though go stag hunting and I cant find any with antlers...
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@Boaraxa I must say I have never seen anything like that but then we North Island stock aint imbred like the South Island stock, be it animals or humans hahahhaha

what "bits" did it have????
uncle shot a BIG hummel that had one of everything..hemofradite think its called.... maybe what you shot is a case of damaged peticles??? they tell me outrigger hot wires on fences are dynamite on growing velvet buds...

Any damage to its nuts?

come to think of it the "spiker" I got last weekend was like that....a fallow buck but bigger in body than a young fella...didnt think much of it at the time but spikes should be spikes..not just lumps.

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Originally Posted by Boaraxa

bloody typical though go stag hunting and I cant find any with antlers...
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and when you got home your first beer was flat?

Yeh I shot one that looked the same as yours years back in the local forest, it was only a young animal and only had small round knobs, presume it was a hummel.

Heard somewhere severe malnutrition in their first year when they develop pedicles can cause this too. Not sure if its true

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

what "bits" did it have????
uncle shot a BIG hummel that had one of everything..hemofradite think its called.... maybe what you shot is a case of damaged peticles??? they tell me outrigger hot wires on fences are dynamite on growing velvet buds...

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Yea he was no “he she” had all the correct bits I gave his ballers a wee check , seemed to be ok in that department ! & the first 1 I saw was attacking a spiker so by the looks of it they are looking for hinds so mite have to go out of my way to tidy them up which kinda sux this time of year , but outside of the roar they just disappear.

[QUOTE=Stocky;814492]Heard somewhere severe malnutrition in their first year when they develop pedicles can cause this too. Not sure if its true

Maybe someone shot there moma,s ! I read that somehere to but I think it’s a little coincidental to see a mature stag/Hummel 2 roars ago & now finding more of them around that 1-2 year old age bracket.

[QUOTE=Boaraxa;814505]

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Originally Posted by Stocky

Heard somewhere severe malnutrition in their first year when they develop pedicles can cause this too. Not sure if its true

but I think it’s a little coincidental to see a mature stag/Hummel 2 roars ago & now finding more of them around that 1-2 year old age bracket.

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so ....your saying carcinagenics in the food/water supply ?how many fingers did it have on its left rear hoof

I am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong but I dont think a true "hummel" can breed as the antler growth stops when testosterone production stops?

I thought hummels had no bumbs at all? Those look damaged

I’m saying 1080 & forest & bird are responsible for creating a muntant stag & now it’s breeding.

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Originally Posted by Gibo

I thought hummels had no bumbs at all? Those look damaged

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Seemly not , I did a quick google search & this is classified as a Hummel

You are hunting on the wrong side of the deerfence! :D

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Originally Posted by Cigar

You are hunting on the wrong side of the deerfence! :D

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I always hunt on the rite side going up & the rite side coming down ...

[QUOTE=Boaraxa;814505]

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Originally Posted by Stocky

Heard somewhere severe malnutrition in their first year when they develop pedicles can cause this too. Not sure if its true

Maybe someone shot there moma,s ! I read that somehere to but I think it’s a little coincidental to see a mature stag/Hummel 2 roars ago & now finding more of them around that 1-2 year old age bracket.

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He hasn't formed a proper coronet, which he would do if those bumps were stunted antlers. A farm stag that damages it's nuts it will keep on growing heads of velvet but each head gets smaller. So what we see in the photos isn't what we would expect to see with damaged nuts. Hummel Dummel ??

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Originally Posted by Stocky

Heard somewhere severe malnutrition in their first year when they develop pedicles can cause this too. Not sure if its true

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This is similar to what I have been told. If you have a male fawn that loses its mum (Hind) and is weaned too early, its first year it winds up struggling and more likely malnourished. If it survives the season to become a yearling stag and the pedicle has not formed properly then it will never develop antlers. Whether this propensity is hereditary or not I do not know, but if it is not pumping all the seasons feed into antler growth, do they grow more body / meat?

I shot one in 1981 at Arthur's Pass at a time when deer numbers were very low.

Plenty down here mate. Waikaia, Catlins, Western Southland its quite common. Too much inbreeding probably.

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Originally Posted by JoshC

Plenty down here mate. Waikaia, Catlins, Western Southland its quite common. Too much inbreeding probably.

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That the deer or the hunters....

We shot one coming into a roar in the back valley Te Anau.
Have heard of the odd whitetail to but never seen one myself.

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Originally Posted by timattalon

This is similar to what I have been told. If you have a male fawn that loses its mum (Hind) and is weaned too early, its first year it winds up struggling and more likely malnourished. If it survives the season to become a yearling stag and the pedicle has not formed properly then it will never develop antlers. Whether this propensity is hereditary or not I do not know, but if it is not pumping all the seasons feed into antler growth, do they grow more body / meat?

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It will still grow antlers but will never achieve / reach it's genetic potential. Pedicle development is initiated at around 90 days from birth and nutritional stress at this time will affect antler size for the rest of the animals life BUT it wont prevent it from growing antlers. The fact that the stag in the photo has no coronet shows that the little stubs he has are not true antlers. If they were antlers the coronet would have hardened off by now. Common to see fallow spikers with tiny little spikes 50mm long coming out of a little coronet.

We see about 7 or 8 a year try to shoot them out prob I have is its a bit of a waste this time of year but left they seem to vanish mostly it is genetic occasionally it is petical damage to

I saw one with a couple of hinds two or three years ago, lucky it didnt get a its beans but was too slow because i thought at first was looking at a huge hind :thumbsup:

a mate of mine shot a fallow hummel in northern southland last year, he said it was nearly the size of a red stag.

I shot one locally a few years back. It was the best "eater" we've ever had... he was big and fat, weighing in at about 150kg. Took two of us to load it on the back of the flatdeck.

Enjoy those backsteaks!!