Timing of Scrape Behavior
Filed under: Ask Grant, Deer Biology
Grant, For the first time since I have been in management of land and hunting I had two scrapes appear from September 1st to September 4th. Then a third scrape appeared on September 5th. They are all in the same general area of my land. Do you have any thoughts on scrapes appearing this early in the season? Allen
Allen,
Most bucks shed their velvet during early September. An increase in testosterone hormone is related to the velvet shedding process. The making and revisiting of scrapes also increases with the increase in testosterone. So, bucks making scrapes during early September is probably a great reflection of an increasing buck population due to your management activities!
Growing Deer together,
Grant
