Deer Biology & Genetics

Category: deer-behavior
Topic keys: deer-biology, fawns, antler-growth, antler-genetics, genetics, deer-genetics

Current guidance

As of 2026-06-21, the most recent claim on this subject.

On genetics, Don maintains a buck’s genes are fixed from fawn to maturity and set an antler ceiling that nutrition can help reach but never exceed. He explains antler growth is triggered by shrinking or lengthening daylight through the pituitary gland, though he also credits hot, humid summer weather with driving the actual growth. His culling approach calls for removing roughly 75% of three-year-old bucks per age class so fewer competitors let top bucks stay and grow. From an earlier twin-fawn mineral trial, he now argues mineral supplementation could raise a mature buck’s antler score by roughly 10-15%, a view Bronson Strickland reportedly shared for poor-soil ground. He adds fawns need dirt access for gut microbes.

How the guidance evolved (most recent 120 of 149)

• 2021-07-19 Don theorizes that a buck’s velvet antlers act like a radiator in summer heat, with increased blood flow both cooling the deer and delivering nutrients. 16:29 — Episode #74 Don denied access to hunt and more velvet talk (how does weather affect growth?)
• 2021-08-09 Don argues culling can’t change a property’s genetics, but it does influence which bucks survive to older age classes. 5:25 — Episode #77 - Would you shoot this buck? Still looking for a shooter.
• 2021-08-16 Don asserts his management-buck approach has nothing to do with changing the genetics of the wild herd. 3:34 — Episode #78 - People ask questions but do not like the answers!
• 2021-08-30 Don forecast a down year for big bucks, having seen fewer bucks over 170 inches this summer than in about six or seven years. 19:53 — Episode #80 - Don’s 2021 Buck Forecast
• 2021-12-13 Don stated that at least 60% of a buck’s antler genetics comes from the doe rather than the buck. 28:57 — Episode #95 - Live from Guthrie, KY
• 2022-03-07 Don says fetal programming starts with does, and getting does on a good nutrition program before they are bred is key to antler expression in their fawns. 15:33 — EPISODE #107 - Don Knows How To Fire Up Southern Folks!
• 2022-03-27 Terry relayed Dr. Bronson Strickland’s finding that a very high percentage of deer twins born to the same doe in the same year actually have different fathers. 37:52 — Episode #110 - Double Episode live from Master Class - Al Foster gives great advise
• 2022-06-12 Terry found a fawn tucked tight in his own backyard last night, easy enough to nearly step on. 55:07 — Chasing Giants Episode 121 - Residual Herbicide Discussion & Don is Buying a Farm
• 2022-06-12 Don says he has not yet seen a single fawn this year despite being out and about every day. 55:20 — Chasing Giants Episode 121 - Residual Herbicide Discussion & Don is Buying a Farm
• 2022-07-17 Terry compares rare world-class bucks to rare genetic outliers among people, like Shaquille O’Neal, arguing such extremes are uncommon in both. 26:47 — Episode #126 - Should we have deer hunting competitions?
• 2022-09-11 Don noted that young bucks with several small extra points, like one he photographed, can become world-class giants if they survive to five or six years old. 11:39 — Episode #134 - Bobby Worthington talks Buck Forecast Part 3
• 2022-09-11 Bobby explained that the biggest antler-growth stress period for his deer is June through early August, when rain typically stops and vegetation dries up. 36:38 — Episode #134 - Bobby Worthington talks Buck Forecast Part 3
• 2022-09-11 Bobby said this year’s abundant rain in Tennessee produced excellent antler growth, with trail cameras showing 10-12 inch tines on bucks reaching full potential. 38:06 — Episode #134 - Bobby Worthington talks Buck Forecast Part 3
• 2022-09-11 Bobby cautioned that even in a strong year, an individual target buck’s rack may be smaller than expected due to factors that happen during the deer’s life. 40:59 — Episode #134 - Bobby Worthington talks Buck Forecast Part 3
• 2022-09-26 Don recalls a captive buck fawn born with tiny forked antlers before its first birthday that grew to score in the 170s by age three. 72:01 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
• 2022-10-10 Don theorized buck mortality is higher than realized from late February through about April 1, in the late-winter to early-spring period. 55:21 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
• 2022-10-31 Terry clarifies that culling smooth eight-pointers targets the elite right side of the bell curve for world-class deer, not the average 150-inch target buck most hunters pursue. 42:44 — Chasing Giants Podcast #141 - Scrapes are hot… So is the weather!
• 2022-11-27 Don believes that if left to nature, culling removes the biggest-antlered but smaller-bodied deer, which is part of why he actively culls certain bucks himself. 5:16 — Chasing Giants Podcast #145 - Bully Bucks and Big Rubs!
• 2022-11-27 Don’s culling decisions are based entirely on antler size, not on a buck’s personality or aggressiveness. 81:01 — Chasing Giants Podcast #145 - Bully Bucks and Big Rubs!
• 2022-12-11 Terry said Dr. Strickland’s ‘glass ceiling’ concept means nutrition can’t change a deer’s genetics but can help it reach its full genetic potential. 54:17 — Episode #147 - Winter Buck Inventory… More Important than Summer?
• 2023-01-22 Terry says the difference-makers are restricting who can hunt, having great habitat and genetics, and managing the herd instead of exploiting it. 5:20 — Episode #153 - What Should Buck Doe Ratio Be?
• 2023-02-12 Don recalls Mark Drury saying that after an EHD outbreak wipes out a deer herd, the rebound often produces exceptionally giant bucks, which is exactly what happened on his farm. 56:25 — Episode #156 - Looking for a Buck Bed…
• 2023-03-19 Terry recommended buying Dr. Strickland’s book on Amazon, which covers breaking through the antler ‘glass ceiling’ through management. 6:41 — Episode #161 - Live from Last Master Class - Inside QuietKat E-Bike
• 2023-03-19 Dr. Strickland’s book explains that fetal programming sets the genetic ceiling for how big a buck’s antlers can ever get. 6:57 — Episode #161 - Live from Last Master Class - Inside QuietKat E-Bike
• 2023-03-19 Terry observed that some breeders are now producing remarkably large-antlered yearling bucks in their first year. 68:01 — Episode #161 - Live from Last Master Class - Inside QuietKat E-Bike
• 2023-04-02 Don explains DNA Solutions told him a relatedness test between two random deer antlers, without reference samples, is not a test they can perform. 56:31 — Episode #163 - The Hype of Chestnut Trees…
• 2023-06-25 Terry notes yearling does can get bred later in the season, resulting in fawns being born later than typical. 23:48 — Episode 175 - June Food Plot Update
• 2023-06-25 Terry plans to start bush hogging around July 4th before putting out trail cameras, to avoid mowing fawns and prevent foxtail from triggering false camera photos. 24:01 — Episode 175 - June Food Plot Update
• 2023-07-03 Don referenced a study showing the 2012 drought significantly reduced antler growth and body weights in bucks compared to other years. 62:14 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don believes his current target buck is related to a buck he harvested in 2019. 36:19 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don recalled a six-year-old buck he once shot that always had short G2 tines but excellent G3 tines. 36:29 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-03 Don noted Babe currently shows that same short-G2, strong-G3 antler pattern as a buck he shot years earlier. 36:36 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• 2023-07-24 Terry recommends hunters put special three- and four-year-old bucks on a strictly protected list rather than treating them as shooters. 33:43 — Episode #179 - Is Antler Growth Behind This Year?
• 2023-07-24 Don says it’s fairly easy to recognize which three-year-old bucks have a lot of antler-growth potential. 35:06 — Episode #179 - Is Antler Growth Behind This Year?
• 2023-09-10 Don noticed many older bucks lost antler inches this year and attributes it to the May-June drought. 28:26 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• 2023-09-17 Terry said many listeners contacted the show saying Don’s assessment of poor antler growth and age structure matched their own farms’ observations. 8:29 — Episode #187 - Do Trail Camera’s Spook Mature Bucks?
• 2023-09-17 Don said no one disagreed with his antler-growth assessment, calling it accurate based on his own observation. 8:41 — Episode #187 - Do Trail Camera’s Spook Mature Bucks?
• 2023-10-29 Terry and Don believe the buck scored smaller this year than last due to a regional drought that suppressed antler growth in mature bucks. 21:55 — Episode #193 - Babe is Down!
• 2023-11-05 Don argues that poor deer management is reflected in surviving genetics, describing it as high-grading each age class of bucks. 14:05 — Episode #194 - 2nd Target Buck Harvested by Special Guest
• 2023-11-12 Terry notes that Babe’s antler score actually declined between age five and six, unlike most bucks that add inches. 21:15 — Episode #195 - Wes Delks Shoots a Giant and Crossbow Controversy
• 2024-04-07 Terry says if the current year keeps shaping up well it could be an enormous antler year, provided the age structure is there. 32:13 — Episode #215 - Could 2024 be a fantastic antler growing season?
• 2024-05-19 Don cautions that not every captive deer is a 300-inch giant — some are only 150 inches — a factor as significant as CWD resistance when releasing captive-bred deer. 41:53 — Episode #221 - Crop Rotations for Food Plotters and Deer Water Holes
• 2024-05-26 Don notes some yearling bucks already have eight to ten inches of antler growth in velvet before June, indicating a strong growing season. 13:53 — Episode #223 - Why are Young Bucks Being Hit on the Roads This Time of Year?
• 2024-06-02 Don recalls that when he kept captive deer, newborn fawns could be walked up to and picked up by hand during their first week of life because they wouldn’t run. 8:38 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-02 Don notes that by two weeks old, fawns that could once be picked up by hand become as hard to catch as a rabbit. 8:50 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-02 Don recalls accidentally hitting two fawns one year while baling alfalfa, calling it a terrible feeling. 10:30 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-02 Don recommends delaying hay mowing as long as possible to protect fawns, while acknowledging there’s no real substitute for delay if farming is your livelihood. 10:59 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-02 Don explains does deliberately avoid bedding near their fawns, and twin fawns are typically bedded 100 yards or more apart to improve survival odds if a predator finds one. 12:29 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-02 Don explains his newly planted plots aren’t meant to grow or attract deer this year, but to nourish deer through winter so they grow giant antlers by summer 2025. 27:09 — Episode 224 - Saving Fawns and Farming for Nutrients: Insights from Don Higgins
• 2024-06-09 Don observed that deer emerged from a mild winter into an early spring with timely rains ever since, promoting strong plant growth. 3:09 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Captive deer breeders reportedly favored hot, shade-free days for growing antlers on their bucks. 3:37 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Don predicted young bucks could see a huge antler jump this year but might regress next year without similarly ideal growing conditions. 4:54 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Terry recalled the winter of 2022-23 as the worst antler growing season he could remember, with nearly every buck they tracked declining. 5:54 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Terry predicted many exceptional 3-year-old bucks in the 145-150 inch range will get shot this year because of accelerated growth. 9:09 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Don noted an out-of-state client’s buck was already starting its G4 points in the first week of June, unusually advanced growth. 12:18 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Don estimated antler growth this year is running about three weeks ahead of the normal cycle. 12:34 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Don said this antler growing season is unlike anything he’s ever seen set up before. 13:28 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Terry said this time of year is the most pivotal period for mineral application for both antler growth and doe lactation. 19:39 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-09 Terry recommended having mineral out since January or February since deer consumption peaks right now. 20:24 — Episode 225 - Big Antlers this Spring Mean Big Decisions this Fall!
• 2024-06-23 Don explains that as days shorten after the solstice, bucks gradually receive the signal to end antler growth, harden antlers, and shed velvet. 20:43 — Episode #227 - Science Behind Summer Solstice and Whitetail
• 2024-06-23 Don states there is no second rut in whitetails, despite a common misconception among hunters. 23:40 — Episode #227 - Science Behind Summer Solstice and Whitetail
• 2024-06-30 Don has been getting trail camera photos showing some bucks with antler growth well ahead of normal and others tracking with the expected season timeline. 1:43 — Episode 228 - Is Iowa Really the Best State?
• 2024-07-21 Don reported an unusually high number of fawns this year, both on his trail cameras and around his house. 10:01 — Episode #231 - Timing is Key: When to Plant Fall Plots
• 2024-08-25 Terry states antler growth this year was better than it has been in the past few years. 6:57 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Don says every buck he tracked added antler inches this year regardless of age, unlike last year when mature bucks stayed the same or lost inches. 7:12 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Don says comparing two very different growing seasons back to back proved weather is a real factor in antler growth. 7:31 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-08-25 Don says the vast majority of bucks added inches this year thanks to a fantastic growing season unlikely to repeat soon. 8:03 — Episode #236 - Antler Genetics Follow Mother or Father?
• 2024-09-08 Don said that unlike last year, when older bucks he tracked stayed the same or lost inches, every buck he watched from the previous season added inches this year. 16:38 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
• 2024-09-08 Terry warned that a catastrophic winter combined with this fall’s food shortage could make next year one of the worst antler-growing seasons. 45:57 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
• 2024-09-08 Don said managers need to recognize that a poor antler-growing season next year could cause mature bucks to actually lose inches compared to this year. 46:37 — Episode 238 - 2024 Buck Forecast - MORE GIANTS SHOT THIS YEAR
• 2024-09-16 Don explained that deer surviving EHD develop resistance for life and pass some of that resistance on to their fawns. 11:08 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
• 2024-09-16 Don shared he’s revised his view on culling, now believing that in some situations, aggressively culling lower-end bucks can meaningfully influence a herd’s genetics. 29:54 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
• 2024-09-29 Terry has only gotten trail-camera pictures of fawns over the last three weeks, with no bucks or mature does showing up. 4:34 — Podcast #241 - Don’s Target Buck Revealed - Non-Typical Giant!
• 2024-10-06 Terry observed that passing on a mature 150-160 inch three-year-old buck can give a hunter a chance at a 190 inch deer in a later season. 7:52 — Episode #242 - Stop Hunting October Mornings
• 2024-10-27 Don states doe fawns typically enter estrus around 80 pounds body weight, and based on his experience most bred doe fawns conceive in January. 7:59 — Episode #245 - Halloween Hunting Should Be Great! Weather and Hunting Forecast from Don Higgins
• 2024-11-17 Don states nutrition determines how close a buck gets to its genetic antler ceiling but can never push it past that ceiling. 38:06 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
• 2024-11-24 Terry said this was probably the best growing season for antler development that he could remember. 43:23 — Episode #249 - Another Big Archery Buck! Terry Peer and Don Higgins Discuss
• 2024-12-22 Don argues Oklahoma’s program releasing deer carrying a CWD-resistant gene shows the outside-the-box thinking needed to combat the disease. 46:36 — Episode #253 - Do Not Overcomplicate Habitat Projects!
• 2025-01-26 Terry shot a four-year-old buck this year that scored 167 inches, having added almost 40 inches of antler growth from age three to four. 29:39 — Episode #258 - Live Podcast from Mt. Hope Ohio
• 2025-03-10 Don says his culling-bucks seminar will detail changes made on his own property and will make a statement that goes against mainstream hunting-industry and biologist views on genetics. 2:31 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
• 2025-03-10 Don relays Doctor Crowell’s theory that many giant 250-inch-plus bucks resulted from accidental line breeding occurring naturally in the wild. 26:01 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
• 2025-04-20 Don states that captive deer today commonly produce 200-inch yearlings. 16:30 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don asserts every wild buck that ever scored over 170 inches did so because of its genetics. 16:04 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don says two captive bucks he examined, raised illegally from wild fawns, scored in the 180-190 range on nothing but wild genetics. 19:02 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don says seeing those two poorly-fed captive bucks grow giant racks proved to him a deer can produce a giant rack without proper nutrition. 20:53 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don insists it never happens without genetics, no matter how much nutrition or age a buck is given. 21:40 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Jay Gueing pointed out that giant bucks show their true potential by three and a half years old; average deer at that age tend to stay average. 23:56 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don says Mel and Smokey are two perfect examples showing that without the right genes, age and nutrition don’t matter. 27:56 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don says he has never seen a single buck reach giant antler status without having the genetics for it. 30:09 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Don compares it to a person with the genetic ability to reach seven feet tall, where good nutrition and age simply help realize that potential. 30:19 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-20 Terry argues that if genetics didn’t matter, horse breeders wouldn’t pay huge sums for artificial insemination from a specific bloodline like they do for the Kentucky Derby. 31:18 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• 2025-04-27 Don states the captive deer industry has proven a certain gene exists that makes some whitetails resistant to CWD. 31:43 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
• 2025-04-27 Aaron suggests that since whitetails have survived four million years, agencies should stop trying to overmanage CWD like playing God. 40:40 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
• 2025-05-04 Don worries the many cold, damp spring days could slightly hurt antler growth, though he’d feel better if the moisture had come with temperatures about 10 degrees warmer. 2:10 — Episode #271 - Cool Wet Spring Concerns for Antler Growth and Nutrition
• 2025-05-25 Terry outlines that the episode will cover fawns, mowing clover, and hay since fawns are currently dropping. 1:23 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
• 2025-05-25 Don recalls last year as likely the best antler-growing season of his life, in stark contrast to the previous year, one of the poorest. 4:54 — #274 - Soil Health: The Foundation of Successful Food Plotting
• 2025-06-22 Terry wishes state DNRs would collect age-structure data so hunters could statistically analyze whether old bucks really get bigger. 65:24 — Episode #278 - Are Deer Getting Smaller?
• 2025-07-13 Don insists deer genetics within a neighborhood can be intentionally changed through herd management, citing his own farm as living proof against the conventional wisdom. 60:31 — Episode #281 - How Don Tracks Giant Bucks Years in Advance
• 2025-07-13 Don says he will explain in detail next week how he manages a herd to shift its genetics. 60:48 — Episode #281 - How Don Tracks Giant Bucks Years in Advance
• 2025-08-17 Don explained a deer’s pituitary gland, located near its eye, measures shrinking daylight and triggers antler hardening and velvet shedding. 26:43 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-08-17 Don explained a buck’s genetics are identical as a fawn and as a mature buck, meaning genes don’t change with age. 38:49 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-08-17 Don believes deer that survived his farm’s 2012 EHD outbreak carried stronger genes, which he credits for his bucks getting noticeably bigger afterward. 39:39 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-08-17 Don noted Mark Drury has also observed that bucks tend to get bigger after a deer herd bounces back from an EHD outbreak. 40:09 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• 2025-08-24 Terry says that during his heaviest EHD outbreaks, fawns were the only deer that survived. 1:29 — #287 “Predators, Food Plots & Cracker Barrel Woke?
• 2025-08-31 Don recalled that the buck he shot in 2023, named Babe, was six years old but had lost about five inches from the prior year due to a poor growing season. 15:54 — #288 2025 Buck Forecast: EHD Devastation, Trail Cam Insights & Hard Truths About Trophy Bucks
• 2025-09-14 Don explained that antler growth in deer, like soybean maturity, is triggered by daylight length, with increasing spring daylight starting a buck’s antler growth cycle. 17:02 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-09-14 An audience member pointed out it took Don thirteen years between his first 200-inch buck and killing Smokey, undermining haters’ claims he used released captive deer. 77:32 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• 2025-10-12 Don recalled a theory from Doctor James Crow, known as Doctor Deer, that some giant wild bucks result from inbreeding or line breeding. 48:34 — #294 From Old School to High Tech: Don Higgins Reflects on 40 Years in the Deer Woods
• 2025-10-19 Don credited wildlife scientist Bronson Strickland’s book for validating the culling-based deer management approach he had already begun. 12:46 — The Magic of Late October | Cold Fronts, Big Bucks & Character in the Woods | Chasing Giants #295
• 2025-10-19 Don said if he could go back to age 18 he would have studied to become a geneticist, fascinated by how much information is in a single cell. 13:25 — The Magic of Late October | Cold Fronts, Big Bucks & Character in the Woods | Chasing Giants #295
• 2025-10-26 Joe describes the exorbitant patience required to avoid shooting the buck at three or four years old. 18:25 — “200-Inch Nebraska Giant: Joe Chambers’ Incredible Buck Story | Chasing Giants Ep. 296”
• 2025-11-23 Terry notes researcher Strickland confirmed this doe/fawn dispersal pattern through Mississippi State Deer Lab collar research. 52:37 — EPISODE 300! Don Changes His Mind on the Rut + Drone Debate Heats Up!
• 2026-02-22 Don explains he aims to remove about 75% of three-year-old bucks in each age class, since fewer competitors makes the best bucks more likely to stay and grow. 30:28 — Chasing Giants LIVE at the Midwest Sportsmen’s Classic | Shipshewana, IN | Presented by FAE
• 2026-05-24 Don observed on trail camera that a younger buck was already forking its G3 tines while an older buck with large bases had barely started brow tines. 21:26 — Why Mature Bucks Go Nocturnal | Chasing Giants Podcast 326
• 2026-06-07 Don said hot, humid summer weather is what drives plant growth, including buck antler development. 4:01 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• 2026-06-14 Don explains that captive fawns denied access to dirt developed digestive issues, which is why he learned fawns need dirt for gut microbes. 26:47 — #329 | Why Don Higgins Gets More Excited About July Than Opening Day
• 2026-06-21 Don relayed Bronson Strickland’s analogy that a doe acts like a switchboard, signaling her fawn what kind of nutritional environment it will be born into. 40:49 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
• 2026-06-21 Don recalled that when he had captive deer, he once acquired seven sets of twin buck fawns to run a mineral-supplementation antler growth experiment. 45:01 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
• 2026-06-21 Don concluded from his captive deer trial that mineral supplementation could boost a mature buck’s antler score by roughly 10-15%, not just 10-15 inches. 46:33 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers
• 2026-06-21 Don said Bronson Strickland agreed that mineral supplementation, especially in poor-soil areas, could meaningfully increase antler growth. 47:27 — #330 - Can Supplemental Feeding Add 15”+ to a Buck? Don Higgins Answers

Contradictions & open questions

Places where the show’s advice on this subject appears to disagree with itself, either between speakers or over time. Both claims are shown as they were said, with dates. Nothing here is resolved — which one applies is the reader’s call, and the owners’.

• Guidance may have changed: Whether culling can change a property’s genetics: originally said it cannot, later said aggressive culling of lower-end bucks can meaningfully influence herd genetics.
  • 2021-08-09 Don argues culling can’t change a property’s genetics, but it does influence which bucks survive to older age classes. 5:25 — Episode #77 - Would you shoot this buck? Still looking for a shooter.
  • 2024-09-16 Don shared he’s revised his view on culling, now believing that in some situations, aggressively culling lower-end bucks can meaningfully influence a herd’s genetics. 29:54 — Episode #239 - EHD Is Closing in on Don’s Farm!
• Guidance may have changed: Whether management affects the wild herd’s genetics: one claim says the management-buck approach has nothing to do with it, the other says genetics can be intentionally changed through herd management.
  • 2021-08-16 Don asserts his management-buck approach has nothing to do with changing the genetics of the wild herd. 3:34 — Episode #78 - People ask questions but do not like the answers!
  • 2025-07-13 Don insists deer genetics within a neighborhood can be intentionally changed through herd management, citing his own farm as living proof against the conventional wisdom. 60:31 — Episode #281 - How Don Tracks Giant Bucks Years in Advance

Questions on this topic (60 of 101)

• Terry asked Don to script the ideal weather for the next six months to maximize antler growth on his property. 24:22 — When Managing Deer Means Saying NO to Giants | Chasing Giants Podcast #304
• Kirsten Tepe from Oakland City, Indiana asks what breeders feed captive deer to reach over 1,000 inches of antler and whether Real World products could increase antler size. 34:53 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
• Terry asks whether nutrition merely helps a buck reach its genetic antler ceiling or actually raises that ceiling. 37:09 — Episode #248 - Big Buck Down! Wes Delks Joins Us to Discuss UHAUL
• Jay Brandenberger asked whether a smaller parcel in Ohio or Illinois beats a larger, cheaper parcel in Minnesota or Wisconsin for growing mature bucks. 19:55 — Episode #187 - Do Trail Camera’s Spook Mature Bucks?
• Since bucks can lose up to 50 pounds during the rut, does helping them recover weight then benefit later fawn production and antler growth? 9:35 — Episode #14 - Don and Terry talk deer during the superbowl…
• James Phipps asked whether a delay in antler shedding impacts a buck’s antler growth the following year. 20:37 — EPISODE #111 COURAGE or ARROGANCE?
• Chase Nicely asks whether a well-managed farm can consistently produce 200-inch bucks every few years, or whether such deer are simply genetic anomalies regardless of management. 50:12 — Episode #156 - Looking for a Buck Bed…
• Tim Henrich asked when antlers finish developing, how long they take to solidify after they stop growing, and whether a velvet buck peaks by early August. 61:55 — Episode #127 When to Plant Fall Food Plots?
• Terry asked how to tell from trail-camera photos whether a buck’s antler tine tips indicate the antlers are done growing or still have more to go. 65:23 — Episode #127 When to Plant Fall Food Plots?
• Terry asks Don to walk through his social-media series debating whether genetics, age, or nutrition matters most for a deer herd. 13:57 — Episode #269 - Genetics, Nutrition, or Age (which is more important)
• Jerry Kienas asks if his food plot program is missing anything for antler growth, and how to attract and hold bigger bucks. 66:46 — Episode #83 Don’s Buck Inventory shows 32 bucks over 150”
• Why do some bucks have longer tines than others? 21:08 — Ep #208 - Live from the FAE Midwest Sportsman Classic!
• After last year’s drought, will good growing conditions this year bring more antler growth? 41:17 — Ep #208 - Live from the FAE Midwest Sportsman Classic!
• Josh from Westphalia, Michigan asks whether deworming deer in spring boosts antler growth, what product to use, and what to feed inexpensively otherwise. 35:00 — Episode 199 - Dewormer in Deer Feed, Tractors, Screens, and Windmills
• Joey asks whether this week’s extreme heat index in West Central Illinois could stress deer enough to slow antler growth at this point in the season. 47:16 — Episode #283 “Best Corn Ever? Don & Terry Reveal 2025 Plot Results + Fall Food Plot Timing Tips”
• Kurt Myers from Washington, Pennsylvania asked whether this year’s drought will positively or negatively affect antler growth. 59:36 — Episode #176 - Don’s Advice for Battery High Prices
• Terry asked what observers should look for on trail camera photos this time of year to judge how much bigger a buck will still grow. 14:27 — Episode #231 - Timing is Key: When to Plant Fall Plots
• A listener with several bucks missing a side of antler asks if this is genetic or injury-related, and if he should cull such deer. 41:52 — Episode #130 - Don buys a scent elimination device
• Grant Watson asks whether Don’s isolated farm has an increased chance of line breeding due to its isolation. 25:39 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
• Grant Watson asks whether line breeding was more prevalent in the 1970s-80s when deer populations were lower. 27:01 — Episode #263 - Live from the Iowa Deer Classic
• At what age does a buck typically make its biggest jump in antler growth? 29:00 — Episode #258 - Live Podcast from Mt. Hope Ohio
• Colton Willis asks whether a doe still with her small yearling is a sign she hasn’t been bred yet. 54:29 — Episode #250 - Prepare for Late Season Big Buck Hunting
• An audience member asks Don and Joe whether long-term use of deer minerals actually helps antler growth and is worth the cost. 13:42 — EPISODE #107 - Don Knows How To Fire Up Southern Folks!
• Ron Simpson asks whether specific doe traits help improve herd health and buck size beyond just habitat and age. 50:20 — Episode #90 - November 7th - WHERE IS THE RUT
• Terry asked whether seeing fawns alone in a field accurately indicates their mother doe is currently locked down breeding with a mature buck. 10:59 — Episode #91 - Is Don like CNN News?
• Could a herd’s wide-but-thin-tined genetics and an eight-point dominated herd combine to eventually produce a dream buck? 22:49 — Episode #160 - Live with Dr. Bronson Strickland at Whitetail Master Class
• Kevin Boyer asked whether feeding deer before fawns drop causes does to have fawns near feeders, drawing coyotes to hunt fawns close by. 26:46 — Episode #163 - The Hype of Chestnut Trees…
• Tom Campbell asked whether the new buck Don is chasing, called the Chasing Giant 200, is genetically related to Mel. 54:02 — Episode #163 - The Hype of Chestnut Trees…
• Terry asks Don for his thoughts on this year’s antler growth data on mature bucks he’s tracking. 31:14 — Episode #179 - Is Antler Growth Behind This Year?
• Is it more important to remove adult does that may carry big-buck genetics, or protect them so they keep producing potential big bucks? 54:25 — Episode #281 - How Don Tracks Giant Bucks Years in Advance
• A listener asks whether a doe could give birth early enough that her button buck fawns develop actual spikes or forks. 68:03 — Episode #136 - EHD HITS AGAIN - DON’S FINAL BUCK FORECAST
• Nelson Rizzler asked Don to confirm whether mature bucks do or do not run in bachelor groups like younger bucks. 50:25 — Episode #138 - Hunting the Full Moon
• If cull bucks and small yearlings are left to breed the does every year, what happens to the doe herd’s quality over time? 25:15 — Episode #95 - Live from Guthrie, KY
• Terry asks Don to explain his culling philosophy of letting the best bucks in each age class live while removing eight-pointers first. 25:30 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
• David from Des Moines, Iowa asks whether bucks shedding early means a longer antler growing season and bigger antlers, or the same finish with no extra growth. 47:33 — CULLING BUCKS: Why Shooting 3½-Year-Old 8-Points Actually Works | Chasing Giants #310
• Amos Hershberger asks what Don expects for antler growth this year given Ohio’s mild winter and early green-up. 27:23 — Episode #215 - Could 2024 be a fantastic antler growing season?
• Travis Peters asks whether he should quickly harvest bucks with small, seemingly deformed racks on his Georgia property. 41:02 — Episode #67 - WATCH OUT FOR FAWNS! Don and Terry both have a close call!
• Terry asked Don what he learned from raising cattle that ended up paralleling deer management. 11:30 — The Magic of Late October | Cold Fronts, Big Bucks & Character in the Woods | Chasing Giants #295
• Amos asks how much the early May drought contributed to older bucks losing antler score, and whether they’ll rebound next year. 48:00 — Episode #186 - Disappointing 2023 Buck Forecast
• Mike Russell asked why dry spring and summer months causing a drought reduce buck antler growth. 32:53 — Episode #188 - Apple Trees for Whitetails
• Why did Don’s buck only grow four inches between years — weather related, nutrition related, or did other area bucks also not grow much? 47:36 — Episode #46 Dual Bolt Crossbow Opinions and New Products from Real World
• Kurt Kousitka asked whether genetics is the most critical factor for trophy antler size versus age and nutrition. 51:35 — Thermal Drones, Trail Cameras & Big Buck Strategies | Chasing Giants Podcast #282
• What role does mineral play for antler-growing bucks, fawning/nursing does, and newborn fawns, and what does each need nutritionally? 28:31 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
• Don asks for Aaron’s opinion on whether nutrition and/or genetics are the answer to managing diseases like CWD. 32:47 — Episode #270 - Deer Nutrition with Dr. Aaron Gaines
• A West Virginia listener asked what ripple effects an EHD outbreak disproportionately killing mature bucks could have on genetic diversity and breeding. 36:58 — EP #286 - Preparing for Hunting Season: Plots, Cameras & CWD Truth
• How can antler growth be improved for bucks that leave the farm all summer and only return September through spring? 31:59 — #279 - Live Hot Seat! Don Higgins Faces Tough Questions from Dealers | 2025 RWWP Summit
• Brock Van Aslan asks why several new bucks on his property showed up with one normal antler side and one completely stunted side, and if it’s a concern. 34:17 — Episode #261 - Does GMO Traits Reduce Deer Attraction?
• Al Foster asked Don to explain why releasing doe fawns, pregnant does, or bucks onto his relatively small property to change its genetics would be futile. 38:06 — Faith, Hunting & Courage After Tragedy | Chasing Giants Podcast Ep. 290
• Ethan Jansen asks whether truly world-class bucks are ultra rare, or if similarly sized bucks are common but usually killed before reaching their full potential. 24:40 — Episode #126 - Should we have deer hunting competitions?
• Terry asked whether Don had gotten trail camera pictures or seen fawns yet on his place, and what the status was with fawns dropping. 5:54 — The Biggest Mistake Food Plotters Make in June | Chasing Giants #328
• Travis Pennington from Archbold, Ohio asked whether Don had insight into a mineral seller’s claim that organic dewormer in their mineral produces a huge increase in antler growth. 71:19 — Episode 173 - Can you find joy in killing GIANT Bucks?
• Nathan from Indianapolis asked whether bucks have varying antler growth spurts, and whether a buck trailing another in early June could catch up or surpass it later. 76:56 — Episode 173 - Can you find joy in killing GIANT Bucks?
• Terry asked whether nutrition, intake, and stress—like the drought discussed earlier—can also affect how and when a buck’s antlers grow. 79:33 — Episode 173 - Can you find joy in killing GIANT Bucks?
• Don asks how likely it is that a newly harvested buck is actually the son of a buck taken in previous years. 21:34 — Episode #48 - Antler Genetics (what is a super doe?) When Do Sheds Fall? And Peeing Out of Your Stand…
• Don asks Terry how likely it is that his two biggest bucks, Smokey and Mel, were related. 29:38 — Episode #48 - Antler Genetics (what is a super doe?) When Do Sheds Fall? And Peeing Out of Your Stand…
• An audience member asked what causes an extra-big buck to appear only every three or four years, and whether that timing can be increased. 9:25 — Episode 159 - Captive Deer Breeding… Why Don Got Out
• An audience member asked what causes a buck with one deformed antler one year to return to a normal giant frame the next. 27:49 — Episode 159 - Captive Deer Breeding… Why Don Got Out
• An audience member asked how many years Don ran pen-raised deer loose before it affected local wild genetics. 36:14 — Episode 159 - Captive Deer Breeding… Why Don Got Out
• Terry asks whether the research discredits DNR practices of relocating ‘good genetics’ bucks, since a stressed pregnant doe would still limit fawn expression. 24:17 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD
• Don asks whether specific genetics could be better in one small, isolated ‘hot pocket’ location, referencing a spot that produced trophy bucks two years running. 29:36 — Episode #31 - Special Guest Dr. Bronson Strickland - Fetal Programming, Deer Dispersal, Minerals, and CWD

Unofficial fan project. AI-synthesized from public episodes; may contain errors.