Aging deer

[Pat B.]

I've read that visual inspection of deers teeth does not provide conclusive evidence of it's age.

Further, that by sectioning a single tooth, age can be determined very accurately.

Do any of you have contact information for a lab that provides this service ?

             

Any help would be appreciated,
                     Pat

[Steve H.]

I have used Henry Cidgey down in yer neck of the woods.  He'll nail is down tight for you and you'll know with a high confidence interval instead of a WAG.  You should be able to find Henry with Google.

[Pat B]

At 1 1/2years old a deers milk teeth fall out. That milk tooth is a bicuspid(sp) and it is replaced by a tricuspid(sp). After that it is the amount of wear on the teeth and the dentine exposed that determines the age. Depending on food sources and the amount of silica in that food, that wears teeth, a true estimation can be difficult.
  With bears you can remove a canine tooth and make a cross section cut and count the growth rings like in a tree. I don't know if that works on deer teeth though.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

If they have spots, they are little.

If they are too big to drag by the ears, they are older.

 

[bornagainbowhunter]

Originally posted by Roger Norris 2:
If they have spots, they are little.

If they are too big to drag by the ears, they are older.

     

Your right!!  Arkansas deer are the same way!!

   

God Bless,
Nathan

[Steve H.]

It does Pat, its called "dental cementum aging".