Velvet Peeling off antlers Each year the antlers of a white-
tailed deer fall off and regrow. This time of year (early to mid
September) the outer layer of skin and hair called 'velvet',
will peel from the now hardened antler. It will appear bloody
but research seems to indicate this is not a painful process for
the deer because the nerve endings have turned off with the
calcification process. For years I have spent a lot of time
trying to witness this amazing event with no luck. Things
changed this year. What makes this such a rare experience is the
very small time frame when this actually happens. From my
reading it seems that this event happens in 10-24 hours until
all the velvet is totally peeled off. Many times the deer will
eat the skin for reasons from nutritional value, to cleaning up
its own scent to help avoid predators.