Facts
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Antlers are not like most pet chews.
- Often pet chews and treats are processed, containing fillers and artificial ingredients that are not a natural part of your pet’s diet.
- Choice Wise antlers are all-natural and made of 100% organic ingredients. They contain zero additives, artificial colorings, flavor enhancers, steroids, dyes, preservatives, GMO’s, plastics, or petrochemicals.
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Choice Wise antlers originate from a natural and renewable source.
- Antler, as opposed to ‘horn’, is made of a unique blend of animal cartilage and bone tissue only generated by members of the deer family. Each year, these mammals naturally shed their antlers in connection with a timeless, annual regeneration process, brought on by seasonal changes and biological hormone fluctuations. All Choice Wise antler products are derived from naturally shed antlers. None of our antlers have been harvested or hunted.
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Why do members of the deer family shed their antlers?
- Every year male deer, elk, and moose throughout the world grow and shed their antlers. The shedding process precipitates the regrowth of larger, fuller antlers the following year. Antlers are used to attract and impress females, and to fight other male competitors for the females' attention. As the years go on, and the deer matures, his antlers lengthen and he acquires additional branches. Antlers are shed over the process of two to three weeks between the months of January and April, after which the autumn mating season draws to a close. The ‘re-growth phase’ lasts two to four months and occurs over the period of the summer season. Throughout the fall season, Elk rub their racks on trees and shrubs, removing their now decaying velvet. This grooming process gives Elk antler its natural dark color.
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What determines the size and shape of an antler?
- The natural size and shape of antler is dependent upon the animals maturity and genetics, the availability of high-quality food, and the overall health of the creature.
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How do horns differ from antlers?
- Horn, as grown by the Buffalo, Rhino, or Bighorn sheep, is never shed, but grows continuously throughout these animals’ lives.
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How do antlers grow?
- Antlers start out as layers of cartilage and slowly mineralize into bone. They are coated by a soft, velvety surface that is well supplied with blood vessels as they are growing.
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How fast do they grow?
- Most antlers grow up to 1" per day. Elk’s antler can grow up to 2" per day.
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What happens as antlers reach full size?
- As antlers grow larger, during a particular season, the blood flow lessens and they become bone. Before mating season begins, the velvet is rubbed off by the animal, exposing the bone antlers we are used to seeing.
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When are antlers shed?
- Each season, when antlers become fully matured, the animal naturally sheds them.
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Why do some animals have larger antlers than others?
- The size of antlers has to do with the age of the animal: older animals have more "points" on their antlers, giving them a competitive edge during mating season.
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Is the growth of antlers of any interest outside of the animal world?
- Because of the fast cell growth that occurs naturally in antlers, scientists are using them for research in cures for many diseases, including cancer.