Aging deer by Forensic Cementum Annuli

[chadmyers]

Has anyone on here ever used this lab for aging their deer? I have a degree in wildlife and I know from experience that aging deer by tooth replacement and wear is more of a guess than a science. After a deer reaches 2 it is very hard to accurately age a deer using this method. There's too many factors that can make this inaccurate. I'm thinking about starting sending the bucks we harvest front incisors or molars to this lab every year, but I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience? I know it can be pricy, but knowing the accurate age of your bucks is very important! I'll post the link, let me know your thoughts.

http://www.deerage.com/


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[chadmyers]

Has anyone on here ever used this lab for aging their deer? I have a degree in wildlife and I know from experience that aging deer by tooth replacement and wear is more of a guess than a science. After a deer reaches 2 it is very hard to accurately age a deer using this method. There's too many factors that can make this inaccurate. I'm thinking about starting sending the bucks we harvest front incisors or molars to this lab every year, but I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience? I know it can be pricy, but knowing the accurate age of your bucks is very important! I'll post the link, let me know your thoughts.

http://www.deerage.com/


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I've been saving all our bucks jawbones since 2003. Sending 15+ jawbones would cost a lot of money, but would be an invaluable investment if they're as accurate as the article says.


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[Bullwinkle]

I've been sending teeth for the last 4 years on every buck we've shot as well as neighbor bucks I can get teeth from

I learned I normally judge deer 1-2 years younger than they are

The studs we have shot are 6 and 7 years old. We have not had a single one that broke 150" at 5 or less

Fun to do.

 

[chadmyers]

I've been sending teeth for the last 4 years on every buck we've shot as well as neighbor bucks I can get teeth from

I learned I normally judge deer 1-2 years younger than they are

The studs we have shot are 6 and 7 years old. We have not had a single one that broke 150" at 5 or less

Fun to do.

So you think it's worth it?


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[chadmyers]

So you think it's worth it?


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I'm thinking I probably under age by a year, but I figured it's better to underestimate than to overestimate. That's very interesting! Thanks for the input


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[Bullwinkle]

It's like $20 a tooth. Great service - even got a call on one tooth because it was such a perfect 6 year old

Yes I do think it's worth it. Easy to do, learn a lot knowing the age of the deer you have pictures of

 

[Tap]

I've sent incisors to Deerage for 4 years. I'm pretty happy with their service and price. None of those deer were lab aged to be YOUNGER than I was estimating by tooth wear or body characteristics.
It's reassuring to me that I seem to be fairly good at aging on the hoof and wear.
The deer I've sent have all been middle aged...no fully mature deer (5.5 or older), so I think I have aging that age class nailed down. I probably won't send more teeth from that age class, though. Now, if (when) I shoot one with substantially more wear, I'll send those teeth.
Deerage is good for confirming a "base-line" on what tooth wear and
body characteristics look like in your area.

 

[Buckly]

You can become pretty good at aging deer on the hoof by looking at hundreds of pictures of known age deer. I have used the Deer Age lab for 4 years now just to confirm what I believe the age is and so far has been spot on as far as I am concerned. There is probably not a reason for me to do it anymore but, I've considered that if I were to ever sell the property I have aging documentation that could be shared.

 

[chadmyers]

It's like $20 a tooth. Great service - even got a call on one tooth because it was such a perfect 6 year old

Yes I do think it's worth it. Easy to do, learn a lot knowing the age of the deer you have pictures of

It would cost a lot more for me because I have about 20 jawbones. It costs a lot more for molars


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[chadmyers]

You can become pretty good at aging deer on the hoof by looking at hundreds of pictures of known age deer. I have used the Deer Age lab for 4 years now just to confirm what I believe the age is and so far has been spot on as far as I am concerned. There is probably not a reason for me to do it anymore but, I've considered that if I were to ever sell the property I have aging documentation that could be shared.

I've had my property since 2004 so I think I've gotten a pretty good idea about the bucks in my area, but do you ever have a deer that comes out of no where? One you've never seen before? We have about 8,000+ acres covered as far as seeing pictures of bucks and I have 2 this year that I've never seen before.


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[chadmyers]

You can become pretty good at aging deer on the hoof by looking at hundreds of pictures of known age deer. I have used the Deer Age lab for 4 years now just to confirm what I believe the age is and so far has been spot on as far as I am concerned. There is probably not a reason for me to do it anymore but, I've considered that if I were to ever sell the property I have aging documentation that could be shared.

I've had my property since 2004 so I think I've gotten a pretty good idea about the bucks in my area, but do you ever have a deer that comes out of no where? One you've never seen before? We have about 8,000+ acres covered as far as seeing pictures of bucks and I have 2 this year that I've never seen before.


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[chadmyers]

I've sent incisors to Deerage for 4 years. I'm pretty happy with their service and price. None of those deer were lab aged to be YOUNGER than I was estimating by tooth wear or body characteristics.
It's reassuring to me that I seem to be fairly good at aging on the hoof and wear.
The deer I've sent have all been middle aged...no fully mature deer (5.5 or older), so I think I have aging that age class nailed down. I probably won't send more teeth from that age class, though. Now, if (when) I shoot one with substantially more wear, I'll send those teeth.
Deerage is good for confirming a "base-line" on what tooth wear and
body characteristics look like in your area.

Thanks


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[Baker]

We have sent dozens of known aged bucks in to the lab for aging as an experiment. We have found them to range between 70-90% accurate. Seems to vary year to year. This is all from bucks 6 or older. I personally think it is a waste of money though there is no downside. They are usually off only 1 yr. Aging older bucks by tooth wear has essentially no value as once a buck is past about 3 aging becomes inaccurate and progressively less accurate with each year.

Today we just count on field aging and if a buck gets shot then he is old enough. The only way to be certain of a bucks age is to have known him from his first set of antlers. I've seen some of the best biologist in the business totally fooled by deer on the hoof as well as tooth wear. Know thy herd!

 

[SwampCat]

We have sent dozens of known aged bucks in to the lab for aging as an experiment. We have found them to range between 70-90% accurate. Seems to vary year to year. This is all from bucks 6 or older. I personally think it is a waste of money though there is no downside. They are usually off only 1 yr. Aging older bucks by tooth wear has essentially no value as once a buck is past about 3 aging becomes inaccurate and progressively less accurate with each year.

Today we just count on field aging and if a buck gets shot then he is old enough. The only way to be certain of a bucks age is to have known him from his first set of antlers. I've seen some of the best biologist in the business totally fooled by deer on the hoof as well as tooth wear. Know thy herd!

Has the aging at the lab been by tooth wear or cementum annuli. I have aged hundreds by tooth wear - and yes, the older they become the more of a guess it is. I was under the impression the annuli aging was accurate?

 

[Baker]

Has the aging at the lab been by tooth wear or cementum annuli. I have aged hundreds by tooth wear - and yes, the older they become the more of a guess it is. I was under the impression the annuli aging was accurate?

The labs aged by cementum annuli. Wasn't accurate at least on deer we were sending. Average over time was probably 8 or 9 out of 10

 

[chadmyers]

We have sent dozens of known aged bucks in to the lab for aging as an experiment. We have found them to range between 70-90% accurate. Seems to vary year to year. This is all from bucks 6 or older. I personally think it is a waste of money though there is no downside. They are usually off only 1 yr. Aging older bucks by tooth wear has essentially no value as once a buck is past about 3 aging becomes inaccurate and progressively less accurate with each year.

Today we just count on field aging and if a buck gets shot then he is old enough. The only way to be certain of a bucks age is to have known him from his first set of antlers. I've seen some of the best biologist in the business totally fooled by deer on the hoof as well as tooth wear. Know thy herd!

I agree with you. I usually know all my deer, but this year several bucks showed up that I've never seen before. There's a chance that I'm under aging my deer by a year, I need to know if I'm under aging or not.


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[chadmyers]

Our group covers from 8,000-10,000 acres. No one has ever seen these new bucks


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[Baker]

I agree with you. I usually know all my deer, but this year several bucks showed up that I've never seen before. There's a chance that I'm under aging my deer by a year, I need to know if I'm under aging or not.View attachment 9204


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I can assure you on that acreage there will be bucks pop up that leave you scratching your head.

Happens every year. unknown deer pop up. Known deer disappear for a year or two then resurface. Deer pop up in the season that were not seen all summer. Then there are the highly visible deer you see all the time. I live on my farm, watch the deer very closely and am constantly surprised. Gotta love it.

 

[chadmyers]

I can assure you on that acreage there will be bucks pop up that leave you scratching your head.

Happens every year. unknown deer pop up. Known deer disappear for a year or two then resurface. Deer pop up in the season that were not seen all summer. Then there are the highly visible deer you see all the time. I live on my farm, watch the deer very closely and am constantly surprised. Gotta love it.

Yeah, it happens to me too. There was one buck that appeared one year that we had never seen before. I finally traced him to a property close to 6 miles away. He was on that farm for the previous 2 years. After getting hundreds of pictures of him that whole year, he disappeared and hasn't been seen yet


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[chadmyers]

I personally think bucks are just like ppl, they all have their own personality. Some may like to stay home and some like to travel around the world. I remember when I was young and out looking for women I'd travel across the country for the right one. I'm amazed by these creatures and love learning about them, but no matter how much you learn, you'll never learn everything.


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