Last july 21 2012 I bought 5 doe fallow and one buck with average horns and med palm area. I was told by the breeder to expect him to be a trophy soon. This year the horns look like a red deer anthers no palm at all and left side is aprox 6" higher than the right, he also seems to be falling down in the hips as I have him at night on the 20 game cameras I have set out, some with video. Does this seem normal or did I pay 1500$ for a problem. I would appreciate any information any of you may give Thanks and Best Regards Gary

I'm not by any means a biologist but it seems to me that something must be wrong , especially if he is having some type of hip issue. We all know it takes several things for trophy antler growth .... Age, protein , feed etcetera. Take any of these three away and trophy antler is more left to luck. I am sure that the breeder "thought " he would be a trophy but maybe the genetics aren't what he thought they were. Maybe he just lied... Who knows. If he is to have the proper genetics, you KNOW that he is eating whatever supplemental protein you are putting out and obviously he hasn't gotten a year younger and he isn't past his prime them I would say trap him , it's pretty simple to do, have a vet give him a good going over because I would suspect a medical issue if you've eliminated the obvious

.257 thanks for your reply. the buck and does feed on 20% protein year round. Wormer 3x year, no buck competion, 240 acre High fense, with 9 doe fallow. One of the original does of (5) died 6 months after receiving, aprox feb this year, it stayed by itself most of the time, and a post death review showed it was skin and bones I did see her at the feeders often and alone. I keep 5 self feed protien feeders full at all times and 3 corn feeders Thanks

THE SILENCE ON THIS TOPIC SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS A BREEDERS FORUM! MY ASSUMPTION IS I WAS SOLD BAD AND SICK STOCK, WITH POOR GENETICS. SO ALL TO OFTEN SELLERS PUT MONEY$$ AHEAD OF THERE INTEGRITY I BELIEVE THIS CERTAIN TEXAS BREEDER DID THANKS FOR READING

So last year he was fine(hard horned). But this year he is drawn down and his antlers are sub par?

Have you considered darting the fallow and giving him an injectable wormer or switching out the medication you are worming with? It does not take long for parasites to build up an immunity to wormer when its the same one used over and over. There can also be other parasites he could have that your standard wormer medication in feed or something like Cydectin will not be able to kill. You should be able to monitor the buck in question at a feeder. If you happen to see him poop, scoop that up and take it to a vet and get a test done to see if there are any parasite eggs in it. It shouldn't cost much. I think my vet charges like $35 for it. I always get various fresh samples on my ranch before deciding to worm anything rather than spending the money on it when its not needed and risking building up immunity with the parasites. You may have to try darting him and give him some injectable medication. When you dart him you may be able to tell if he something else going on wrong with him. Good luck to you.