The feeders we started in October, all bucks have dropped and started regrowing, and look very healthy, the new property that was closed on right before Christmas, the bucks are noticbly thinner, and all still have their horns.
So I do believe it is more about stress and fitness then a designated time of the year. They where well fed going into the rut, fed during the rut, and came out of it in better condition, and it is showing now, they may be forked by the time the others drop.
