If a buck dies in velvet

[Slagiatt]

What happens if a buck dies in early stages of velvet? After the carcass decomposes, what will the antlers look like? Im assuming they couldnt end up as hard bone, right?

 

[cutman]

If the cartilage has not ossified into bone yet, the velvet antlers will decompose like other soft tissues.

 

[Slagiatt]

Thats what i thought, thanks

 

[cutman]

When I was in vet school, I used to work with deer farmers who grew red stags and wapiti bulls for the velvet antlers. The deer would be sedated mid summer, tourniquets applied to both pedicles, then out came the saw. The amount of blood was extraordinary. Velvet is sold to Asia for a huge amount of money.

 

[Nebraskaz71]

I found a dead one mid to late june one time, full velvet, let it dry took a pressure washer too it and to my suprise they came out looking like super thick full antlers.

 

[Kabic]

How do they mount deer with velvet antlers? FIL has one from a deer that a tree fell on. He jumped through the hoops to get tagged so he could add a mount still velvet to the collection?

 

[cutman]

Velvet antlers are freeze dried for taxidermy.

 

[Slagiatt]

Velvet antlers are freeze dried for taxidermy.

I thought they were injected with formaldehyde or something

 

[cutman]

I thought they were injected with formaldehyde or something

I think that is sometimes done as well, but freeze drying is considered more reliable. My taxidermist does both but prefers freeze drying.

 

[buckdeer1]

You can take the velvet off and the rest will dry.They are kind of porus and light.Cutman is right ,freeze dry is best injecting is kind of old school and was used alot on caribou another method is I believe called flocking and if done right looks ok if not looks fake but yes you can save the antlers by removing velvet and letting rest dry