Velvet on antlers preserving them

[blkbearklr]

Can someone please let me know how to preserve velvet on antlers? Can they be shipped out and freeze dried?

Thanks
Joe

[Sward09]

First assess the antlers.  are they from a fresh kill?  are they still soft?     Basically antlers are soft bone marrow with an outer lining of skin.  The skin of which grows hair or what most of us call "Velvet"   from the very second that animal dies,  the blood begins to clot.  Not any different from you or I.   If the antler is still in it's growing stage or just about finished, the tips will be very soft and moveable.  In this case you need to make a small puncture in every tip!  do this with a large syringe or small knife tip.  After this is done, I have found what works best for me is formaldehyde,   spell that 3 times right!  hang the antlers upside down on your mounting brace and inject them at the base in the Main Veins,  you will know where they are because the fluid will flow freely thru them.  Also you can watch it go thru the vein.   Continue this step on each point's base,  and milk out all of the blood until you see only fluid.  That is the only sure way to have them preserved for life!    Freeze drying is risky!   Everything has to thaw out sometime right!!!!    I hear they now have a velvet tanning solution now, that is less toxic than formaldehyde,  if anybody has tried it let me know

[Wildspirits Taxidermy]

I HAVE USED VELVET TAN AND IT WORKS GREAT! THE KEY IS TO GET ALL THE BLOOD OUT. AFTER YOU INJECT THE VELVET TAN ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LET THEM DRY