I recently found a dead deer (probably hit by a car) in the woods behind my house and remove the antlers. Is there any way to remove the hair (fuzz) or does this stay on?
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First of all, is it legal for you to have this in your possession? With roadkill, you may need to obtain a permit from your DNR/game warden/conservation officer or get a roadkill tag from local police.
Second, the fuzz is antler velvet, which is actually a skin, with blood vessels and all.This is how a deer grows his rack every year. In sept, most bucks antlers will harden and the velvet sheds off It is best to leave it on, as parts of the antlers may be too soft (at this time of year- usually just the tips), and stripping may leave you with ugly antlers that may end up smelling real bad anyway. Put the antlers in your freezer or they will start to stink. As to what to do next, I leave that to the experts on this, who frequent this forum who know more about velvet racks than i do LOL. If its still fresh enough, a local taxidermist can either inject with preservatives or have it freeze dried. If it already stinks, well, maybe someone else has some tips.