I've read the archives and it seems that there are different ways. I put them in water. Do you keep them in for 3 days or more? I just have the base in the water half way up the horns. should I pry on the horns everyday to pop off. Some say to throw them down--makes me nerves since there not mine. Any tips. Thanks
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to cut the horns off the head-leave a little more skull than
with a deer(some forms are flat-tops)-freeze and send to
Skulls Unlimited in Ok City, OK-they charge 55.00 to remove
horns from the core and CLEAN using beetles. They do museum
quality work. You will never have a future smelly bug problem.
Trust me--I have done it both ways(rotting) and with them--no
doubt it is worth the money.
Either way works fine. If you are going to soak, totally submerge them and leave them in for a couple of weeks. I normally boil them for about 30 min and then beat the hell out of them with a 2x4. Aoudad horns aren't that hard to remove as they have nice large bases and the horns are generally straight. LOT easier that some sheep.... And don't worry about hitting or dropping them, they get hit alot harder in nature.
Les
First take a fillet knife and slide it between the horns and core as far as you can and in all places you can get them. soak them in water for a few days to a week (depending on weather temp). Take them out and let nature and a few maggots do thier jobs. After the maggots have had about a week to work on them. Slam them down on a wooden block. Both horns should be ready to "pop" off.
Remember, you must keep them moist, if they dry out then they can't rot.
I got this out of a "Breakthrough" a few years ago (slightly modified)
I do twenty or so sheep a year. Works every time.
God Bless,
Clif
..I step on the skull and grab the tip of one horn and try to spin it on the core. When it's ready, this method prevents you from scarring the horn unnecessarily. I do them all this way and though I agree with what Leslie and Clif said, I get this queasy feeling about banging a $25,000 set of stone sheep horns on the concrete floor.