Do ram horns normally shrink after you separate the horn from the sheath and how long do you let them set before re-attaching them.
I have done two corsican sheep and I let the cores and sheath separated for a few months before putting them back together. They were very hard to get back together then. I wasn't sure if I should put them back together during mounting or do it before hand.
I would like to figure the problem out before doing the next one.
Thanks,
KennyC
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I never wait over a week before putting them back together. The horn will shrink.
If your horns are tight due to shrinkage just soak them in hot water for a few hours, then take them out towel dry and while they're still warm they should relax enough to get them all way down on the cores.
Once the horn is rotted out enough to seperate from the core you need to clean the horn, dry preserve the inside then stuck some news paper in the horn enough to leave the last inch to inch and a half open. Then fill that inch depth with some Fix all or other plaster and let dry. Now you can let that horn dry out for a few weeks or as long as you like. The base or opening of the horn is what warps or gets mis-shapen when it dries. that is why it cant fit back on the core. The plaster maintains the openings original shape.
...museum taxidermists on collecting trips actually cooked off all horn and hoof material. Once removed, cores and sheaths were cleaned and dipped in a clay/arsenic water. The cavity was filled with plaster and a strong looped wire was inserted into the setting plaster. All parts were numbered and secured to the same skeleton. Once every thing was sent back to the museum and actual preperations were being done, the plaster plugs were knocked loose because the clay in the solution acted as an internal mold release between bone horn or hoof. Yet all filled parts retained their shape and form without shrinkage. Each hoof shell was later attached to the mount individually and the horn sheaths were installed after the mount was done but not dried of course. This process is described in Leon Prays booklet on mounting large game.
Imagine the tedious work involved.