Look what I found!

[HHazeldean]

I found it a couple of years ago but thought I'd post up on here now.. A friend of mine was having a wedding in the new forest and in the woodland nearby I just stumbled into this, quite literally! Asked the landowner if I could it have, which they said yes to and so now this is a bit of a showpiece of mine - quite a find I thought! Plus it was the only time I've ever been to the New Forest so rather flukey too really.
He's got 23 points and thats a full reindeer hide its sitting on for comparison.

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Thanks for looking, hope that was of interest to some

 

[crosslandkelly]

Nice find. What are you going to do with it. Will it be for display?

 

[HHazeldean]

I thought about cutting it up and using it for loads of different things, yet then I realised a find like it was pretty rare and that cutting something that magnificent up was a bit of waste so yeah its for display pretty much

 

[Greg]

Very good find...I recently spent a week in the highlands and although I saw quite a few red deer, I didn't find any antlers
I agree you should keep it intact...That will be an awesome display piece

 

[Dean]

It would be a waste to cut that up, I'd make yourself a wooden mounting plate and mount it on the wall. Looking for something like this for the house though I think Victoria would have something to say about it.

 

[HHazeldean]

It would be a waste to cut that up, I'd make yourself a wooden mounting plate and mount it on the wall. Looking for something like this for the house though I think Victoria would have something to say about it.

Yeah thats what I reckon. I'd like to have a bash at that, however I wouldn't really be sure how to go about fixing it to it.

Haha just wack it up and see if she notices

Very good find...I recently spent a week in the highlands and although I saw quite a few red deer, I didn't find any antlers
I agree you should keep it intact...That will be an awesome display piece

Yeah I think its much less common to find any intact carcasses, even less so with antlers!

Yeah thats what I was thinking, cutting it up would be such a waste I reckon!

 

[Toddy]

Very good find...I recently spent a week in the highlands and although I saw quite a few red deer, I didn't find any antlers

The deer eat the fallen antlers; apparantly they're mineral rich, slightly 'salty', and tasty to them.

cheers,
M

 

[Tengu]

Yes, it would be a shame to cut it up. its seldom you find a set so good.

(My ambition is to find an antler one day)

 

[Greg]

The deer eat the fallen antlers; apparantly they're mineral rich, slightly 'salty', and tasty to them.

cheers,
M

Mary..you're a fountain of knowledge...hope you have written all you know in a journal..!

 

[HHazeldean]

The deer eat the fallen antlers; apparantly they're mineral rich, slightly 'salty', and tasty to them.

cheers,
M

That seems a tad odd but makes perfect sense thinking about it! Will those minerals help the deer to grow their own antlers in a similar way to chickens eating shell to benefit their own shells?

 

[Bartooon]

You certainly were lucky to find that on your first visit! I am out walking in the New Forest for a couple of hours every day and have never found anything that good!

 

[Big Stu 12]

LOvery find.. shame to cut it up get a nice plaque and mount them...

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Antlers are in fact bone, I don't think a deer's teeth & jaws can cope with munching through a whole antler, they probably just nibble & scrape it a bit........many other little critters will have a nibble too

Yes what ever you do, don't break it up. it is a handsome piece. I wouldn't have it mounted on the wall though.

 

[Toddy]

They're teeth manage to nibble the antler away to virtually nothing. They start on the tines and just keep going. It's not a meal in a day thing.

Links:
http://www.countrysportsandcountrylife.com/sections/stalking/Red_Deer.htm
"Antlers are cast when testosterone levels fall in mid-March through April, with older stags casting first. These cast antlers are often mouthed and chewed by deer, "

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/nature/scotlandthewild/content/mammals/index.shtml?mammal=red_deer
" Older stags cast their antlers, which are then chewed by deer to provide calcium for the new antlers. "

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-6046.html
George's comments in particular, he lives in deer country.

cheers,
M

 

[Macaroon]

When I have horse's hooves trimmed, the dogs always go into a feast of chewing on the trimmings, and most if not all of the native breeds of horses and ponies will often do the same.......I've always thought it an efficient method of re-absorbing the various minerals contained in them, especially the calcium; the calcium is much more bio-available when combined with the other minerals and so must be very valuable.

This is just observation on my part and has no basis in real scientific terms as far as I know, but I think there's something to it.............................atb mac