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Preserving Goat Horns

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The15thMember:
We are going to try and preserve the horns from two of the goats from this season (my sister tried not disbudding, but she wouldn't do it again).  We are thinking about using them as the bait for a maggot bucket for the chickens, Justin Rhodes style (Google it, if you don't know what I'm talking about), since I've heard maggots will clean out horns pretty well, but we'll see.  I haven't looked deeply into it yet.  Anyone have any experience with preserving horns? 

animal:
googled it ... yuck :cheesy:
horns ... you mean the keratin sheath with tissue left inside after pulling it off the bone or is bone still inside ?
If they're still attached to the skull,you can boil it and whack the base of the horn with a rubber or leather mallet all the way around ... and when you feel it wobble (and the sound the hammer strike makes will change) .. pull/twist it off. A pressure washer will remove the rest of the goo and tissue from the inside of the sheath (just be aware that if you're not careful, you'll get it in the face).
Dunno about maggots, but fire ants will chew/damage the keratin... and if you leave the skull on the mound too long, they'll even damage the  bone. Not sure how the keratin would fare in the "juicy" environment of your gut bucket either.

If they were sawn off the skull and the bone is inside, you might lag screw a piece of 2x4 to the bone to "replace" the skull, but I don't know. It would have to be a really fat lag screw

The15thMember:

--- Quote from: animal on December 12, 2023, 11:51:16 pm ---Dunno about maggots, but fire ants will chew/damage the keratin... and if you leave the skull on the mound too long, they'll even damage the  bone.

--- End quote ---
I honestly don't think we really have fire ants here.  I've never had an encounter with any, and I'd think by now I would have if they were around. 


--- Quote from: animal on December 12, 2023, 11:51:16 pm ---Not sure how the keratin would fare in the "juicy" environment of your gut bucket either.

--- End quote ---
We don't have a maggot bucket currently, I was just thinking of putting the horns in a maggot bucket setup. 


--- Quote from: animal on December 12, 2023, 11:51:16 pm ---If they were sawn off the skull and the bone is inside, you might lag screw a piece of 2x4 to the bone to "replace" the skull, but I don't know. It would have to be a really fat lag screw

--- End quote ---
We sawed them off the skull, and didn't keep the skull, so the bone is still in there.  We tried pulling the sheath off on the bigger goat on butchering day, but it wasn't working and we didn't feel like wasting more time with it then.   

animal:
If extended boiling won't damage the sheath, you could do it until it's crock pot tender and get the bone out with a pair of channel lock pliers.
Cow horns can take it, would think a goat horn could too. Heat will soften cow horn so it can be shaped.

No fire ants ? You poor thing ! You don't know what you're missing. :cheesy:

Michael Bush:
Maggots work well enough.  A fire ant hill will also eat the meat.  Once the meat between the bone and the horn is gone they will come off of the bone.

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