What is a good or preferred method for cleaning out the center mass which is funky smelling at best. My neighbor the cowboy turned me on to these the other day so the price is right to begin with. Thanks.
Hmmmm, I'll bet it would have been a whole lot easier when they were FRESH, not dried out as is for weeks, months or years. Just an observation. However I would suggest securing one horn (not the best one)in some sort of cradle with the open end up, then filling it up with boiling water with a little dish soap added to it. Do this repeatedly until the crap inside the horn appears to have softened. Use a wood scraper to clean the inside of the horn from the open end down, and dumping crap out and refilling to level of the crap remaining with hot not scalding water and continuing over until satisfied. If you don't finish at one sitting, dump out the water, and start over on another day. I believe at some point you will be forced to use a smaller scraper, and eventually you will get to a near solid mass. The material you are working with is same as hair, finger or toe nails or hooves. You CAN SCRAPE A HOLE IN IT if not careful. It may crack or split. I don't know if those results are fixable. You also can reshape a round horn, by soaking the entire thing and flattening it to a 2 x 1 oval, or 3 x 1 oval. This is sometimes done with certain powder horn designs. . Lastly, look up making Powder Horns Online. I am pretty sure you can find tons of info.
Plant one on an active ant hill and wait a few weeks, little buggers do an amazing job in short order!
Had a neighbor and a 14 year old girl come by,Was able to gently tap against the brick and loosen the inside. Pulled them apart with a pair of pliers...Pictures in a few....
Here in Alaska, when you live near the ocean, the Saltwater Sand Fleas do a good job on such items... Right now, there is a Bison Skull hung by a PolyRope of the south end of the Main Dock... The owner figures another month or two should finish up the Job... He is three months in, so far...
Dermestid Beetles are used in taxidermy and by natural history museums to clean animal skeletons or animal parts. just like @BTPost said other bugs or creatures can also be used but they are less effective and they can take 6 months or longer. However if dermestid Beetles get loose they might destroy yer house and its contents .. .. be extremely they may eat and destroy precious collectibles and irreplaceable items .. .. Wut Sir Tac suggested is probably one of the best and fastest options, soak in warm soapy water fer a few days as needed, change the water out a few times, then soak 1 of em in Hydrogen Peroxide fer a bit if desired to see how it turns out, then ya can decide if ya wanna soak the rest or not. Do **not** use chlorine bleach.
I like our Red Ants. Red harvester ant - Wikipedia Have worked hard to reestablish them from the death poisons from the past. In the south west they often bring small bits of local minerals to the surface from deep underground. As well they help plant species to survive during overgrazing and drought. Pogonomyrmex barbatus is a species of harvester ant from the genus Pogonomyrmex. Its common names include red ant and red harvester ant.[1] These large (5– to 7-mm) ants prefer arid chaparral habitats and are native to the Southwestern United States.[2] Nests are made underground (up to 2.5 m deep) in exposed areas. Their diets consist primarily of seeds, and they consequently participate in myrmecochory, an ant-plant interaction through which the ants gain nutrients and the plants benefit through seed dispersal. Red harvester ants are often mistaken for fire ants, but are not closely related to any fire ant species, native or introduced.
Be careful when working with the horns. Avoid inhaling the dust from drilling, carving, polishing, etc., The stuff is bad in many ways.
At a certain point in the rotting process the horn slips right off of the bone. Otherwise soak in salt water overnight and the horn slips right off the bone. Fill the horn with crushed charcoal and let it sit fer 2 full weeks to remove any Odor Da Funk. Horned Dexter Cattle = Me having lots of horns to work and play with over the years. They do stink to high heaven when they are ready to pull off the horn buds though.........and the heads are getting pretty funky at that point as well
Does work well placing the heads on the SE Corner of the farm where the funk blows towards the neighbors property and well away from my house Cough I did put one in my sister in laws Trunk one time............ In August..............Have not had to go to a inlaw family get together since then
