Elk Antlers

[atomicsauace]

Hi all. Wondering if any elk hunters here have some antlers kicking around. I have a lab puppy that likes to chew. A buddy told me that elk antlers are a good substitute for rawhide bones. Does anyone else give these to their dogs to chew on?

 

[Suther]

Antlers are a great chew toy for dogs. Pricey though if you're buying it in store.

 

[Hussar_ca]

I give mine antlers all the time. We had several small bucks (whitetail) that I brought their small antlers home to give to my 2 Brittanys. You can also buy them at any pet store like Petsmart etc. They sell various sizes so they can be shared with different sized breeds. They are good for calcium too. Just when they start getting to small pieces that they could choke on, I take them and throw them out and give them a new one. I also give them thigh beef bones and they are strong and don't splinter easy.

 

[atomicsauace]

Ok. Thanks. No elk in the London Ontario area but lots of whitetail though. If i could find a place to hunt and the force is with me i might have something for my pup to chew on!

 

[jlovie]

Ok. Thanks. No elk in the London Ontario area but lots of whitetail though. If i could find a place to hunt and the force is with me i might have something for my pup to chew on!

Look into the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, they have a few tracts of public land you can get permission to hunt on about an hour from London. Still no elk though.

 

[MiG25]

What do Elk Horns go for these days? The local buyers used to pay C$6/lb and haul them south for US$12/lb.

 

[CrazyNut]

check your local conservation areas. I know the ones in OFAH Zone G lets you go on their land and pick up deer sheds. no reason why the ones in your area wouldn't. no need to wait for deer season.

 

[atomicsauace]

Thanks for all the replies. If i can get my sh!t together and actually bag a buck i will be good for a while bone wise.

 

[trevj]

Thanks for all the replies. If i can get my sh!t together and actually bag a buck i will be good for a while bone wise.

I can tell you from experience, that about the only bones that did not get saved for our dogs, were the spine itself.

Ribs were a very special treat, much appreciated by all of them, even our Italian Greyhound would beaver through one in pretty short order!

 

[45ACPKING]

I can tell you from experience, that about the only bones that did not get saved for our dogs, were the spine itself.

Ribs were a very special treat, much appreciated by all of them, even our Italian Greyhound would beaver through one in pretty short order!

do you do any prep to the bones? I am always hesitant to give my dogs the bones for fear of splintering. Rottweillers have a tendancy to just crush thru bones in a manner that surprises even me LOL The one we have now was teethed on elk antlers , fresh from kills , gifted to me by friends after hunts. Both were young bulls so only had spikes and forks.
Now she gets too agressive and sketchy when I allow her to get into the wild game and if she had a bone she would be extremely unpredictable ..... so i avoid those agression triggers LOL
Still I am curious whether bones are given fresh or cooked in some way.
Some people I know, even on this forum, cook the bones down for broth for themselves to consume but I do know others that collect all thier bones and boil them up, then grind the bone and anything else to meal and recombine it with the broth and fat and freeze it in dog dinner size blocks. I'd do that too but I don't have a bone grinder.

 

[trevj]

No prep, just strip the meat off the carcass, and usually whizz the leg bones in half or thirds with a saw while they are frozen, to save some space.

Green bone does not splinter like a cooked one will, supposedly. The bigger dogs would go through a rib bone faster than a kid can go through a freezie on a hot day, and even the Iggie would make a rib bone vanish in a few minutes.

I have done turkey carcasses, as well as frozen boxes of chicken backs and necks, as you describe, and a regular countertop meat grinder works well enough for that. A scoop onto the food bowl usually pretty much caused a feeding frenzy! LOL!