SwaY Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 The do not have a strong rotten old bone smell to them IF they are 100% calcified and dried out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjay Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 another source is https://www.foodiepooch.com.au/menu/other-products/ but you have to pay a higher price for them on there, Waiting on a order from SmileyDog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I've found antlers to be hit and miss. Some last for aaaaaaaaages [over a year]. Others are demolished in an hour. Ours have never broken a tooth on them Jodie, Zig would probably be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I've found antlers to be hit and miss. Some last for aaaaaaaaages [over a year]. Others are demolished in an hour. They need to sit and dry out for many months - the longer they sit and dry the longer they last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruthless Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I read that different parts of the antler are harder than others too. Seems the smooth ones are softer than the bumpy ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I read that different parts of the antler are harder than others too. Seems the smooth ones are softer than the bumpy ones. It depends on the type of deer they come from. Some pictures from when I used to sell them. Mine being the largest were from Red Deer, the other is Fallow Deer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I bought a flat one when I first got Nova so.. 5 months ago, he hasn't touched it since he lost his baby teeth, now he's "discovered" it again and hasn't let go of it in the last hour! Definitely worth the money! Although I did get a smaller round bumpy one that was completely eaten within a week, I think because the marrow was more easily exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I read that different parts of the antler are harder than others too. Seems the smooth ones are softer than the bumpy ones. It depends on the type of deer they come from. Some pictures from when I used to sell them. Mine being the largest were from Red Deer, the other is Fallow Deer. Sway - do you still sell them and if so do you have any in stock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I have purchased my deer antlers from http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjay Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I have purchased my deer antlers from http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au too bad they are out of stock of the large ones, only large split ones are in stock at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sail_Away Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I have purchased my deer antlers from http://www.naturalpetstore.com.au too bad they are out of stock of the large ones, only large split ones are in stock at the moment Oh sorry I didn't even check before posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Sway - do you still sell them and if so do you have any in stock? I know longer sell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 I read that different parts of the antler are harder than others too. Seems the smooth ones are softer than the bumpy ones. It depends on the type of deer they come from. Some pictures from when I used to sell them. Mine being the largest were from Red Deer, the other is Fallow Deer. Looks nothing like any fallow deer antler I've ever seen- and given fallow deer are the only sort we have in Tasmania, I've seen quite a few. Fallow deer have thick antlers (relative to their body size) with large cups. The thin antler in your image looks exactly like chital antlers. Chital are also a spotted deer (so I can see how people would confuse them) but are much smaller than fallow and as far as I know, the smallest species in Australia. Also, length of time left sitting doesn't make a lick of difference to how long they last- antlers are shed when certain hormonal changes occur*- by the time they are shed, the bone material is no longer living and is as hard as it's going to get. Being left out will actually begin to soften the bone as the minerals are leeched from it by sun/wind/rain. There are two real factors in how hard the antler is: One is the deer's diet- a healthy deer eating a natural diet is going to have better quality antlers than a farmed deer. Second, the part of the antler. Tines have very little core to them and will last longer. The section between the burr and the trez tine is the thickest and has the largest core. Core breaks down first (and is actually relatively soft) so you'll get a comparable chewing life to a tine, even though the base piece looks a lot thicker. *Couldn't be bothered typing it all out again so a copy/paste from my website- The deer antler begins life as soft cartilage tines, supported by the substance known as velvet (a vascular skin that supplies the growing tissue with oxygen and nutrients). During the breeding season this cartilage mineralises to become solid bone and then the once the velvet has shed (when the antler has reached its full size for the season), the bone tissue dies, leaving behind hard antlers.At the end of the breeding season, osteoclasts (specialised cells that break down bone) destroy the base of the antlers, causing them to be shed. Although some species of deer, such as the Chital, will eat their shed antlers as a source of minerals, fallow deer (the only deer species present in Tasmania) do not, meaning discarded antlers eventually break down, though very slowly, owing to their high mineral content. Antlers are a unique structure in nature, differing from horns not only in growth patterns but also in composition. Horn is mostly made up of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of living bone (bone that does not die off, as antler bone does) and unlike antlers, horns are not usually shed. Antlers, while structurally composed of collagen (a form of protein), contain higher levels of minerals. By the time the antler is shed, it is usually at least 50% mineral in composition (mostly calcium and phosphorus, comprising about 30% of the weight). Other minerals found in deer antler include magnesium, sodium, potassium, barium, iron, zinc, strontium, and manganese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 (edited) I have been looking at the antlers as a bone substitute but am not sure if Amber is going to be able to have them. She has a liver shunt and has trouble with processing protein. Last time I gave her a lamb flap she had a fit. I asked at Petstock but they didn't know and said to try the vet but I imagine they aren't going to know either. Does anyone know how much protein the dogs are digesting from the antlers? How much sodium too? Edited December 4, 2013 by JulesP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I have been looking at the antlers as a bone substitute but am not sure if Amber is going to be able to have them. She has a liver shunt and has trouble with processing protein. Last time I gave her a lamb flap she had a fit. I asked at Petstock but they didn't know and said to try the vet but I imagine they aren't going to know either. Does anyone know how much protein the dogs are digesting from the antlers? How much sodium too? Not a great deal of protein (being what it is) but sodium.. I'm not sure on the levels and it'd be something to look into very carefully. I suppose it also depends on how quickly your dog eats them. Mine just mouth rather pathetically at antlers and never really actually ingest much. Hard chewers may get a fair bit down quite quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I have been looking at the antlers as a bone substitute but am not sure if Amber is going to be able to have them. She has a liver shunt and has trouble with processing protein. Last time I gave her a lamb flap she had a fit. I asked at Petstock but they didn't know and said to try the vet but I imagine they aren't going to know either. Does anyone know how much protein the dogs are digesting from the antlers? How much sodium too? Not a great deal of protein (being what it is) but sodium.. I'm not sure on the levels and it'd be something to look into very carefully. I suppose it also depends on how quickly your dog eats them. Mine just mouth rather pathetically at antlers and never really actually ingest much. Hard chewers may get a fair bit down quite quickly. Thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCresties Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Sway - do you still sell them and if so do you have any in stock? Ptolomy - we got some a couple of months back from the Pet Lover's Cafe in Guildford :) http://petloverscafe.com/ http://shop.petloverscafe.com/deer-antler/dp/5768 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arjay Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 received 2 x XL antlers from smiley dog, got them for 20 each, instead of the advertised price. pretty heavy ones that they gave me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 The ones Sway sold were the best I have seen. So thick. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any like that anymore. They all seem to be skinny and I am afraid my big dogs will swallow them. Sway if you ever decide to sell any again make sure you let everyone know. I missed out last time you had them and I am kicking myself for it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gertrude139 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 The ones Sway sold were the best I have seen. So thick. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any like that anymore. They all seem to be skinny and I am afraid my big dogs will swallow them. Sway if you ever decide to sell any again make sure you let everyone know. I missed out last time you had them and I am kicking myself for it now. This is my problem too, I don't want the spindly pointy ones which most places call large or XL. I can't find the thick ones anywhere either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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