How to turn deer ears *EDIT* WAIT and remove cartilage AFTER TANNING! See New Video in description! 

I tore a bunch to pieces trying to figure out what I was trying to do!

Thanks brother! Nice to hear from a taxidermist on the other side of the world!

How did you go with the alpaca??

@@cristelleolsen2371 hi Cristelle, the alpaca hide (vegetable tan , wool on) came up pretty well (for a beginner). The ears are holding their original shape without any supports and are a really nice detail to the full hide. The wool is very firmly stuck, I'm happy with how soft and supple it is (a lot of "cracking" and "working" in) . I rubbed apricot kernel oil into it and smoked it as a finishing touch. I'm not sure how i will end up using it, but it would definitely be great to make / use it for wearing as a warm cloak as it's really warm and feels nice with the long neck wrapped over my shoulder. And the colour is really nice (dark coffee colour wool) and the wattle bark tanning has a beautiful finish on the leather side. I'm happy with the results. So although i just kind of ended up letting the ears do their own thing, they worked out fine. Thanks for asking, cheers.

Welcome to the channel and thanks for watching!

Great! Thanks for watching!

Hahaha!

I'm trying to fill in anything that I couldn't find when I learned myself! Let me know if there is anything I need to make a video on!

Yeah man. I meant to a couple weeks ago and completely forgot. I am going to start a video today and will film the process over the next week. Hopefully I'll have it up by next weekend! Also I have an antler repair vid I'm about to upload also.

Thank you!

I really appreciate it. Thank you for the subscription!

Absolutely! If you haven't watched my newer version of this video, turn the ears, tan, and then remove the cartilage afterwards. It is way easier!

Thanks for watching!

It should work just fine. Early on,I used a butcher steel to push up into the ear and open it but it was horrible lol

Interesting. I'll have to try that

@@thecedarridgechronicles total game changer imm telling ya makes it soooo easy they gotta be the small game ear Oliver but still have to be mindful of tear holes as u would pulling ear cartilage good luck hope it works for u

Some of the kits they carry do, yes.

I keep some of each size in the shop all the time and dry fit them before gluing them up

Yessir exactly 👍

Honestly I'm not sure about that one. I have never messed with any small game. A local taxidermist could probably answer that one though for you. You might try giving them a call and see what they think.

The cartilage in the ears will be preserved after tanning

@@thecedarridgechronicles that's good to know, I wasn't sure how cartilage did with tanning. I'll be finishing my first shoulder mount when I get home. Like you said, have it all ready to mount after it's done tanning.

@@thecedarridgechronicles 2 questions: is it done by the tanning chemicals, or another process? is it possible to preserve via smoke tanning/brain tanning? or would it be smarter to use chemicals on the ears? Im looking to tan a full coyote, ears and all.

I would suggest tanning chemicals

Yes I just put the link in the description of the original 👍

It probably would, but there are so many scars on some ears and also about half have hair that grows through the cartilage so you have to remove some muh more slowly than others to keep from tearing them.

I ordered mine from McKenzie taxidermy supply

My favorites are McKenzie whitetail ears

I glue in my earliner and smooth the hole out as flat as possible pressing out excess glue. Let it dry completely and then apply adhesive and dust with flocking. Afterwards I airbrush to match hair color. If the hole is significant and any drumming occurs in drying, back fill with apoxie sculpt then use the same process.

Ok thanks it blew out right at the top of both the ears

That is actually not a bad thing. Use the ends to smooth the ears and press out the excess glue. Let it dry, and you can trim the edges and touch them up with paint.👍

@@thecedarridgechronicles ok thanks for the tips ! I’ve done one so far just trying to get the whole tanning process down also

I went to pull the cartilage and it was pulling hair I’m not sure if it’s because is a young deer or what it’s just my buddies kids first button buck

Lol! Did I say that in the video?

@@thecedarridgechronicles lol

@@thecedarridgechronicles I'm just ragging at you brother. Great job. Like the nose . Ears . Still old school. Bondo. Lol

Awesome. Never tried that before but I will try it tomorrow!

Do you score it several times to the tip of the ear?

When you glue in the earliner, press the excess glue out of the torn area while smoothing the edges of the year so it dries flat against the liner. After it dries, you can use adhesive and flocking to blend the spot with the ear hair. Afterwards, you can airbrush. It won't be perfect, but it will not be noticable on the wall

The good thing about repair work after the deer is completely dry is that if you do something you don't like, you can usually undo and redo as many times as necessary until you get the result you want

@@thecedarridgechronicles thank u for the advise I appreciate it very much it’s in the tan at the moment couple days and I’ll work on it thank u again