Hunting Washington Forum
Other Activities => Shed Hunting => Topic started by: swwaoutdoorsman on October 14, 2013, 02:39:42 PM
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I've discovered over the past few years to let my sheds hang to let any excess blood drip out. I remember the first one that I found that still has blood in it and let me tell ya it's usually a rotten smell with it. I had few antlers on me and I kept smelling what I thought was a dead elk. Turns out it was shed that dripped down my pant leg. Lesson learned.... Anyway never seen or heard anyone else on here talk about it. Here's a picture of one I found yesterday hanging I the tree.
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Huh? I've picked up several hundreds sheds, probably in the thousands, and have never seen or heard of anything like this. Found plenty that had fresh blood on them, but in a day it was dried up. There's no blood in the antlers after they loose the velvet, and definately none in during the time of year that they shed. Maybe I'm missing something, but I've certainly never heard of or seen such a thing. :dunno:
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Ditto :yeah:
Some blood on the freshly shed pedicle....other than that. :dunno:
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Found a moose shed this year that was this way.... smelled terrible!
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I wonder about fungus growing, which looks more like this pic than blood. The only stinky shed I have found is one that was rotting.
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If they are super fresh they can have quite a bit of blood still in them, never heard of older ones that way tho- :dunno:
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I've only had it happen with west side elk sheds. The smell can be really bad. I had one leak all over my pack once :bdid:. My buddy wouldn't even walk next to me :chuckle:. I've found quite a few like this over the years. Found a big fresh 6 point with a broken eye guard once. Left it at my sisters house for a day and when we got back it had leaked a whole pool of blood on her floor from the broken tine. I've found some that were a few years old with a dirty, bloody type of liquid in them. They were not pleasant to say the least :yike:
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This has happened to me multiple times. Mostly with horns like erk described, but occasionally with intact sheds that were pedicle down in very moist areas. Here is my theory, and thats all it is, a theory.
Antler is bone, bones have marrow. Marrow is vascular. When a shed is dropped the marrow which was live and feeding the bone dies. If the antler is sealed it simply dries and hardens. However, if the antler was broken prior to being shed that area is now a conduit for moisture to infiltrate the marrow and rot. Which produces the mess. Either way its nothing, a couple days on the floor of the garage cant fix before they come in the house! :chuckle:
Cool ATL in the tree :tup:
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Interesting. I've never picked up a westside shed.
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Not found in the tree hung it there just in case and sure enough it's a leaker. It's seems that most of the leakers had been dropped pedicle down in mud blocking the pourous end if the antler. Guessing this prevents the blood from draining or drying internal :dunno:
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I was told (will try to find something written) that antlers are living bone until they are shed and blood flow is necessary to keep them alive and firmly attached. When they are shed it is due to lack of blood flow so while I have never found a stinky one it makes sense why some people do.
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I dont even know what to say I'm so confused, I've found sheds with blood on the pedicles but it dries up and thats that.
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I've probably found close to 200 sheds and have seen probably 15 do this. My wife actually reminded me to hang it before bringing it in just in case. I had one leak in the house and it's a hard stink to get rid of. Not sure what causes it. The liquid that drains is dark red or black so I assume its blood and stink like rotten blood. It never is coming out until the antler is moved around. It's like it pooled up inside and then runs out when repositioned. :dunno:
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x-Files
Just weird, as I have picked up hundreds if not thousands of sheds and never had it. Weird My money is still on fungus/water. :dunno:
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Don't think so bone, my buddy was coming out of the woods in the crew bus and had a nice 6 point run across the clear cut in front of him and drop a side, he ran out and grabbed it, thing drained blood everywere
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That's pretty wild
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Off the top of my head I dont remember ever having an, intact ( unbroken ) shed that was stinky. Or one that wasn't relativley fresh. However, it sounds as if SWW has. And it works with the theory that the blood is rotting due to inability to dry/drain due to moisture. Another theory I have had just to :stirthepot:.... I pick up alot of sheds in areas affected with hoof rot, and have wondered if the antlers were dropped off infected bulls. :bash: Again these are all theorys :chuckle:
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I find that very weird as well. I have picked up hundreds of antlers and never seen that. Maybe a westside thing?
Are they always elk antlers that leak? Or have you seen that on deer too?
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Am I the only one that finds it odd that there are elk sheds in October???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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I assumed it was an old one that was sitting since spring. I assumed with the broken ones, that they got waterlogged and it fouled and then stank like heck when it dumped out. As for bloody fresh ones. No Idea. I have watched them fall off, I have picked them up seconds after they have fallen off, and not a drop but the bloody pedicle from where it was attached. Its not vascular, so I don't know about these claims. I have watched the animal bleed after the fact from the open sores on their heads, but blood from the antlers. :dunno:
all of the above with moose, elk and deer
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Are you guys who have had this happen Catholic or something? :chuckle:
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Are you guys who have had this happen Catholic or something? :chuckle:
No, we all just shed hunt the same area ;).Blackvelvet, you may be on to something with the hoof rot theory. Although, I have found sheds like this many years ago. How long has hoof rot been around? It seems like its pretty area specific. I have never found a deer antler like this, only westside elk. And, Ive found some unbroken ones that have bled and stunk too, from the base. One was found in the ferns on solid ground so I know the base was not covered or sunk in the mud. It was laying tines up so the main beam could have had blood pooled in it I guess. Didnt take me long to figure it out cause the dog wouldnt quit sniffing it after it was on my pack. That one leaked down the back of my leg too. Smelled it all day long :bash:
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Stinks as bad as hoof rot.... :dunno:
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Have seen a couple posts lately where deer have got their horns shot off or broken from taking a tumble, and the pics look like there's some blood in the horns. Wonder why the westside elk horns will leak and others dont :dunno:
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I saw that one photo as well and wondered if that was trace of blood or dirt, only because of this conversation. I have seen several shot off, broke and have broke a few (off a cliff), and all stark white. I have also cut many antlers. Stark white. So......still wonderin'.
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Maybe they act as a sponge soaking up water causing the marrow inside to rot? :dunno:
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Its not just a west side thing! :chuckle: I think its bone that had been chewed on or broken and able to collect water/moisture. I have picked up fresh ones that didn't bleed out. 7-8 of the old ones I have found have been rotten smelling and draining. I didn't notice until I put them in the car, only made it a half mile and pulled over and started searching the car for the foul smell!!! :chuckle:
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Ok..... After lots of thinking I figured it out..... They're sheds from jackelsquatch subspecies of sasquatch. Yep gotta be it those pesky creatures grow their antlers a little different then elk sure do look similar though. Any one interested in the rare jackelsquatch sheds I could probably sell one for a small fee.....
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Oh man...We can make some money! :chuckle:
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Oh man...We can make some money! :chuckle:
Something this unique you'd figure it'd be near priceless. Think thats why our hunting licenses are so expensive. What other star could you hunt with such poor quality and low success rate. Definitely one of a kind another thing where else could you have the opportunity to harvest an hoof rot elk. Now I why it's getting so expensive....
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This is the antler in question just so everyone thinking it's only broken or chewed antlers that do this. It's intact no chews no breaks....
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The atl is super dark but it was mostly covered in leaves tines up
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We've found quite a few stinky elk sheds in SW WA. They have all been ones laying in ponded water, streams, rivers or swampy areas. Draining them standing on the garage floor seems to work, and they start draining in a few minutes. Kind of a nasty black mess that comes out.
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Yes you are right mrgoodwrench i have found many stinky sheds i put them in a bucket and they stink. West side sucks.
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I don't believe this at all...I've witnessed 3 Blacktails having their antlers blown off and never once was there blood in the antler, one being a big 3pt my mom shot hitting the buck 2" above the base.
If antlers have flowing blood in them then those would be the perfect chance to see this :dunno:
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Maybe they act as a sponge soaking up water causing the marrow inside to rot? :dunno:
:yeah: :yeah:
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I just did a euro of a 5 point elk that was shot opening day of modern in Satsop, and it left a little puddle on my garage floor from a broken tip. Didn't smell it though :chuckle:
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I agree with blackvelvetbowhunter as I have found several that had broken tips or tines and have had the stinkiest blood drip from the tip onto my pack. Something must happen with the marrow not drying out.
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Colter I've found tons of bleeders, I call them stink horns. Usually they are the ones with broken tines but some have bled that wasn't broken. Usually hang them however to let it all drain out in the garage because it'll stink up the house, after a while they'll dry out and not stink. Had the same thing happen to me as well with blood running down my pack, back, and legs. Makes for a stinky pack too. Pretty commen, surprised some never heard of it....
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I have also wondered if it was just water soaked sheds that rotted on the inside absorbed through broken tines, and on the nonbroken sheds I've wondered if they was just porous antlers that absorbed water to because I've found sheds that literally just fell off that do it. Makes since it's a westside thing being that it rains here 360 days a year. Anyways it's definitely red like blood.
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The way I understand it all up until the velvit drops there is blood runing in the horns. ...could it be possible that on these dense horned west side bullz that blood could get trapped up in there ?? None of my euros have ever leaked an I've got a pretty good amount of them :dunno:
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I had my first experience with a bleeding/smelly sheds this weekend. I have a video that I am working on uploading and will attach it soon. In the meantime, here is a picture of the sheds that I found and how they were laying. They have broken tines and were tines up, they are also a few years old. I believe they fill with water and it causes them to rot and then when they are tipped over they drain out. Yes they stink! We didn't realize it. We were standing there packing them on my pack and both my wife and I looked at each other about the same time and wondering what the smell was. My wife says, "did you poop your pants"? I said, "no I thought you farted"! We looked around but couldn't find anything on the ground. Once I loaded the pack on my back she says, "one of the horns is bleeding out"! Man does it stink! The ride home in the car was pretty obnoxious! Video coming soon. It is sideways, but still easy to see.
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Here is the video http://vimeo.com/91242671 (http://vimeo.com/91242671)
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Thats nasty... and yeah... thats what its got to be...sheds absorbing water then that water stagnating and rotting and generally just getting nasty... cause as mentioned many times above, once the velvet is shed... these horns do not contain blood anymore...
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IBspoiled: Thanks for posting that. Very interesting. As said before, I've never seen nor heard about that over here on the dryside.
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Too strange. I watched two bulls fight a few years back and the loser had his antler ripped off his head, not broke off close to his head, ripped off. Not a single drop of any fluid out of it. That was in sept. :dunno:
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That's cool that you got to see something like that. I have another video loading that I will post soon. I dumped bleach on the antlers to kill the smell and clean them up. Mini worms/maggots came crawling out it's pretty gross. I thought you guys would all enjoy it though. :yike:
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Here is the worm video. I just poured a little bleach over the chewed end to help it clean out and these buggers came crawling out. :puke: http://vimeo.com/91345527 (http://vimeo.com/91345527)
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That has to be a wetside thing. I am no biologist but have never seen anything like it. Yuck
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Ya the stench they give off is pretty horrid. Worse than the streaks I get in my man panties. I usually hang them broken tines down from the south side of my shed. From the eves so they keep dry and get the sun for a week or 2. After that the stench goes away. I've had to wash my pack 3 times just to get smell out. Not too mention the carpet in my pick up.
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I thought when they stop growing and the velvet is shed, they no longer have blood flowing to them? Guess that ain't correct!
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Not sure if it's blood or just water soaked in through broken tines. It just sits in there and rots. I'm no scholar but that's my guess. It gets a little damp to say the least around these parts.
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Very good info. I have never found any stinky sheds, but I will pay better attention now. I'm not sure about a blood flow issue in the antlers post velvet. Those maggots must be feeding on moist antler tissue, so the bone must be decomposing. Anything I have ever came in contact with that is decomposing stinks, guess antler should be no different.
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haha aww man. If you spend a lot of time picking bones....eventually you will be blessed (more like cursed) to pick up a horn that's got the drips. Stinky an nasty. Ive mostly seen it with older antlers. Its pretty disgusting when you take your pack off for a break and realize its been dripping rotten horn goo all over your pack and legs.
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Picked up a small elk shed yesterday. Nastiest smelling thing I ever picked up!
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Picked up a small elk shed yesterday. Nastiest smelling thing I ever picked up!
Post a pic if you can. I'm thinking all these "blood dripping" "stinky sheds" are basically rotting out sheds in very moist climates. Even in climates that aren't super moist, I think the sheds that are doing it there as well are in a moisture rich, shaded area or partially buried in the elements. I can see where maybe moisture seeps in through a broken tine, but even that would be marginal. Also, I bet most of these sheds aren't fresh browns, and as far as truly "bleeding" out, I still don't know if I can buy that......... :dunno:
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I found a big fresh 6 point rosie shed with a broken eye guard on the coast that leaked a huge puddle of bloody goo in my sisters bath tub. It couldn't have been on the ground for more than a day or two. It had to have blood in it while he still carried it :dunno:
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same - I've picked up a few stinkies in Montana & also Cascades. Almost tossed them but eventually they dry out.
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I watched a mulie buck drop an antler. I picked it up and put it in a bucket ( tines up ) just to see if they bleed out as stated by some. Not a drop of blood has come out of the antler in 3 weeks.
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Im not sure on this ,But i think elk hold on to there horns alot longer than most deer.Might have alot more blood in there horns,maybe thats why they stay on there heads longer just guessing though. :dunno:
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Picked up a small elk shed yesterday. Nastiest smelling thing I ever picked up!
Post a pic if you can. I'm thinking all these "blood dripping" "stinky sheds" are basically rotting out sheds in very moist climates. Even in climates that aren't super moist, I think the sheds that are doing it there as well are in a moisture rich, shaded area or partially buried in the elements. I can see where maybe moisture seeps in through a broken tine, but even that would be marginal. Also, I bet most of these sheds aren't fresh browns, and as far as truly "bleeding" out, I still don't know if I can buy that......... :dunno:
I'll post up a pic tonight. It did have a broken tine and most of the stink coming from there. Looks gooey inside it. Given my work schedule and the last day I was there- it is less than two weeks old. No blood coming out. Base is dry as a.... well, antler.
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Picked up a small elk shed yesterday. Nastiest smelling thing I ever picked up!
Post a pic if you can. I'm thinking all these "blood dripping" "stinky sheds" are basically rotting out sheds in very moist climates. Even in climates that aren't super moist, I think the sheds that are doing it there as well are in a moisture rich, shaded area or partially buried in the elements. I can see where maybe moisture seeps in through a broken tine, but even that would be marginal. Also, I bet most of these sheds aren't fresh browns, and as far as truly "bleeding" out, I still don't know if I can buy that......... :dunno:
I see. I'm guessing it had an injury during the velvet stage which caused a weak, non-developed spot. Much like "club" droptines. Hence the reason it broke. Basically rotted in there since it didn't develop. :dunno:
I'll post up a pic tonight. It did have a broken tine and most of the stink coming from there. Looks gooey inside it. Given my work schedule and the last day I was there- it is less than two weeks old. No blood coming out. Base is dry as a.... well, antler.
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I found a big fresh 6 point rosie shed with a broken eye guard on the coast that leaked a huge puddle of bloody goo in my sisters bath tub. It couldn't have been on the ground for more than a day or two. It had to have blood in it while he still carried it :dunno:
That's crazy. Post a pic if you would. I'd like to see what's going on.
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I found a big fresh 6 point rosie shed with a broken eye guard on the coast that leaked a huge puddle of bloody goo in my sisters bath tub. It couldn't have been on the ground for more than a day or two. It had to have blood in it while he still carried it :dunno:
That's crazy. Post a pic if you would. I'd like to see what's going on.
Wish I could, it was about 15 or so years ago :chuckle:
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MtnMuley here ya go. Stinky, nasty inside broken tine. Base is dry and smell free. Shed is less than two weeks old.
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I found a 6x today with a broken tine. It didnt seem to be a fresh shed but had a little blood coming out and it stunk like the stinkiest elk you have smelled. Not really a bad smell just a strong elk smell. Hair and cedar wrapped around in the base. No green on the antler maybe it was fresh. Last weekend found one half buried in the river sand. Turned half green. Obvious old shed. After a day in garage it leaked a little a blood looking substance on the floor through the sand that was sealing the base. Didnt smell though.
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Thanks for posting the pics. Appears to be a moisture trap once they break causing a "rotten" spot. I'm still betting this occurred late in the developmental stage causing a weak point in the tine causing it to be easily broken. Since the antler never developed and "hardened and dried out" inside, it created a soft spot. Just my thinking......
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We picked up 4 Elk sheds this weekend, and none of them were stinky
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A couple pics I took today of a "bleeding" shed. Picked this one on the westside, at the time I could smell a whiff of stinky but had a hard time figuring out which one was the culprit since the pack was pretty full and none of the sheds appeared broken. Noticed the puddle today on the porch and was leaking from a chipped point on the tine. The wife was glad this one didnt make it inside :chuckle:
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I bet that smells like roses!!!! :chuckle: :chuckle:
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Haha.... Ya they have a distinct smell to them alright. Its wierd, cant figure out rhyme or reason why some do and some don't.
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This isn't a shed, but a whitetail skull/antlers that I macerated in preparation for a euro mount. Anyway, when I was cleaning up the skull/antlers I noticed blood seeping out of the antlers from different spots on the antler. I will try to upload the video I took of it. It is very strange. This skull was sitting in water macerating for probably 3 to 4 weeks.
(http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff454/andersonjk4/IMG_0755-2.mp4)
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I bet that smells like roses!!!! :chuckle: :chuckle:
I've been lucky so far this year, no stinky ones for me yet
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Thats good :tup:
