Posted on by Reindeer

Antlers for sale

Lace
Lace still proudly wearing her antlers… we’ll see if we can find them when she casts them!

Each year every member of our 150-strong herd (well, with just a handful of exceptions… Malawi, Dixie…) grows a pair of antlers. And every winter, at some point between November and May, those same antlers are naturally cast so the owner can grow a (theoretically) bigger, better set the next year.

Over the winter months, our reindeer are all roaming free on either the Cromdale or Cairngorm mountains, so there are many antlers that ping off into the heather and snow and are either never seen again, or are picked up by a lucky hillwalker. But plenty of the antlers are found by us, collected and brought back to the Centre, then usually handed over to Hen. She has (foolishly?) taken on the task of sorting out what happens to them next.

Antlers
The first of the antlers for the year…

First job is to identify which reindeer the antler belongs to. Sometimes this is easy – perhaps we saw two reindeer having a tussle and witnessed the moment the antler parted ways from its owner. Some antlers are pretty distinctive and when whoever found it walks into the office with it, usually displayed held on their own head and asking, “Who am I??” there is a chorus of correct answers from the other herders present. But sometimes it is a fairly standard shape and size, and then it comes down to skimming through our photo archive (we aim to keep a recent photo of every member of the herd) until it is spotted in its previous position attached to a head.

Once the past owner of the antler is identified, first port of call is our “Antlers wanted” list – if you adopt a reindeer and fancy owning a set of their antlers just drop us an email and we can pop you on it – bear in mind there are only a maximum of two antlers available each year though, and we frequently don’t find both! Otherwise we write to any adopters of that reindeer to see if they’re interested in buying it, on a “first come, first served” basis – whilst this is the fairest way we can do it, it often leads to several phonecalls on the same day asking to buy it, and we can only sell it to the first respondant! Finally, if none of the adopters want it, or indeed if the reindeer has no adopters, then it goes for sale in our shop here at the Centre, usually in about June.

Kota's antlers
Various wearers of the same set of antlers: Kota, Imogen and Hen
Israel
A slightly less impressive offering from Israel this year…

Antlers come in all shapes and sizes, from big handsome bull antlers (we usually only have one or two large sets available each year) to fancy cow antlers, and calf “twigs” to furry broken castrate antlers. We’ve already started working through the pile of antlers that we’ve found this year, and the biggest set without a doubt belonged to our breeding bull Kota. One of his adopters was delighted to purchase the set, but as they don’t live locally, the next challenge was packaging them up to post. As you can imagine, transforming a pair of unwieldly, bony objects into a postable package is easier said than done… We first wrap the points in bubble wrap, not to protect the antler (it’s solid bone) but to stop it bursting out of the package, and then pop the whole thing in an empty barley bag (or two, in the case of Kota’s set). Barley bags are super as they have two strong layers of paper, and we’re helping the environment out by recycling. As an added bonus, recipients often find a few stray flakes of barley! Though on the downside, sometimes the posting out of antlers is delayed because the reindeer haven’t eaten enough for us to use the next bag of barley in our feed mix!

Packaging antlers
Kota’s antlers being packaged for posting

With a large pile of antlers still to work through, and plenty left on the heads of the reindeer on the mountains, its likely that it’ll be summer before we finish finding new homes for them. All of the funds raised from the sales go straight back into the day-to-day care of the herd, so it both helps us out and hopefully brings a lot of pleasure to anyone who buys them. Every antler is unique and its great to have something sustainable which allows people to own a “bit” of a reindeer!

Andi

Please note – there’s now a newer, more up-to-date blog about how we sell antlers, which you can read here.

49 Replies to “Antlers for sale”

    1. Hi Jane,
      There is currently quite a long waiting list for pairs of antlers, so I will put you on to that but don’t hold your breath for anything particularly soon! As the reindeer lose their antlers out on the mountains we don’t end up finding many pairs each year. I’ll be in touch via email once your name is at the top of the list. Best wishes, Hen.

        1. Hi Andrew,

          At the moment we have closed our pairs antler waiting list as it is just too long. I would suggest getting in contact in a year or so to find out if we have opened it again.

          Best wishes, Lotti

    1. Hi Jacqui, are you after a pair? I can pop you on the waiting list, though it may well be next year before we get down to you on the list. If you’re just looking for one antler it may be quicker. Let me know what you’re after! Thanks, Andi

  3. I would be interested in 1 please. Preferably one with a roundness to it as I intend to build a staff. I know it’s a tall order. Are you able to give a cost estimate?

    1. We’ve put you on the list for a single antler, and will let you know once we reach you on the list! Could be anywhere from £15 – £45, depending on size etc. Best wishes, Andi

  4. Can’t find an email address will this do? I am after an antler pair of antlers from Origami if you’ve got any. Please let me know. Will search again for an email. Thanks Sarah

  6. Hi
    I’d like to buy 2 pairs of antlers please. Hold you add me to the waiting list

  7. I would like to purchase a set of antlers, could I please be added to the waiting list for Antlers 🙂

    Kind regards

    Suzanne

  9. I would really love if you could put me on the waiting list. I absolutely love these animals.

    1. Have added you to the list – is it a pair or a single antler you’re interested in?

  10. Please could you add me to the waiting list. I don’t need a pair, just one and it doesn’t need to be big. Just found out that the No. 1 thing our 6-year old wants for Christmas is a real reindeer antler, preferably from Rudolph!
    Thanks

  11. Hi Andi
    Could you add me to the waiting list for a pair of antlers or single if available quicker.
    Many thanks and Happy Xmas!
    Mags

    1. Hi Jill,

      No problem, have added you. Will be in touch, hopefully within the next few months.

      Hen

      1. I’m afraid our antler waiting list is currently closed, being as it’s over a year long at the moment. If you are interested in a single antler rather than a pair then I have some available – just drop me an email at info@cairngormreindeer.co.uk. Kind regards, Hen

  15. Hi I’m looking for an antler to make a shamanic rattle, it doesn’t need to be very big, could you put me on your waiting list please xxx

    1. Hi Louise,
      Thanks for showing an interest. I have added you to the list, when we have something available we’ll contact you on the email address we can see attached to your comment. Kind regards.

  16. Hi, Andi,
    I would love to purchase a single antler from a female reindeer. It doesn’t have to be a big one, but one with a nice curve would be great. If you could add me to your list, that would be much appreciated. An idea of cost and waiting time, would also be helpful. Many thanks and kind regards, Paul

    1. Hi Paul,
      Have added you to the waiting list – you’re looking at several months at least though, if not a year or more. Demand outweighs supply! Single antlers vary hugely in price, but £40-£50 for a relatively nice one would be around average, but it can vary overall from £15 – £90 probably.

  17. Hello.
    These are wonderful animals. I know the list and wait is very long, but please add me for a pair of antlers. It will be a nice surprise one day.

    Thank you!

  19. Hiya, I’m looking for a pair of antlers not too smale not too large. Thank you for adding me on the waiting list.

    1. Hi Sean, the waiting list for pairs is currently closed due to it being so long, but I can add you to the waiting list for a single antler? Can you reply to me via email as I may not see your reply on here – don’t always see comments on blogs until months later. Email address on the website.

  21. Hello, im looking for antlers to cut up for sami knifes. Please let me know if you want to sell some.

    1. Hi, I’m afraid that the antler waiting list is currently closed, due to it being extremely long just now. However, we rarely get antler available that is thick enough to make knife handles from – my manager has to buy in antler herself to make handles from. She gets hers from the Finnish website Brisa, so you could try there? Sorry not to be able to help, Hen

      1. Hi Lee,

        At the moment we have closed our pairs antler waiting list as it is just too long. I would suggest getting in contact in a year or so to find out if we have opened it again.

        Best wishes, Lotti

  23. Would like to buy 2 singles. Each for a man;s outside hut. No idea what size – would need advice. Thanks.

Comments are closed.

Book Now