Aging glands

So half way through last season I decided to save my cat glands. I didn’t realize how quick they add up. I wanted some aged and some fresh so I used about 8oz ground up for aging and then ground up the other 10oz and preserved them. The aged ones were in a glass jar with a loose lid in a bigger bucket that was sealed to keep the fly’s out. The preserved ones were just sealed up and put on the shelf with my trapping stuff. Fast forward 7 months and the ones I was aging smell like a dead animal pit and the preserved ones have a very strong cat odor (like the ammonia cat smell that burns your nose a little). I mixed the preserved ones with some mink, castor, muskrat gland, and genuine catnip oil. It makes up to almost 16oz of lure that smells like a good off the shelf lure. The aged stuff still smells like a dead animal pit and I have no idea what to do with it.

So my conclusion so far is that you can age preserved glands (since the smell intensified a lot over the last 7 months). My question is, what am I doing wrong with the glands I didn’t preserve first?

Be interested in this thread as I am facing the exact same thing. Any tip on what to add to make it better appreciated. I am thinking of castor to knock the smell off a bit. I think I’ll stay fresh from now on.

I will be interested to hear what the professionals say , the one thing that I would be curious to know if you kept them in a controlled environment. I think if they got too hot they may be spoiled ?

It is hard to say without knowing what parts you put in and how clean you cut them.There are many ways to make gland lure.On cats and canines,I use clean anal glands,attached to the rectum,the bladder and female reproductive parts.I save the bladder urine and store that in a very cold fridge.After a year or so of the glands aging,if I think the glands are too thick,I will add a little bit of the bladder urine.I don't like runny lures and bladders can vary in volume so that is why I hold back the bladder urine.This lets me adjust the thickness of the lure,later.

I am careful to not get any fecal matter in it,and any connective tissue is kept to a minimum.I add no preservatives at all but just let them age.My gland lure smells at least as good as the best that I have purchased.I like it aged 1 year minimum,but it gets better with age.

The glands that you have that are not preserved,I would let them continue to age and see if it improves.

Don't rush the aging process 7 months is not that long for glands. Add a little Cat urine and give it a mix once a week or so. It will mellow out quite nicely once the bacteria starts to break things down. Now isn't the time to start adding things other than urine until you get the glands broken down and stabilized.

Thanks. Cat urine is all I have added and set aside A couple months ago. Need to get it back out and give a sniff. I have some cat glands that are over ten years old and they’re a creamy liquid.

I would recommend that you take all cat glands and bladders,Cat Trapper,NV.Some lure makers have said they may not make bobcat lures this year.Bobcat glands are always more scarce than coyote or fox.With the amount of cats that you catch,you would have enough for your own gland lure and probably some to use in formulation.I save all I can get and make my own gland lure.Red fox is another one,top on my list.but also gland coyotes as well.

As stated, glands need to age past the rank stage, it takes more than seven months. a year minimum. Seems I get better responses with fresh gland mixes. Add red fox urine to half and none to the other half to the fresh stuff, See what works best.

Save all your glands, I get most of my supplies by trading glands for credit.

Age your glands like a fine wine.. don't rush it.

I think I've seen Paul say he ages fox glands 2 years minimum, maybe more.

I age indoors in a controlled environment basically. Slowly. They are all ground as fine as I can get them at first, this helps to speed up the age and breakdown process. I much prefer the end result odor as being most natural compared to hot aging outdoors. Clean glands and good cuts yield good results.

Most glands we use for formulation are 5-8 years old before use. That is why our gland color is tan to brown in color. We must keep a good inventory to allow this annual formula use process to remain consistent.