how to clean a rotting red deer skull, any ideas

[Toddy]

He did say to do it outdoors

Unless you've sourced ants (and they are incredibly effective) or crabs, then the biological/ soda mix and boiling it really works.

In the medieval period it was a specialised technique by monks to render the flesh off the bones of nobility and saints to leave just the bones.
We 'think' they dismembered the corpse, but we do know that it was boiled for days in vinegar to dissolve the flesh.

I think biological washing powder and soda's tidier than that, tbh.

cheers,
M

 

[Stringmaker]

He did indeed...

 

[Toddy]

What do ants do in Winter anyway ?
I know which slabs I need to lift to uncover their nest (watched them totally devour a dead sparrow over a year ago, it was gruesomely fascinating; within 24 hours there was no speugh at all) and I wondered about their efficacy in corpse disposal in woodland soil ) but am reluctant to disturb them just out of sheer nosiness.

I think if the skull was mine, I'd be digging a shallow hole and pile up the removed soil ontop of the skull and leaving it alone for a while.....preferably near the ants nest.

I do a lot of dyeing, but even so, I don't have a pot big enough to boil up a deerhead with it's antlers still attached.

M

 

[robin wood]

i know where there are hundreds of wood ants nests actually, shame its a bit too early for them

As far as I am aware wood ants overwinter as large colonies they are just less active, if it was mine I would head off into the woods off the beaten track, push it down and wriggle it in to the top of a big nest and make a good note of where it was come back in a week to see how it is going, might take a bit longer this time of year but I am sure they would do it and they do a lovely clean job.

 

[calgarychef]

If you want to use maggots do it in the summer with fresh skulls, put them in a plastic bag to keep moist, slash the bag in a couple of places to allow the flies in to lay their eggs and wait for the maggots to do the rest. Your skull won't work for this method, you can use dermestid beetles but you've got to create a big enough colony of beetles to do the job so this won't work either.

You can use maceration and I'd bet this would work the best with an older dried out skull but it stinks to high heavens so needs to be done outdoors. It also needs to be warm enough for the bacteria to do its job, not for the faint of heart. I used natural rotting like this to remove some waterbuffalo horns in Australia and the smell was beyond description.

That brings you back to boiling which has already been explained quite well. I use soda ash when boiling, but never get the bones above a very light simmer. The best way to get the flesh off is with running water or an air gun ie; compressed air. I like to leave the nasal bones because they look cool but they do take a lot more work to clean. When boiled and cleaned let the skull dry a couple days ten coat in peroxide (30% works best). The peroxide can be mixed with magnesium carbonate, it's a white powder and makes the peroxide intona nice paste that clings to the bone. Let this paste sit a couple days then brush it off and voila a gorgeous white skull! Observe proper precautions when using chemicals like this of course.

 

[xylaria]

I buried mine in the allotment. It was a stag and antlers stuck out of the ground. It didnt smell and there was nothing grimey about getting it clean. I buried it for a few months, before digging up. i did plonk it in something antibac like once it was dug up, it was probably bicarb and washing soda/biotex. I cant remember what but it wasn't bleach.

 

[Elen Sentier]

Calgarychef, that was really helpful to me, thank you

 

[stuey]

Stuey, that post deserves rep

cheers,
M

Thanks Mary

 

[cumbrian_pete]

Thanks for all the super helpful info guys, im going to put it to good use today =)

 

[Mesquite]

Thanks for all the super helpful info guys, im going to put it to good use today =)

At last says your g/f

 

[mountainm]

I wonder if crayfish would do it?

 

[Rod Paradise]

I wonder if crayfish would do it?

Can't see why not.

 

[McBiggles]

Having done many cetacean skulls, just drop it in a large barrel of plain water and let nature take it's course. Preserves all the delicate bones as well...

 

[British Red]

If it has gone green in any places, don't use bleach to get it white - it damages the skull - hydrogen peroxide is much better