Skull Cleaning

Hi Al,
There's several ways you can clean skulls.

They can be boiled.

You can soak them in a pail of water for several months until the meat rots off. (Make sure you have a lid for the pail, because this gets putrid smelling)

You can use dermastid beetles, and they will eat the meat from the skull.

Which ever method you choose, when your finished removing the meat and other debris, you want to use some 40% peroxide to soak it in. That gives it the white, clean, bleached look. You can buy that in any hair salon.
Some folks use straight bleach. Not a good idea. Bleach will cause the skull to flake as time goes by leaving a pile of white crust around it wherever you decide to display it. Left in bleach too long also burns the bone sorta speak, leaving the edges and corners with a porous appearance.

Afterwards they can be sprayed with a sealer.



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~River Runner~

Champion Tannery
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www.predatormasters.com
 
go to www.Taxidermy.net then go to left-hand column and click under archives and search skull cleaning--wealth of information there.
I've been doing some wolf skulls out in the garage--boiling them on a propane fish cooker. boil and scrape--boil and scrape. Big mess--stinks too! Lots of fun! Man I love this sport!
 
River
Could you elaborate on the dermastid beatles?
Is this the critter that only eats DEAD flesh or if it gets loose, will it hurt my dogs or me?

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Safety,Ethics, Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
 
They feed on organic matter, Tackdriver.
Deadbodies, dead skin tissue, decaying meat, etc.

I've never seen or heard where they caused humans or domestic animals any harm, but you still want to keep them contained, because if you have hides in your shop or cheaply done animal mounts, etc, they will spread onto them and destroy them.

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~River Runner~

Champion Tannery
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www.predatormasters.com
 
Thanks for the Welcome River Runner-- I've had some problems with Dermistad Beetles--they do a really good job but you have to be careful how you handle them, don't let them anywhere near your house or your shop. You need to keep them warm and they do stink--now I'm no expert just something I tried in the back yard.I only clean a few skulls a year and found that boiling them works well and then soak them in Peroxide for a few hours then set in the sun. It helps if you have an air compressor or better yet a power washer, I once used the local car wash but I know the guy that owns it and I couldn't do that to him again.
I once tried to bury 4 bear skulls in the ground--dug them up 18 months later and they stunk something terrible but were only about half clean of meat. Canadian soil too cold. Put wolf skull in 5-gal plastic pail of water and set it in the bush in the spring--went back and got it in the fall. Teeth all fell out and skull is funny green color but it was cleaned and didn't smell once I washed it up. Whatever you do don't try to bleach with Clorine (Clorox or Javex) it turns the bone to powder.
I'm boiling a coyote skull right now--shot him the driveway last nite.
 
Thanks for all of the tips,
I tried boiling, I left them in at a boil for about 15min. Then I tried to scrape them. It didn't seem like the boiling did anything at all, except smell up my garage.
How long do you think I should boil them for? Should I just use plain water, or should I put some soap in it or something?
Thanks again.
 
Al...
add a 1/4 cup of washing soda to every gallon of water your using to boil your skull. It gels the meat left on the bone and will liquify the contents of the brain cavity allowing you to pour it out.
I should have mentioned that in my earlier post and it slipped my mind. Sorry about that.

Washing Soda is sometimes called Sal Soda. It's a pure form of Sodium Carbonate. You should be able to find it in a drug store. If not a local taxidermist could order it for it you. If not...let me know and I can get some for you.

You want to boil your skulls until your able to literally pour the brain cavity clean.
I hook a wire to the skull as I boil them, I can pull them out by the wire and check it.

Another good hint...don't pull the skull and dump the water when your done. Let the water cool, and with some rubber gloves on, go through the water. There will more then likely be some teeth on the bottom you want to glue back in.



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~River Runner~

Champion Tannery
predatorlogo3jpg.gif

www.predatormasters.com
 
You might even find it in a grocery store. It's commonly used for water softening. I've seen a diluted version of it in the grocery store here called Rain Drops Water Softener.

It'll take more then a 1/4 cup if you end up using one of these, unless you can find one that says 100% Sodium Carbonate on it.

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~River Runner~

Champion Tannery
predatorlogo3jpg.gif

www.predatormasters.com
 
They can be boiled.

Quick and easy, but don't overcook em and don't try it with juveniles.

You can soak them in a pail of water for several months until the meat rots off. (Make sure you have a lid for the pail, because this gets putrid smelling)

I have been experimenting with this (maceration) for quite some time. It can be a real pain in the butt and produce really poor specimens if done wrong, or it can be quick, easy, and produce great specimens if done right. The original plan was just what RR said-pitch em in a bucket and wait. Problems: its slow, teeth fall out, calcium dissolves and precipitates on the bones leaving a white chalky goo thats a pain in the butt to get off, and iron precipitates leaving a black film on everything. After about 3 years and several thousand dead wolves and lynx, we have (mostly) got it figured out! The secrets are heat, oxygen, and proteinase enzymes. I use a 200 gallon plastic horse tank for the tank, a 1500W circulating block heater for the heat, a fishtank aerator for the O2, and papaya enzyme (available at any health food store) for the proteinase. Lightly boil the critters (bring to roiling boil then turn the heat off), pitch em in the tank, wait 5-7 days, remove and clean with a brush (and Simple Green for marine mammals and other oily stuff).

You can use dermastid beetles, and they will eat the meat from the skull.

I've never seen or heard where they caused humans or domestic animals any harm

Dermestids work very well for skull cleaning, especially for small and fragile things (ever try to boil a bat or shrew?). I don't think you could maintain a colony on a few dead things a year--they have to eat all the time. The dermestids themselves aren't harmful, but they do produce some nasty byproducts (allergens in the "dust" around the colony).

There are some more detailed goodies at
http://www.uaf.edu/museum/mammal/Procedures_Manual/bugs.html

This doesn't get updated as often as it should, and we are constantly experimenting, but there is some good info there.

[This message has been edited by Dusty-n-Alaska (edited 02-02-2002).]
 
Hi all...

Couldnt help but throw my $0.02 in on this topic... One thing I have found to be the absolute best for removing the meat from Coyotes, Bobcats, Coon or any other small enough animal is to use a Crock Pot and Sal Soda. Let it "cook" for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of the skull, pull it out and the meat will just about fall off the bone.

However, I would NOT recommend using the wifes or mothers Crock Pot... Have you EVER seen a woman turn several shades of red?? Well, if not, then just use her good cookware, I'm sure she can oblige...

Disclaimer: "Use of the Mother-in-laws crock pot is considered the best method of flesh removal"

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Stretch your limits.
 
Strech,

I have seen those colors. They turned green too. My wifey came home 7 months pregnant to the smell of Badger head soup and she puked!
 


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