SUPER random taxidermy question...

[AliCat37]

Not trying to sound like a creeper, but I collect a lot of bones in my spare time, and a kid gave me two coyote skulls yesterday. They've been dead for over a year now, and no scavengers have touched them (gross.). So they've got lots of nasty flesh still stuck on them- SOOOO... how do I get the flesh off? I boiled a coyote carcass in relatively the same condition last year and I am not looking to do that again... That was disgusting and I smelled like a corpse for a week.

Will hydrogen peroxide get the flesh off? Any help would be appreciated. I'm not sure if anyone else is into taxidermy here. :sidestep:

 

[Allalaskan]

haha, my recommendation was boil them but I would do it OUTSIDE in a big pot over a fire where you can get it going and leave it for as long as you need. Next to that something I have heard of but dont know how well it would really work is get a container and bury it in soil and put in lots of earth worms and give it a few months. Never tried it but I have heard of that being done before.

The Hydrogen Peroxide might work, but you would have to get quite a bit and even though I dont know if it would really work. I would try bleach if the peroxide doesnt work.

Haha, I would say if you breed rats throw it in with them im sure they will munch all of the flesh off hahaha, but they may naw on the bone too.

 

[airenlow]

My dad always boiled skulls...it was pretty nasty though. What are the beetles they use now?

 

[AliCat37]

Yeah I boiled the last one outside on the grill lmao. I know they use beetles now, but the flesh is old and dry, I don't think the beetles will go for it
I've got a chicken outside in a container right now too, mother nature is doing just fine with that one. I may use the earth worm idea, I had not thought about that..

Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Allalaskan]

ya if you keep the dirt nice and moist, maybe soak that skull in some water over night to moisten up the flesh the worms should be able to eat it as it rots.

 

[Renosgirl]

I find that whenever I boil bones they become really soft...I would try the worms before I would boil imo

 

[AliCat37]

I didn't have a problem with my other coyote softening.. but I only boiled it until the flesh came off and I pulled the rest off with gloves and a knife. Gross, again. Lol.

I'll try the worms if I can't find a faster way.

 

[PurraLovesJazz]

check out http://furhideandbone.livejournal.com/ its a group just for that sort of thing, and I'm sure you could find good answers or help there

 

[beautifullywild77]

Tub of water, its called maceration. bugs can stain the skulls yellow, boiling damages and shrinks the skull actually... so avoid it. has to be temp controlled to SIMMER, and never rise above 180F. pretty tricky. Toss em in a walmart bag, then in a bucket of water. The bag helps keep the teeth, etc from falling out... ad they will need to be removed and elmers glued in. Use sunlight to whiten them, or soak in water with wood ash (lye soap in a crude form) OR if you want to... peroxide it. NEVER BLEACH! it leaches calcium out of the bones! ‎*maceration can take a month, but its the best way...yes it will smell awful. yes, you can cover it-just not air tight.

My dad likes to do the english style mount of his antlers and skulls of elk... He does it this way~!

 

[Allalaskan]

awsome information Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Snakewhisperer]

Dermestid beetles, they'll eat the dried flesh, just be careful if anything else dead and fleshy is nearby, ex. museum collection

 

[Nitelion94]

I only know of boiling them. I can how ever say flesh hanging from a skull is not a pretty image to be stuck in your head as it is in mine now! lol