CLEANING EUROPEAN MOUNTS USING COLD WATER MACERATION ***SUPER EASY*** WHITETAIL TAXIDERMY!

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

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[@sheltonheath9165]

I am 67 years old & have been using cold water maceration since 1982..Absolutely the best method for cleaning skulls ! I’ve tried em all. Boiling skulls is a rookie’s mistake that will ruin skulls. It makes them brittle, flakey,,cracks, & will shrink the bone tremendously. It will destroy a bear skull shrinking it reducing the B & C score by 1/2” to 3/4” or more after the 60 drying out period that B & C requires before measuring the skull to qualify for the record book.. I learned this the hard way even tho the bear skull was record book measuring 21” after completing the drying out period. It could have been almost 22” as that was the green score before boiling. Boiler beware ! Cold water maceration and Dawn will give You the best & most professional results by far !

[@crystalinlouisiana79]

Have you ever had a problem with any that stink after maceration? I tried maceration for the first time recently on 3 deer skulls, I usually boil my deer. I really like the maceration method a lot better but the antlers still smell bad. I whiten the skulls and they smell fine but the antlers stink! The skulls are super clean, there isn't anything on them that would leave a smell, it's the antlers. I've tried soaking them in dawn and water with baking soda, Lysol, Nature's Miracle Odor remover, nothing helps

[@LittleRayOfSnshine69]

Bone shrinks as it dries, boiled or not. I've heard of people who have used beatles and still had a considerable amount of shrinkage as the skull dried over the years.

[@jeffbyrd2803]

Brother. One taxidermist to another. That was a great interesting tip. I pick and choose what I do and how much I take in.. I dont normally do about couple dozen of European a season. Boil and go. The only draw back other then it a long process is that it takes up freezer space. I like your method. I will try it. Thanks again brother.. Byrd TAXIDERMY Alabama

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I was almost ready to do away with taking European mounts all together. After I tried this, It made it one of the easiest things I can make money on! It's a nasty process, but the labor is nearly zero. Just be sure to change your water often or have a place where you won't mind the smell. All you have to do is skin it, remover the bottom jaw and tongue, and submerge it. 6-8 weeks later all you have to do is remove all the tissue from the bone (which basically falls off) and I do a low boil for about 15 minutes with dawn dishwashing liquid and water to degrease, deodorize, and sanitize and it is the cleanest skull you'll ever see.

[@jeffbyrd2803]

@@thecedarridgechronicles brother believe it or not I'm excited to give it a try. Other then that I would always dread it. Thanks again brother

[@alphasig218]

Burried mine up to the antler base, hide and all. Put an old wash tub over it with a heavy rock on top. Let it sit for 8 months and came out clean. sprayed off and put salon care 40 on it and done. Only downtime, took 8 months but zero labor.

[@jeff_8789]

Boil mine in Oxi clean for an hr then pressure wash then boil in peroxide mix for abt half hr an rinse let dry and coat with mop n glo there pure white and on the wall few hrs after there dead my buddy has a business doing all skulls and this is his method

[@tammymorris2577]

Thanks for the great tips, excellent video!!

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Thank you!

[@TheHunter61]

Awesome video thanks

[@corndawg7228]

Great info

[@christophergentile7464]

Nice

[@dhan7072]

Will definitely be switching to this method. Thanks for sharing this info sir.

[@cletusharper403]

I bury mine up to the bases, put a milk crate with a concrete block on top. I check it in 3 months, if it’s good I hose it off. I soak in peroxide/water mix for a few days. Good to go.

[@davidbright1489]

I know this is a old video but this is how I do it. I put my deer heads in a 5 gallon bucket with an aquarium heater set to 80 degrees (probably could go lower). Fill with water then add in a beer. Takes about 2-3 weeks to have everything off the bone. I do refresh the water weekly. Down side is it smells terrible so I put this far away from the house with a trash bag over it. Next deer I’m gonna try the cold water though.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Warm water maceration is definitely faster, but I don't have time to mess with skulls until after deer season. That's why I use cold water. For speed though, I would stick with warm water if you want it fast. Don't need the beer though lol just drink it.

[@falentines]

​@@thecedarridgechroniclesgotta pour one out for the homie who is giving you the skull 😂

[@johnbowhunter7676]

Great information!… funny ending!😆

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Thanks 😂

[@frankpurciful7926]

AWESOME TIP. I did antelope similar. Can't get all the stink off horns. They came off the first week

[@colemaloy6877]

Put it in oxyclean/water boil.it for 20min pressure wash it. reboil in chemical for 15 min set out to dry takes me 2 days start to finsh beautiful white skulls

[@jeremylawson7154]

Fantastic tip brother! Thx

[@kreggdanuser2963]

Thank you sir!

[@travclement9778]

Interesting… I’ll have to try this next time. I cape mine then boil for about 5 hours then pressure wash them. It works okay.

[@hunt_trap_fish]

Boil 3-4 hours. Pressure wash. Boil again in CLEAN water, 3-4 hrs with dawn to degrease. Pressure wash anything remaining off 'em. Change water and put 1gal peroxide w/4-5 gals cold water. Go from cold to a hard simmer -- should be 30mins to an hour -- remove, spray off, and dunk in the peroxide water one last time for 30 seconds to reactivate the peroxide you washed off, and set to the side to dry. It works great. I'm totally going to try the cold water version on an otter skull I have layin around.

[@robertmumaw6720]

I did my 1st skall last year, I did the boil for removing everything. Then took it to the car wash. I shot him in Nov and did it in March. He came out amazing if I may say so myself. But needless to say the people next door didn't like me. This year I got me a massive 10 point that puts my 10 point skull to same. So I'm having him shoulder mounted. Got this older man doing it that all my friends use. But it's a minimum of 10 to 12 months with a nice price tag. But he does everything in house himself and has some of the best work I've ever seen in person. And I can't wait to see my early season buck again

[@itcouldbekevin1220]

I did my first this way also. You’ll regret it later. Warm water maceration is by far a better result

[@shawnevans4662]

Great Video! Question: does submerging those antlers in that cankered water discolor the bases?

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

No it doesn't

[@traphuntnstuff8096]

Maceration is by far the best way to clean a skull. The smell is horrendous but the finished product is absolutely beautiful. I use a similar method but use a bucket warmer wrap to keep the water warm. It seems to speed up the process. Changing the water often also reduces the chance of the antler bases becoming stained. I also find the Dawn dish soap degreasing is a little more effective in warm water.

[@williamlewis5536]

Can you do a velvet buck like this? Used your video for my last euro and turned out better than any of my previous ones!! Awesome

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I'm sure you can, but the velvet would need to be preserved prior to maceration so it wouldn't rot, and then you would definitely not want it submerged.

[@buckydoedowner9040]

I can have one done and just as nice and white as yours in about the time it would take me to watch this video 12 times... but it was interesting to hear about a method i havent ever heard. I prefer to get them done before they even think about stinking.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I can too, but I prefer not to touch them until I get all my shoulder mounts in and taken care of. There isn't enough time to babysit skulls while receiving shoulders and answering calls.

[@buckydoedowner9040]

@@thecedarridgechronicles understood!

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

@@buckydoedowner9040 do you boil or simmer yours, or do you use an aquarium heater? This next season I believe I'm going to get an aquarium heater to use in a large ice chest and maybe do a batch every couple weeks rather than have to clean nearly 100 after the season ends

[@buckydoedowner9040]

@@thecedarridgechronicles I simmer for about an hr, then pressure wash the majority off. Then simmer another 20-30minute and then one last blast with pressure washer.(using a tip that won't cause damage). Let dry a bit then apply whitener of your choice. I use a peroxide/baking soda paste.

[@buckydoedowner9040]

@@thecedarridgechronicles I boiled my first couple years ago for hours until the meat fell off but it opened cracks in the skull and made them more brittle so i got away from that. Now i just let the pressure washer do most the work. They turn out great. Its a little messy so i wear full rain gear. lol I can usually have them from hide on to on a plaque in 3 hrs aslong as their somewhat fresh kills. They seem to need more whitening the older/longer they sit around in the hide though. So i like them fresh.

[@jimkeller5538]

I just take them to my beetle guy. He calls me when they’re done. Lol. I just got one in two days ago. Maybe I’ll try mace ration. I hate boiling them. I’ve done it just not my thing. Thanks for all the tips. I’ve been doing taxidermy a long time but I’m always eager to find a better way to do something.

[@hunt_trap_fish]

@TheCedarRidgeChronicles do you think I could do this w/an otter skull? I saved the ONE otter I caught so far in my trapping career, and I'd love to paint and display it, but pressure washing is going to wreck it.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Yes it will work with nearly anything

[@hunt_trap_fish]

@@thecedarridgechronicles awesome thank you!

[@adamwoerner5567]

What if I already boiled and pressure washed. Will it still work with letting the skull sit in cold water with dawn to draw out the grease? Thanks.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I think it would help for sure, but probably do better at a simmer

[@heathfaber3415]

A little off topic but I was wondering what kind of Mackenzie form you guys use for northeastern whitetails

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

They have sizes for nearly any size on most of their forms

[@justinkelly2880]

Do you have to refresh the water or can I just leave the heads in the original water I put them in. I've had couple heads soaking for close to a month and the tissue hasn't released yet.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Change the water out weekly if it's cold and every couple days if it's warm. There are anaerobic and aerobic bacteria that will break down the flesh, and the aerobic will multiply with the extra oxygen from fresh water and speed the process. It will still take a couple months in cold water.

[@WWTs-2021]

I once put my peroxide in to boil the meat off instead of my degreaser (oxi clean) and boiled it for 20 minutes before I realized then switched it out for my degreaser and it did better than the normal process. Thought maybe I found a new way lol but I’m afraid to try it again. The skull was super white and the meat came off easier.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I have heard of someone boiling with water and peroxide, and that is works great, it have never tried it

[@WWTs-2021]

@@thecedarridgechronicles I always have trouble getting all the teeth completely white but I’m gonna try your method this time and see how it goes for me.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Check out my skull whitening video. It will change your life lol!

[@WWTs-2021]

Haha! For sure I will! Thanks!

[@rob701TurkeyGuy]

Warm water maceration is faster and helps loosen the fat. Bucket heaters or aquarium heater.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

That’s what I use the majority of the time

[@killintime8431]

For sheep,goat ,antelope I like to boil the horn sheaths off to cut the horn cores down and clean them out. I’m wondering will the sheath come off by soaking them in the cold water or will it just damage them from soaking them that long

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

That is a very good question. I feel like they should probably come off first. I'll try and get my hands on one to experiment with.

[@killintime8431]

@@thecedarridgechronicles 👍👍👍👍

[@sea_wolf]

You are correct about maceration being the way to go but getting your info from Facebook isn't going to get you 100% of what you need. Letting things just sit for months isn't good for customer work. Bogs you down and makes for impatient folks wanting their stuff. The correct way to do maceration is to HEAT the water. Low heat, but it still needs heat for this to be done correctly in a professional shop. I have taught folks this method for years and use it myself in preference to all other forms of cleaning, especially boiling. You are correct that bugs need to be fed and maintained. But using cold water isn't the way. When teaching folks, especially younger ones that want to experiment with this, the common cry I hear is that of "I don't want to or can't spend any money, don't have any money". Telling folks that cold water works is only saying that you didn't want to spend the money to do it right (not you personally but the Facebook user whose info you are using). A 300 watt, submersible aquarium heater is not a big expense. Neither would 4 or 5 of them be if it doubled your cash intake for mounts. There are also wrap around bucket heaters that have seriously come down in price over the past few years. Your water needs to be constantly heated to at least 80 degrees to 90 and not more than that. Your skulls will be clean in 2 WEEKS .. not 3 months or more. This is one tutorial I have put online to show folks how to do this. Is just type and photos, not a video. There is at least one other tutorial done with a mountain lion head in the tutorial section and a ton of other threads in the Skull and Skeleton section. Take a look, read the other tutorial and try heat. Doubling your output isn't a bad thing as well as the heat allows the bacteria to really eat the grease out of them as well. Cold water just solidifies the grease and makes it a lot harder to remove. www.taxidermy.net/threads/125253/ the mountain lion post is here www.taxidermy.net/threads/338002/

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Awesome I'll try that out

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Do you use buckets, or can you use an ice chest

[@sea_wolf]

​@@thecedarridgechronicles I use a lot of 5 gal buckets. I have also used chests and cut down chemical barrels from places like car washes etc (free). the biggest trick is insulating the containers to keep the heat in. Insulating keeps the heat steady and helps with electricity as the heaters are not cycling all the time in cold weather. Antlers pose a problem but disposable sections of bubble wrap can be pushed around the antlers at the bucket surface and it does help. The chemical barrels can be cut to a height that goes above the antlers and insulation can be put over the top and not be touching the water surface. Also remember you are working with flesh eating bacteria. Gloves should be worn and if you have any cuts do not allow the maceration fluid to get anywhere near them.

[@sea_wolf]

I have also experimented with making an enclosure, heating that to 90 degrees and then keeping the buckets inside. The buckets get heated from the ambient temp in the enclosure and you do not have to cover or insulate the buckets. Can't post a photo but the enclosure was made of panels of the pink foundation foam. Walls and top, ground inside was bare. Had 14 5gal buckets in there and a few bins and it worked great.

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Ok great. And yes I poked myself on a piece of twist tie wire while messing with skulls a few years back and basically injected myself with flesh eating bacteria. Got sore the next day and the following day I knew I had a problem! 3 shots and a week of antibiotics later I was fine. 😂

[@rob701TurkeyGuy]

Beetles create more work. All year round pet. Get stuck in the skull. Stink badly. Gotta keep warm but not hot and dry. Will fly and can get into.your carpet amd mounts. Watch for mites. Set and forget but more work.

[@theherb-ivore9082]

Hey do u happen 2 have any videos on how 2 make a deer skin rug?

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I don't, but I don't break leather. It would have to be softened after drying

[@theherb-ivore9082]

@@thecedarridgechronicles any suggestion 4 channels 2 watch about doing it? Thanks 4 your time by the way

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I sure don't, but I would maybe look up some tannery channels

[@williamlewis5536]

What’s the hair products you paint it with after boiling? Can’t find it

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

40 volume peroxide and BW whitening powder. You can get them at beauty supply stores like Sally's

[@williamlewis5536]

@@thecedarridgechronicles thank you sir!

[@jasonpine1142]

So u just soak the skull cape in cold water also

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I'll skin the head and remove the bottom jaw first unless it had been sitting outside for weeks and has dried out

[@keithblankenship1883]

thank u sir

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Yessir

[@stevechance4422]

How do I get wood stain off my deer skull??

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Peroxide will probably lighten it, but I'm not sure it will get rid of it. You may have to spot spray it with some ultra matte white or ivory paint

[@011CJ]

Ok I'm done doing it any other way thanks for the vid

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Hahaha you're welcome

[@deannakoa3]

How much do you do Euro skulls for ?

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

$85 without a plaque, $125 with

[@jasonnester9514]

I boil and have a skull super white and grease free in a day how did it take u so long

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

I'm caping and fleshing for shoulder mounts all deer season. Maceration takes no maintenance and allows me to work on tanning. Also, I'm not standing over a boiling pot for 100+ skulls a year

[@jasonnester9514]

@@thecedarridgechronicles don’t blame u there 100plus wow I’m lucky if I get 30 shoulder mounts lol not many deer killed around here

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

@@jasonnester9514 I'm in Alabama and we have 4 months and 10 days of deer season haha! It never ends

[@jasonnester9514]

@@thecedarridgechronicles I’m in Ohio we have also 4 months of season I guess guys don’t kill many in my area I know it’s been 10 years since I even seen a big one it’s just crazy

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

@@jasonnester9514 we have gun season open from Nov. 1 till Feb. 10. Lots of time to get a big one. Plus we get 3 bucks a year and baiting is legal. I haven't seen a big one here this year. Only when I went to Missouri lol

[@carlkelley326]

I bury mine and they are free from flesh and hide but they are usually brown stained and don’t look as good

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Yeah the minerals in the soil will stain the bone and also you are left with the yellowing from the grease

[@roonbooks1418]

What boiling does is opens the bone up,then the fat etc. Gets reabsorbed back into the open pores. Just my 2 cents worth

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Yep. Also dissolves all the cartilage and makes the bones fall apart

[@jasonnester9514]

@@thecedarridgechronicles never had an issue with that

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

@@jasonnester9514 it's not a problem if the skull is fresh and the water isn't heated too hot for too long

[@jasonnester9514]

@@thecedarridgechronicles I get same results with rotten dead heads to one day boil and whiten idk man

[@dudejrryan]

I've had folks tell me to put them in an ant bed,never tried it...I have three dogs myself & foxes, coyotes & bobcats around here. The bigger problem is good old Georgia red dirt & clay which seems to be the preffered dirt of fire ants.If that stuff gets in bone I have never seen anything that will remove it totally. I've always boiled them myself & like you said it is a time consuming overrated process.😂. May have to give your technique a try, way to hot right now. Looks like you are working in a cooler...are you?

[@thecedarridgechronicles]

Sort of. My shop is made out of used cooler panels. Hahaha

[@nuffsaid6807]

I skin mine and bury mine ...and cover it. Never had one walk off