Maceration in Cold Weather

[treillw]

Has anybody tried maceration in a cold climate during the winter in an uninsulated garage?

What temperature does the water need to stay above for the process to work? Any recommendations for a heat source to keep the temperatures up?

How is the smell if you change the water every 2 or 3 days? Not sure if I want everything in my garage smelling like a dead head.

Thanks!

 

[30338]

Its going to smell bad, period. I'd take an old cooler for elk heads, or a 5 gallon bucket for deer heads. Wrap the bucket with an old moving blanket and some bungee cords. Fill with hot water and deer head. Drop in two of these heaters, keep the water above the skull plate and in 9 days or so, you should be ready to degrease.

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Done properly, there is 0 picking, 0 pulling of flesh. It should all just fall off with a gentle rinse.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

I have a bad habit of leaving my spring bear heads in the freezer until Septemberish before I get around to them so the temps are starting to drop here by the time I get them macerating. I keep them at my work in a warehouse, heat is on 24/7 so I don't bother with an aquarium heater...takes a bit longer but it's not a speedy process to begin with. I use a 5 gallon bucket for bears and tie that up in a contractor bag, helps a lot with the stink but it definitely smells pretty awful when you change the water. Have also heard that a lack of oxygen will create more corpse wax and that's something I've had issues with before so sealing in the stink may work against you. Using a heater link mentioned above might help with this as well, I only use a heater for degreasing though. Whenever I do change the water I always use very warm water and leave a quarter of the old water in there to keep the bacteria working. I highly recommend maceration for animals that have interesting turbinates, (bears, coons, sheep) but most ungulates would just go in the simmer pot and be done in a day for me.

 

[JG358]

I use a tub out in the shed with a stock tank heater in it. Takes a while but works for me.

 

[treillw]

Has anybody boiled the skull first for a little and then thrown in in the maceration tank?

Wondering how that might help with the smell.

 

[30338]

I’d pass on any boiling or any soaps. Changing water often would help the odor, but possibly delay rotting a few days. That may be worth a shot though.

 

[SLDMTN]

Boiling will only help with the smell initially. You need the meat to rot from the bone. Any soaps or detergents will destroy the microbacteria that you are trying to culture.

My $0.02, buy a cheap insulated cooler and throw the head in there with an aquarium heater. You'll be out $50 but the process will work much faster than with cold water. The insulated cooler helps retain heat from the aquarium heater. Change the water once a week and be careful not to lose any teeth when you dump the water.

Corpse wax is an issue with maceration but you can scrape it off or use a soda blaster and make short work of it.