I have done 60-70 heads using the simmer method. After watching this video I decided to try this method. After 10 days it was clean however all of the teeth and different bones in skull are very loose. Have you ever experienced this?
Yes. On some skulls especially younger deer the bones will loosen. Most will tighten after the skull dries but I always glue the nose bones up to reinforce them. I also put a drop of glue alongside each tooth on their back side
Only change 1/2 of the water, keeps bacteria going better. Also look into a temp controller. Plug your heat lamp into it. This will keep temp where you want it. Inkbird makes a good, make sure the wattage on your heater/lamp doesn't exceed the rating on the controller. Works for degreasing at 120 degrees with a 1000 watt submersible bucket heater(controller is rated at 1200) degreasing keeps them white for ever! For what it's worth, I have a PVC ball valve and 1 1/4 flex spa hose connected to a rubbermaid tub for a drain. Works great!
Interesting techniques. I’ve boiled many of them, just did one Tuesday but it is labor intensive. I had about 6 hours roughly in boiling whitening. I guess it depends on how fast ya want it, or how many ya got to do. Thanks for sharing
Ive done something similar when breaking down waste into a compost tea for plants. I just used a a bucket, aquarium pump and presto, usable compost tea in days. I'll hagebto try this one day. Good vid. 👍
Thanks for this video man. I’ve been in the euro business for 10 years. Boiling and power washing. Just ordered my 500w heater to give it ago. Appreciate you.
I boil and power wash also and whiten with hydrogen peroxide but was wondering if there was a way to keep it from whitening the antlers, I do my best with electrical tape and suranrap but was wondering if their was another method
If you use the freezer be careful with a heat lamp. Actual heat lamps generate lots of heat and can melt the freezer liner and cause a fire. A standard 100W light bulb might be all you need.
Another great video, I've been hooked on these every since I scrolled onto you're channel. Recently tried cold water maceration on a few heads I had in my freezer, along with the whiting process you use, they all turned out great.
I'm doing a natural maceration here in MN over the winter. I found a fresh set of bucks locked together that were dead. One was just slightly smaller than the other but the larger one had a very big body. I believe the smaller one accidentally hooked up @ an odd angle & his neck was broken. The other one dragged it but laid down several times b4 he succumbed to suspension trauma. I'm going to have something where I have 2 full skulls & sets of antlers locked for eternity. I was barely able to fit both together into a 50 gallon galvanized livestock water tank. It happened earlier in October & I flushed the water until it started to freeze. No sunlight where I have it & I will start monitoring it in late February. As soon as the ice begins to separate from sides of the tank I will have a plan in motion to remove & clean them thoroughly. Just a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Interesting... I got a bunch going right now. I cook them with a method iv perfected and it's pretty quick and easy. Then put them in individual buckets with individual aquarium heaters set on on high 93°f for a week ( sometimes longer) to degrease and change dirty water as needed. But i may try your method of on one my own soon. possibly skip the cooking.
The cooking is faster, but also uses a lot of propane and takes more maintenance. I like being able to pretty much leave them alone while I work on tanning
@@thecedarridgechronicles I made my own cookers using hot water heater elements so no propane. They hold the water at perfect simmer.. I just check them every half hour or hour.. Bought a cheap electric pressure washer that knocks the stuff pretty good but not powerful enough to damage bone.
@@thecedarridgechronicles I just got licensed in my state so Im fairly new. Only doing euro mounts right now but there is a huge demand in my area and I have connections to a lot of hunters.. And I agree with you trying to get these things done in a timely manner and trying to hunt completely consumes your life this time of year.
Great video! Have you thought about running an aquarium air hose into the buckets? It might keep the aerobic decomposers going without have ing change the water so often. Again, nice video!
It would probably work, but you are also dealing with a lot of rendered fat (grease) that will soak into the bone and really dirty water that can cause more staining. Changing the water really helps to whiten the final product and save time during degreasing
It depends on several things. If it is rolled up face first to protect the head from burning, it will last 2-3 years under normal circumstances as long as the freezer is not too cold. Freezers set on a lower temp setting will freezer burn products much faster than a higher temp range
Hello, so I have already simmered my deer head in dawn dish soap and gotten some big chunks out. Would it be too late to warm water macerate the rest of the meat off since it has already been simmered and the meat is cooked?
Change 1/2 to 3/4 of the water after 4 days. If you use a heat lamp you'll have to get an inkbird or digiten thermostat to run the lamp with and set it at 90 degrees
I follow your warm water maceration process to a tee what do you do to keep your antler bases from discoloring or whitening out during maceration iv had to recolor almost every deer iv done this way other than that I love how they turn out
Was looking to buy a turkey fryer, but considering this method for 1 head. Do you use the same bucket/heater for peroxide, or do you use a propane heater to boil with peroxide?
Hey just watched a couple of your videos. Good help but was wondering if a skull that I already boiled and pressure washed would work with the warm water from a aquarium heater maceration for degreasing it? This is my first time. Thank you.
On the skull cap I use my scalpel to cut off all the meat and sinew, remove the membrane from underneath that surrounds the brain, then rinse with water, drain, and cover in Borax.
@@thecedarridgechronicles do u know if added chlorine in the water hinders the bacteria? I'm wondering if I'm also better off using rainwater from the tank rather then town supply water
Great stuff. Subbed immediately on finding you and would truly appreciate the help back on our climb. Seeing folks do what they love and earn income from it is an amazing American Dream, or any countries dream gig! Awesome topic! Enjoyable. Have a great holiday season! Thanks
I’ve been having issues with the end of the nasal cavity ( on the bottom of the skull close to where the brain areas is) becoming extremely thin and fragile when using an aquarium heater. Is anyone else having this issue? Heating at around 90 degrees.
First I would make sure the heater isn’t making contact with the skull causing it to get too hot, also make sure to remove as much as possible as often as possible off of the skull when changing the water. The less time the better the result 👍
Thanks for replying so quickly. Contact with the skull may be the issue. The heater floats around in the bucket so I’ve been putting the skull on top of it to keep it submerged. I’ll figure out a different way to keep the heater submerged in the next dead head I find. I also don’t skin it, I just start the maceration as is. It takes about 2-3 weeks to complete with changing water daily.
So far mine has been in the bucket for two weeks and it still has some flesh connected. Not sure what I did wrong other than maybe I didn’t take enough meat off of it when I started the process. I will say, it’s the nastiest smelling thing ever hahaha.
@@thecedarridgechronicles yeah I changed the water everyday. It cleaned up pretty good, just a few things left on it but good enough for what I’m doing with it. I started the degreasing the other day.
I dont like the smell so i put a bag over the bucket and tape it good. Obviously in day or 3 all the oxygen runs out. Im gonna hook a tank bubbler up and pump new oxygen into it every other day. See if that increases the maceration method. I would like to find a heater that can hold 110-115 to break down that hard grease thats locked in the bones. Bears and hogs.
You can, but the liquified tissue can stain the bone if you leave it in there too long. I don’t even know if the air stone would work after a certain point because it would be more of a stew than dirty water if that makes sense.
I use bugs, they do all the work of cleaning. They can clean a skull in 3 days but I have a system of rotation so they stay with the bugs about a week. Look into bugs
If this video was helpful please be sure to subscribe, it’s free!! Thanks y’all!
I have done 60-70 heads using the simmer method. After watching this video I decided to try this method. After 10 days it was clean however all of the teeth and different bones in skull are very loose. Have you ever experienced this?
Yes. On some skulls especially younger deer the bones will loosen. Most will tighten after the skull dries but I always glue the nose bones up to reinforce them. I also put a drop of glue alongside each tooth on their back side
Only change 1/2 of the water, keeps bacteria going better. Also look into a temp controller. Plug your heat lamp into it. This will keep temp where you want it. Inkbird makes a good, make sure the wattage on your heater/lamp doesn't exceed the rating on the controller. Works for degreasing at 120 degrees with a 1000 watt submersible bucket heater(controller is rated at 1200) degreasing keeps them white for ever! For what it's worth, I have a PVC ball valve and 1 1/4 flex spa hose connected to a rubbermaid tub for a drain. Works great!
does tap water kill off the bacteria? dies the bacteria just naturally show up within a day of dropping the head in tap water?
Interesting techniques. I’ve boiled many of them, just did one Tuesday but it is labor intensive. I had about 6 hours roughly in boiling whitening. I guess it depends on how fast ya want it, or how many ya got to do. Thanks for sharing
Ive done something similar when breaking down waste into a compost tea for plants. I just used a a bucket, aquarium pump and presto, usable compost tea in days. I'll hagebto try this one day. Good vid. 👍
Interesting. I’ll have to try that for my tomatoes
@@thecedarridgechronicles and of course during the summer it'll be simple.
Thanks for this video man. I’ve been in the euro business for 10 years. Boiling and power washing. Just ordered my 500w heater to give it ago. Appreciate you.
I boil and power wash also and whiten with hydrogen peroxide but was wondering if there was a way to keep it from whitening the antlers, I do my best with electrical tape and suranrap but was wondering if their was another method
If you use the freezer be careful with a heat lamp. Actual heat lamps generate lots of heat and can melt the freezer liner and cause a fire. A standard 100W light bulb might be all you need.
Ok good to know. Thank you
Another great video, I've been hooked on these every since I scrolled onto you're channel. Recently tried cold water maceration on a few heads I had in my freezer, along with the whiting process you use, they all turned out great.
I'm doing a natural maceration here in MN over the winter. I found a fresh set of bucks locked together that were dead. One was just slightly smaller than the other but the larger one had a very big body. I believe the smaller one accidentally hooked up @ an odd angle & his neck was broken. The other one dragged it but laid down several times b4 he succumbed to suspension trauma. I'm going to have something where I have 2 full skulls & sets of antlers locked for eternity. I was barely able to fit both together into a 50 gallon galvanized livestock water tank. It happened earlier in October & I flushed the water until it started to freeze. No sunlight where I have it & I will start monitoring it in late February. As soon as the ice begins to separate from sides of the tank I will have a plan in motion to remove & clean them thoroughly. Just a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Interesting... I got a bunch going right now. I cook them with a method iv perfected and it's pretty quick and easy. Then put them in individual buckets with individual aquarium heaters set on on high 93°f for a week ( sometimes longer) to degrease and change dirty water as needed. But i may try your method of on one my own soon. possibly skip the cooking.
The cooking is faster, but also uses a lot of propane and takes more maintenance. I like being able to pretty much leave them alone while I work on tanning
@@thecedarridgechronicles I made my own cookers using hot water heater elements so no propane. They hold the water at perfect simmer.. I just check them every half hour or hour.. Bought a cheap electric pressure washer that knocks the stuff pretty good but not powerful enough to damage bone.
@@tl1635 that is an awesome idea
@@thecedarridgechronicles I just got licensed in my state so Im fairly new. Only doing euro mounts right now but there is a huge demand in my area and I have connections to a lot of hunters.. And I agree with you trying to get these things done in a timely manner and trying to hunt completely consumes your life this time of year.
Great video! Have you thought about running an aquarium air hose into the buckets? It might keep the aerobic decomposers going without have ing change the water so often. Again, nice video!
It would probably work, but you are also dealing with a lot of rendered fat (grease) that will soak into the bone and really dirty water that can cause more staining. Changing the water really helps to whiten the final product and save time during degreasing
Could you put in an aeration bubbler like a guy would use in a minnow bucket to keep the water oxygenated?
Probably but I’m afraid the nasty water would probably stain the skull
Just ordered a hoodie. Watched a ton of your videos and always enjoy them, figured it’s the least I could do. Keep up the awesome work!
Just got the notification! Thanks brother!
How long can a cape be in the freezer and still be useable for a shoulder mount?
It depends on several things. If it is rolled up face first to protect the head from burning, it will last 2-3 years under normal circumstances as long as the freezer is not too cold. Freezers set on a lower temp setting will freezer burn products much faster than a higher temp range
Awesome video! Love learning new techniques. Definitely going to give this a try
Would adding a live well aerator help keep the water oxygenated? Would prolly increase the smell but would the water last longer?
Yes it should
Hello, so I have already simmered my deer head in dawn dish soap and gotten some big chunks out. Would it be too late to warm water macerate the rest of the meat off since it has already been simmered and the meat is cooked?
Honestly I’ve never tried that but I think I would just simmer it till it’s done
Awesome. I'll be trying this method soon myself.
Change 1/2 to 3/4 of the water after 4 days. If you use a heat lamp you'll have to get an inkbird or digiten thermostat to run the lamp with and set it at 90 degrees
Great video I wanna start this.. also where did you get that mounting stand behind you?
A subscriber gave it to me. It was homemade
I follow your warm water maceration process to a tee what do you do to keep your antler bases from discoloring or whitening out during maceration iv had to recolor almost every deer iv done this way other than that I love how they turn out
I have never had any problems with discoloration as long as the water is changed daily
Wrap the bases with black electrical tape sticky side out.about 3 inches up. also keeps whitener off later.
Was looking to buy a turkey fryer, but considering this method for 1 head. Do you use the same bucket/heater for peroxide, or do you use a propane heater to boil with peroxide?
Make those EUROPEAN MOUNTS shine! (SIMPLE skull whitening) ***SUPER EASY*** WHITETAIL TAXIDERMY!
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Hey just watched a couple of your videos. Good help but was wondering if a skull that I already boiled and pressure washed would work with the warm water from a aquarium heater maceration for degreasing it? This is my first time. Thank you.
I believe it would with some dawn dishwashing liquid in the water
@@thecedarridgechronicles do you prefer the original blue or the clear?
I have an Alligator skull to do with the skin on. How long would it take to clean the skull?
I don’t have any idea on that one but I believe I would get the skin off first
Hello again! I have another question haha... Do you use the 100 or 500 watt heater in the individual buckets? Thanks for the awesome videos.
500. You just want to make sure it will get to 90°
You could use aquarium air pump to creat an aerobic environment, so u don’t need to change the water
I do believe that would work but you would also deal with staining if the water stays too dirty
Interesting is that process used as well with just the skullcap or is there a faster way for the mounts
On the skull cap I use my scalpel to cut off all the meat and sinew, remove the membrane from underneath that surrounds the brain, then rinse with water, drain, and cover in Borax.
Thank you for the knowledge. Awesome channel detailing the process and the how to in debt
Appreciate it!
what brand of aquarium heater are you using?
If I’m not mistaken, if you go to the description of the video and scroll down I think I copied the link to it on there 👍
Also what heaters do you reccomend can you send a link?
I have a link for it in the description of the video
Going to give changing the water every day a go, takes my skulls about 6 weeks in the water to be clean enough for the degrease stage
It seems counter productive but it speeds it up big time
@@thecedarridgechronicles do u know if added chlorine in the water hinders the bacteria?
I'm wondering if I'm also better off using rainwater from the tank rather then town supply water
@@PokeWitty I'm not sure, but I would think that it would
Great stuff. Subbed immediately on finding you and would truly appreciate the help back on our climb. Seeing folks do what they love and earn income from it is an amazing American Dream, or any countries dream gig! Awesome topic! Enjoyable. Have a great holiday season! Thanks
Thank you The Cedar Ridge Chronicles! We Very much appreciate you. ❤️
Just out of curiosity why don't you just add aeration?? That would prevent changing water and promote good bacteria.
The cleaner the water stays the less staining you have and the less degreasing you have to do.
I’ve been having issues with the end of the nasal cavity ( on the bottom of the skull close to where the brain areas is) becoming extremely thin and fragile when using an aquarium heater. Is anyone else having this issue? Heating at around 90 degrees.
First I would make sure the heater isn’t making contact with the skull causing it to get too hot, also make sure to remove as much as possible as often as possible off of the skull when changing the water. The less time the better the result 👍
Thanks for replying so quickly. Contact with the skull may be the issue. The heater floats around in the bucket so I’ve been putting the skull on top of it to keep it submerged. I’ll figure out a different way to keep the heater submerged in the next dead head I find. I also don’t skin it, I just start the maceration as is. It takes about 2-3 weeks to complete with changing water daily.
Would an aerator help out
Possibly, but I believe there would also be some skull staining from leaving it in the rotted tissue
Does the tear affect color on horns?
I’ve never had any issues unless the peroxide gets on them while whitening
Do you leave eyes/brains in?
Yes I do
Interesting
Great idea buddy!
So far mine has been in the bucket for two weeks and it still has some flesh connected. Not sure what I did wrong other than maybe I didn’t take enough meat off of it when I started the process. I will say, it’s the nastiest smelling thing ever hahaha.
It is disgusting for sure 😂 have you changed the water?
@@thecedarridgechronicles yeah I changed the water everyday. It cleaned up pretty good, just a few things left on it but good enough for what I’m doing with it. I started the degreasing the other day.
Good information to know.
What a nice 8 point over your right shoulder 😁
He's o.k. 😂
@@thecedarridgechronicles facts! That guy Needs to shoot a bigger one!
I dont like the smell so i put a bag over the bucket and tape it good. Obviously in day or 3 all the oxygen runs out. Im gonna hook a tank bubbler up and pump new oxygen into it every other day. See if that increases the maceration method. I would like to find a heater that can hold 110-115 to break down that hard grease thats locked in the bones. Bears and hogs.
They stink so bad 😂 the bag is a good idea
That's good info thanks
Hey Daniel, what county do you live in in Alabama? I live in Cullman County
Cullman
Couldn’t you add an air stone to oxygenate the water?
You can, but the liquified tissue can stain the bone if you leave it in there too long. I don’t even know if the air stone would work after a certain point because it would be more of a stew than dirty water if that makes sense.
I use a horse water bucket heater.
1:13 The subtitles says some stuff I’ve been laughing at for the past 5 minutes, to WHAT your skulls?? 😂😂😂
☠️☠️☠️😂😂😂😂 just turned on cc to watch. I’m dying 😂
I use bugs, they do all the work of cleaning. They can clean a skull in 3 days but I have a system of rotation so they stay with the bugs about a week. Look into bugs
How much meat are you cutting off before doing this ?
I only remove bottom jaw
All the meat too hair ?? Or you just leave it
@@thecedarridgechronicles ?
You need to skin it definitely but other than that the bottom jaw is all I remove
Great video brother. I too follow Tobin and the 5m family as well as Hunter. Appreciate the content and God bless 🙏
I am Arsenic
Oh yeah?
Good stuff! Really enjoyed the video bud!
Thank you!