Pot Belly pig 8/21/ Defeat on 10/14 BUT CYCLONE SAVES THE DAY with IRON OUT!

[Sea Wolf]

   Bought this critter online. Seems to be an older boar. Initially, I expected a raw, frozen head to work on but the seller decided to rot stuff off and ended up burying it. This now has been soaking for over a week in heated Dawn and water. Some grease is gone but the brown stains are remaining. Not sure what type of dirt it was buried in. Headed off to the store now to invest in a few gallons of ammonia to try that for another week or so before I soak it in peroxide. I suppose I can live with the color if I can't get it out but the grease has got to go.

[PLTannery]

NICE!   I just bought me one of those... Very cool little pigs.

Should whiten up quite a bit...  Nice tusks on that bugger too!

[Head Hunting Iowan]

Dang I want one, what did that set ya back?

[PLTannery]

Well I know at the stock yard(too far away to go often), I've seen live ones go for $2-$20... 

[Sea Wolf]

Yeah. Paid a little more for the dead one though. That's a fair price actually. The skull was a bit smaller than I expected but I've never seen a live one before to judge. No livestock auctions close to here or I would be specimen hunting on a regular basis to sell on here. 

[PLTannery]

I would too.... Get some NICE rams and other oddball critters.... $5-$25 a head... not bad at all... If it wasn't a 100+ mile drive to the auction yard on a monday morning....  We used to have one in town but it shut down... not enough consigners.  I paid more than that for mine too.... But its already skinned and I don't have to give the carcass to someone for yote bait...

[Michelle Nelson's Taxidermy]

SeaWolf

Put that skull in about 4 gallons of water/dawn with a fish tank heater and add about 1 - 1.5 cups B.O in with it.  Let it set for atleast 24 hours and than change back to dawn water.  You can leave it for 2 days if you want but it should really help with the whitening.

[Sea Wolf]

Yup. Been there, done that .. and doing it now.    Whitening I'm not so concerned with as getting all the grease out of it which has pretty well soaked into it all over while it was buried. It wasn't simmered so it should come out in time.

[ReporterSr]

I've grown very fond of a pot belllied pig named Charlotte. Her best friend, Mahsha, a domestic pig, is huge in comparison, and I love her, too. They were both pets before a friend with a ranch took them in, so they are playful and fun. Judging from Charlotte's size, the skull would be quite small in comparison, probably surprisingly so. Their huge bellies throw us off on their skeletal build.

[Toxic]

Reminds me of a warthog skull, very differant than the wild boar hogs we have here in the south.

[Michelle Nelson's Taxidermy]

Acetone will get the grease out. Just make sure to put it in some dawn water for a few days with no BO and than 24 hours in clean water.  Let dry for a week and than in acetone.

[Sea Wolf]

   Been in and out of degreaser and peroxide now several times. It appears to be badly mineral stained    Not sure if I can learn to love the color or not. It's going into one more degreasing treatment for a while and then into acetone. Just to make sure that it isn't grease. It has also sat in straight ammonia for several weeks. This seemed to darken the orange color. Too bad it was allowed to rot on the ground instead of getting a fresh head like I had hoped for.








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     After one more turn with Dawn and then the acetone, finishing with peroxide,  I'll give up. Right now it is also soaking wet. Once it is dry it should lighten some. Also considering burying it in wet tea leaves for a month or two.  

[Sea Wolf]

  Sadly, this is one weirdy that I wanted. I now have one, but, due to unknown circumstances, it seems to be badly and permanently stained. I've given up and been completely stymied by this. Nothing has budged the brown/orange stains. I don't want to paint it either. Still, I'll share pics of it finished. Bugger.  Hmmm .. if anything, the ammonia soak intensified the color. It may have reacted with whatever caused the stain to begin with.

[Head Hunting Iowan]

Hey, its better to have that than have ONE small spot that is that color.  Does kinda look neat like that.

[Great Skulls?]

Looks like iron staining.  Have we figured out a way to get the rust out?  I seem to remember having hear of one.  (No I'm not the guy that brought up CLR as an option!)  However, if it is the tannins from foliage, I don't think there is a way to get that out - like tea staining.  Actually, if you did want to even the color up (if the spots end up driving you crazy), putting it in a bucket with a tea bag will make it a nice dark color that almost certainly will conceal those spots.