I'm cleaning some bison skulls, I have had the horns removed for some time but they still smell bad. I have put Borax in them, that did'nt work. I tried anti fungal spray, no luck. Also what would be a good way to whiten the skulls. thanks for your help
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If you have Dry Preservative, that works MUCH better as it contains talc and other dry chemicals. If you DON'T have DP, I'd suggest taking baby powder (talc or cornstarch) and filling the cases with it. Then allow it to set overnight. Dump the power and then reinstall over the cores if that's your intent.
Many people assume DP and borax are interchangeable, but that's not right in my opinion. If you're talking of insect inhibiting, yes, but if you're talking about eliminating smell of putrid or rancid meat, borax contains nothing to work on that area.
We had a steer skull come in that we are beetle-cleaning right now that had a bad smell in the sheaths like you are describing. After removing the sheaths from the cores, I filled the sheaths with white gas and let it soak for a couple of days, eliminating the smell.
I know George will jump my a$$ if I don't mention that you should be very cautious when using white gas, and it is best to leave it outside where it is less likely to cause a fire.
After they have dried, put DP, moth balls, etc., inside the sheaths and re-attach them to the cores.
Bob Mead
Soak them overnite in a Dawn solution, rinse, let dry a couple of days and then soak overnite in a weak Clorox solution, rinse and let dry, this will take the odor out and clean them up. I use this on antelope, bison, blackbuck, anything that has a core in it. Also, when you first remove them fill them with salt and let dry, this will help remove any flesh left inside.