Maceration not working

I think macerating in the cold weather like that is going to slow it down quite a bit. If it were summer, it would be done by now. With it being that cold it's going to take a super long time because the cold is slowing down the growth of bacteria. You could get a heater or wait for warmer weather, or let it take its time.

 

Soak in ammonia for a few days, it may make the flesh easier to remove by hand, if not, it should be easier to macerate off. I used to macerate in the summer only, with bins outside in the hot Texas sun, and while it worked for bobcats and other small mammals, I did notice for larger animals it would just stop working after a while... Ammonia soaks soften the tissue, though, and may help to re-start the process.

 

If you have heated water at 85.put some ammonia and wisk in there.leave it for a week or two.had a skull come in that was boiled.you dont need to put anything in there like meat..

 

Do you have any pond or river water you could add? Sounds like a good bacteria community just isn't getting started. Maybe the meat you're adding is too sterile to overcome the chlorine in the tap water.

 

You can always try to get some freshwater aquarium starter bacteria that they sell in powder or liquid.
It may inoculate the bucket with enough bacteria to start the process. Part if the problem is you may have inadvertently slowed the process by changing out the water and also by rinsing the skull. The best thing to do is leave it alone. Let the bacteria build up and do their work.

 

What you describe is really odd. The 108 was a bit warm but once you dropped it down to 85 it should have restarted and finished. Typically this is done in a week, less than two. You might want to just give it a soak in ammonia for a few days to help kill some of the smell and soften up what is there and then go after what is left with a knife. Make sure you wear gloves and do not get cut.

Changing half the water at 4 or 5 days is ok as long as you don't hose off or disturb the skull and the water you add is close to to same temp. I only do that myself if the smell is really bad and the water is turning black. The raw meat was added to try and get some rotting going and restart your bacteria. Did you notice if the raw meat disintegrated? If so, the bacteria went after that and for some reason the remaining flesh on your deer head isn't being affected. Possibly it might have been slow cooked by the warmer than needed temps. You might find that the flesh that is left pries away from the bone in large chunks and it cleans up without a lot of effort.

If you can post some pictures it will help.

 

I misread it and though you were keeping it cold. Yeah, Seawolf is right. Also, I don't know that 108 would have cooked it too much since it gets that hot here in the summer, but it might have cooked it enough to harden the meat and make it harder to fall apart or get eaten by bacteria. I'd stick with what Seawolf says. He knows more than just about anyone on here about skulls.

 

Just a comment here - Sea Wolf is a female, and spends a LOT of time answering questions here. I wouldn't have the time to spend that she devotes to this site.

 

Raise your temperature to 90, and forget about it for at least 30 days. I suspect your water temp is cooler than you think.

 

I have had this same problem with a few skulls, ended up bagging them in a heated room and it finished them.

 

Why do you keep spraying it and changing the water. Set it and forget it! Better still - add a fresh head to the bucket of something else to get all of the good meat enzymes and bacteria back into the mix. 85-degrees should be fine - I do mine hotter, but that's because I macerate and degrease at the same temp (in different buckets).

The chlorine shouldn't be a huge deal unless you keep chucking out the bacteria as you keep doing for some reason.

 

LOL .. but I didn't spoil his fun. I think a lot of folks on here think I'm a guy. I don't mind. I do a drive by when I get home from work but I wish I had more time to stalk the posts here. I usually miss the good stuff that pops up in the For Sale section. One of these days PA, I'll have some extra time to say hello when I pass through on Rt 99.

This was why I had him toss in a couple of chunks of raw meat. It vanished so the bacteria were there, just not working on the head for some reason. In your next try, using pond water or rain water can't hurt. Try leaving it for a week before messing with it. Then just drain off half the water and refill. Don't hose off, scrub or otherwise bother the skull. If you look at the pictures posted on my beaver skull thread, you will see that grey, nasty, slimy flesh. Another few days in the bucket got rid of it. I still can't fathom why you still have stuff stuck to yours. You will also notice that maceration bucket in snow. If you have a heater and insulate to some extent, you can macerate away in freezing weather with no problems. Even better as the neighbors windows are closed and no one notices the smell.