Badger skull question

pRoDiEuS

New member
I was out shooting gophers last week and came across 5 badgers on a friends farm. They hate badgers with a passion and I was able to shoot 3 of them. I kept 2 of the skulls as I think they would make good trophies to go with my coyote skull. I am doing the skulls myself and this is the first time I have ever tried cleaning a skull. So far I have got all the meat off and the brains from what I can tell are all gone. I then soaked the skull for like 7 hours in hydrogen peroxide because I read that it whitens up the skull a bit. Now here is my 2 questions.

1: I shot the badger while visiting my uncle and by the time I got home the head was starting to stink ( the flesh was removed in at my uncles by way of boiling however there was still brain matter inside ) now that the brains have been removed and the skull has soaked. There is still a smell on the skull. Does this smell go away once it has completely dried out? Or do I have to do something else?

2: on the top of the skull there are dark shades and the hydrogen peroxide didn't really bleach the dark spots. I'm trying to figure out what the dark spots are because they almost appear to be a shadow or something from inside the skull. I looked to see if there was chunks of brain left inside but couldn't see any. Do these dark spots go away once dried as well? What can I do? Oh also the dark spots are only toward the back of the skull there is none on the front. The front actually looks pretty good.

I will post pics of the skull tomorrow once it is dried. I'm hoping the smell and the dark spots go away.

Any advice is much appreciated thanks
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Originally Posted By: pRoDiEuSI was out shooting gophers last week and came across 5 badgers on a friends farm. They hate badgers with a passion and I was able to shoot 3 of them. I kept 2 of the skulls as I think they would make good trophies to go with my coyote skull. I am doing the skulls myself and this is the first time I have ever tried cleaning a skull. So far I have got all the meat off and the brains from what I can tell are all gone. I then soaked the skull for like 7 hours in hydrogen peroxide because I read that it whitens up the skull a bit. Now here is my 2 questions.

1: I shot the badger while visiting my uncle and by the time I got home the head was starting to stink ( the flesh was removed in at my uncles by way of boiling however there was still brain matter inside ) now that the brains have been removed and the skull has soaked. There is still a smell on the skull. Does this smell go away once it has completely dried out? Or do I have to do something else?

2: on the top of the skull there are dark shades and the hydrogen peroxide didn't really bleach the dark spots. I'm trying to figure out what the dark spots are because they almost appear to be a shadow or something from inside the skull. I looked to see if there was chunks of brain left inside but couldn't see any. Do these dark spots go away once dried as well? What can I do? Oh also the dark spots are only toward the back of the skull there is none on the front. The front actually looks pretty good.

I will post pics of the skull tomorrow once it is dried. I'm hoping the smell and the dark spots go away.

Any advice is much appreciated thanks
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I did some sculls many years ago, and after cleaning them out and boiling them, I ave them 20 minutes in Clorox bleach (the Chlorine one, not the color safe one).

But I am no expert in this stuff, so there might be a better way.

They didn't smell after I was done.


 
Thanks I might try the Clorox if what I'm doing doesn't work. I read not to use bleach because it can weaken the skull and cause fractures so I'm trying everything else first.
I currently have my skull soaking in arm&hammer laundry detergent. Not sure how long to let it soak though so I will just keep checking it. If this doesn't work though I will try the bleach. Hopefully that smell goes away lol.

Do you have any ideas on what those dark spots could be? I know it's hard to say without seeing it. I will get a pic up as soon as I can.
 
Originally Posted By: pRoDiEuSThanks I might try the Clorox if what I'm doing doesn't work. I read not to use bleach because it can weaken the skull and cause fractures so I'm trying everything else first.
I currently have my skull soaking in arm&hammer laundry detergent. Not sure how long to let it soak though so I will just keep checking it. If this doesn't work though I will try the bleach. Hopefully that smell goes away lol.

Do you have any ideas on what those dark spots could be? I know it's hard to say without seeing it. I will get a pic up as soon as I can.

I don't know what the spots are - maybe marrow or blood - don't let them soak in the bleach too long - and when it is done, let them soak in water for a loooong time to remove any left over Chlorine.
 
Ok. I'm just about to move it into the bleach I was thinking of leaving it in for 20 min. Hope that's not to long. Ill let you know how it goes.
 
You know after the arm & hammer detergent and then another bath in 3% peroxide it's not to bad. I'm going to just dry it in the sun for a bit and see if it airs out the rest of the way before I try bleach.

Here is 2 pics showing the dark spots.

 
That is probably hemolitic blood in the bone - bleach may not do it - give it 5 minutes and see what happens.

Maybe let the sun get it
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Your dark spots are likely blood stain. I never boil, always slow cook until you can remove all meat INCLUDING all the brain. Once it looks clean, then I soak in degreaser until water is clean. Then whiten with peroxide/belch powder mix. Let set for 3 days and rinse.

Also, the blood stains are worse with head shot animals and the longer you wait to cook them the harder they are to get super white.
 
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I didn't boil this one I slow cooked it as well. However I accidentally boiled my other skull and it cracked pretty bad so it's going to need some glue. I will make sure I never boil another skull again that's for sure lol. So far letting this skull sit and dry in the sun seems to have faded the dark spots a bit. I'm not going to try and whiten this skull any more. Tomorrow provided after the drying everything looks good I'm going to glue the teeth pack in and the jaw in open. Then when the glue is dry I am going to use a polyurethane. I read this helps protect the skull and gives it a bit of a shine.
 
if you want to "seal" the skull you can use a mixture of elmers glue and water and spray it on. won't give it a glossy look and will seal the skull nicely to protect from yellowing (if degreased properly)
 
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I've done a couple hundred coyote skulls, but only a handful of badger. The same method has worked equally well for me on both though. After getting all the flesh of completely - by whatever means, I then submerge them in acetone for about three weeks to get them degreased. No matter what the skull, degreasing is always the longest step.

For whitening, I use peroxide, but the good strong stuff from the chemical/lab supply place, not the grocery store stuff. I just get the strongest that is available, have used 30%, 35% and 40%. Like I said, just whatever is the strongest I can get. I buy two gallons and reuse it over and over. They only need an hour or two in the peroxide then the sun does the rest in a day if it's nice and sunny out.

It took me awhile to really appreciate just how much time it takes to fully degrease them. I have dozens of coyote skulls that were as white as white could be when I was done with them, but a few years later they have ugly yellow grease stains, especially the lower jaws. I know guys that use much weaker, cheaper and safer methods than acetone, but they also have to soak theirs for months, not weeks. I'm not really even sure how to tell when they are fully degreased, you can't tell by just looking - they can look great, but a year or two later the grease comes to the surface. I do know that two weeks in acetone isn't 100% for coyotes but three weeks is.

I've seen Clorox turn skulls slightly yellow before too, and/or chalky. Definitely don't leave them in the bleach too long and definitely rinse really well. I don't bother to rinse the peroxide.

- DAA
 
I not only leave it the whole three weeks, but as soon as that batch comes out, another batch goes in, until I have however many I have lined up finished.

The glass jar I use holds five or six coyote skulls and takes about 1.5 gallons of acetone to cover them. After maybe three batches - so, 15-18 coyote skulls the acetone is getting pretty dark yellow looking. I pour it through a coffee filter in a funnel (filter only lasts about a quart) and add maybe a quart of fresh acetone to the batch and it's good for another few batches. I never really throw it away, just keep adding enough fresh as needed to keep the color somewhat clear. And when I'm done with skulls for the year (I only do them once a year), I pour it back into original cans and start out with the same acetone again the following year.

So, the acetone is awfully expensive, but, it lasts a long time, can be reused over and over, and works really well. Since I started soaking them in it for three weeks, none of have had any grease show up a year or two later.

- DAA
 
I might try acetone next time I do a skull. Will prob work out better than this time lol.
My badger skull has been sitting out side the last 2 days in the sun. Tomorrow I'm going to glue it all together. I will post some pics of it tomorrow or the next day.
 
Ok guys here it is. I still have to put polyurethane on it to finish it but here it is. The small teeth were a pain to figure out their place.


What do you guys think?
 
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