Cleaning up shells and bones

[tom00_uk]

upside down flower pot on top of a ants nest. the flower pot will stop gulls, cats etc moving the bones and the ants will clean it for you.

i speed it up some times by freezing the item first to make the flesh fall off quicker when it thaws

[Swirlything]

Thanks for the suggestions! Well, I spent last week in Burton Bradstock, Dorset and lo and behold I got lucky!



Amongst the fossils I was actually there to collect I spotted this pigeon skull, possibly homing pigeon as there were the remains of several ringed birds on the beach. This skull is as found- just lying in a clump of seaweed. It has one missing bone as you can see (the other is there but detached and needs to be glued back on) but is otherwise mostly intact, and needs little cleaning. There's no smell at all.

On the same day I also found about ten £coin size fish vertebrae, some rabbit and bird bones, and a big seagull skull that's even more intact than this one. They weren't as beach scoured though, and are getting the flowerpot treatment

[Littlesparrow]

Have you had some stormy weather? i use to live in Weston-s-Mare and would sometimes find dead homing pigeons after storms along with lots of other things.

[Harry Eales]

Shells from which the contents have been removed look particularly nice if lightly wiped over with a very thin coating of Joh***ns Baby oil. After a year or two they may dull down, but can instantly be revived by applying another coat.

Skulls and bones can be 'whitened' in a mild solution of domestic bleach, rinsed off when the required 'whiteness' is achieved.

Otherwise skulls or bones with flesh/skin/feathers on them can have the latter removed with a solution of caustic soda and water. Wear rubber gloves when handling this chemical. It can burn like acid if it's in a concentrated solution. I know, I have the scars to prove it.

Ants are, as others have suggested, very good for removing flesh, as long as it is fresh, otherwise a gentle simmering in an old pan with water just covering the item is recommended.

N.B. Wait until the 'Missus' is out shopping before you try this in the kitchen. lol.

Harry

[Swirlything]

Littlesparrow- I'm not sure; it was a family holiday- I don't live there and I'm not sure what the weather was like before I went. All I do know is I was hoping for storms (better for fossil collecting) but it was scorching hot and dry all week, apart from a bit of rain overnight.
I did want to take down the ring numbers from the birds and notify the owners- I've done this before for other birds. But on the day I found the ringed dead pigeons I was with family members who are more squeamish than I am, so I left them alone XD

Harry Eales- the caustic soda sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't use bleach unless I had to though, I prefer the natural look and I hear it can damage bone if you overdo it.

And I am the Missus ...well, okay, I'm single but you get the idea! I do live with others though which is why most of the cleaning techniques other than letting nature do the work are a bit out of the question lol XD (I was lucky they even tolerated sharing a car with my finds on the way home, heheh)

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Harry Eales

Otherwise skulls or bones with flesh/skin/feathers on them can have the latter removed with a solution of caustic soda and water. Wear rubber gloves when handling this chemical. It can burn like acid if it's in a concentrated solution. I know, I have the scars to prove it.

It's particularly important to wear some sort of eye protection with caustic soda solutions - even very weak ones.

Jim

[Harry Eales]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

It's particularly important to wear some sort of eye protection with caustic soda solutions - even very weak ones.

Jim

Jim is correct it can be a dangerous chemical to use, especially if your using it in a heated form as in making insect genitalia preparations.

Safety goggles (better than safety glasses) cost only four pounds or so, that's a lot cheaper than a white stick and a guide dog.

A mild solution used cold will take longer to bleach or lighten bones or skulls but it is safer. As with any caustic chemical or acid, ALWAYS keep it well away from the prying hands of children.

Harry

[Swirlything]

Here's the cleaned seagull skull. It was nearly encased in skin and feathers when found (beak sheath was already mostly gone though). Left for the bugs to do their work and then boiled and disinfected with a mild bleach solution. I'd prefer natural to really white so I didn't go overboard on the bleach.

I have another skull which I was given and told was lesser black backed gull, from the look of it this one is the same- although it's slightly bigger and more robust than the one I had already.

Lucky find