Earthen Remains’ Cold Water Maceration Buckets
Things You Will Need:
- Specimen
- Scalpel
- Gloves (vinyl, latex, etc)
- Eye protection (incase of splashing)
- Water
- Plastic lidded bucket or tote bin
- Raw meat*
*Optional, but if you are working with a specimen with very little flesh remaining on it and do not have access to using water from a natural source (not treated like tap water tends to be), throwing in some raw meat will help get the bacterial cultures going.
Steps:
***This process will get smelly fast and is not recommended as something to be done inside.***
- If your specimen still has its fur, you are going to want to skin it. However this is not a necessary step but it does make things move ahead a little faster. You can even remove some excess flesh if desired.
- Place your specimen in the container of your choosing.
- Fill container with water, making sure that the specimen is fully submerged.
*If you have access to a natural body of water (lake, river, pond, etc), I have found that the bacterial and algae cultures within are perfect for a getting the maceration process started. - If you are working with a specimen that has very little flesh on it, throw in the raw meat.
- Close the bucket, weight the lid down if you’d like; and if possible, leave it in a spot that gets a lot of direct sunlight.
- The time it takes for the flesh to be completely removed can vary. I tend to leave buckets for months on end before checking them.
- If it seems like the rot process has stopped but your specimen is still fleshy, you may need to restart the process.
- Do a water change by dumping the old maceration “rot” water out.
*Maceration water should never be dumped down drains as any clumpss of rotting flesh and fur will easily clog them up. Instead I recommend digging a hole outside and slowly dumping the liquid into the ground, letting is seep in before returning the dirt to the hole. - Restart to process by repeating steps 2-4.
Notes:
- Cold water maceration is a slow process. For those living in warmer climates, you may see faster results than those in colder ones.
- If you live in an area that experiences winters where the temperature dips below t he freezing point, don’t panic if you maceration set up freezes. Think of it as being put on hold until the warm months return.
- That being said, spring and summer is the optimal time to use the cold water maceration method. BONUS if you can use a black or other dark coloured container that can be left in direct sunlight for long periods of time.
- Alternatively, and if you have the space and money to do so, you can set up a heated “no-smell” maceration system.
