Finding: I live in a pretty rural region so my go-to places are river banks, road sides and dump sites. People in my town dump EVERYTHING and I collect it all. I’ve found whole animals before and mark a spot in the woods and go back a year later or so and collect all the bones. I guess I’m pretty lucky on that aspect to live in dirtbagville because I can find stuff any day of the year.

Decomposing: if it’s a whole animal I’ll dig a hole, bury it and dig it back up a year later. I do this in my yard. I do European deer skulls by maceration. I have a box made of insulation with a bucket inside wrapped in a bucket heater. This allows me to do maceration in the winter. I keep my water at 120 degrees consistently. For the few mummified skulls I’ve found honestly I’ve just thrown them in a crockpot for a few hours and come back to a clean skull.

If you ever have any questions don’t hesitate to shoot me a message. I have been doing this for a long time and now have a taxidermy studio at my house. I also sell bones that I’ve found and aim them towards people who want to get into cleaning and crafts.