#myguides

I would like to preface this by saying that there are several different techniques to degreasing that are better suited for different people, so find out what works best for you! Degreasing consists of melting and leeching fat from the bone by using a degreaser (Dawn dish soap is the most popular and safest one, ammonia is a step up, and acetone should be used sparingly and with more caution[I don’t believe acetone should be heated either]). Heat is the most important factor to consider with the best temperatures between 100-120*F.

On the low-end of the spectrum you have the easiest method: fill container with bones, Dawn, and hot water, then sit in the sun. The sun will keep the water warm, although it may not get as warm as needed, or even too warm, and the water will cool at night. This fluctuation in temperature will definitely make the degreasing process take longer. On the high-end of the spectrum you have an advanced set up using a submersible heater like an aquarium heater (altered to get to a higher temperature) wired to a thermostat to automatically control the water temperature. This provides great consistency and will make the degreasing process smooth and quicker, but this does require more skill and a good electric bill. There are many in-between options, including what I’ve conjured up below!

My set up starts with a few important essentials: the degreasers (Dawn dish soap and household ammonia for an extra boost. Household ammonia is a bit weaker than what some people use but for experimenting I started with this), a heating element (I got this one from Amazon and it has worked perfectly with the proper application), a thermometer (I got the above candy-making one for like $6; any thermometer works!), and a good insulator to keep that water warm for as long as possible (coolers are perfect for this)!

Inside the cooler is more insulation (I got this stuff on Amazon but it can be found at most hardware stores, anything that reflects heat is great!) and the containers for degreasing (I got these little trash cans at the dollar store which are perfect for the heater I bought; foil used as makeshift lid). I was using two containers for my bobcat skeleton but managed to rework it into one so I only have to heat one container. Normally I would keep the empty one full (water, towel, anything can fill it) to eliminate as much dead space where heat could escape. Note the extra piece of insulation that would go on top of these buckets before closing the lid. Can’t have too much insulation!

At this point there are different ways of doing this: I choose to submerse my heater directly in the container with the bones but some people prefer to fill the larger container with clean water and heat that water, which will then heat the water inside the smaller bone-filled container(s). I would recommend this method for maceration to keep the heater from getting nasty, but so far it’s been fine for degreasing. I didn’t trust this old cooler to be water-tight anyways so I just filled it with as much insulation as I could.

This handheld water heater must be submerged in the water at least 70-80% to avoid shorting it out so I’ve separated the bucket with a plastic lid (thank you again dollar store) to keep the heater submerged but not touching any bones. Obviously the plastic lid is not the perfect shape so smaller bones can escape underneath the bottom, but they aren’t a big problem. Normally I would keep the foil lid on the bucket and only lift up a corner to get the heater in, but for pictures-sake it came off!

I heated this bucket up to around 120*F last night almost exactly 12 hours ago and the temperature is just below 100 the next morning. For what it is, this cooler and insulation has been great at keeping the heat in and I wouldn’t expect any better! At this point the heater gets plugged in (must be in water before plugging in) and it goes to work!

As the water heats up I’ve noticed it swirling around and becoming more opaque. You can see the foamy action around the heater/thermometer as well. All good signs that my $10 heater is still kicking! Since I’m using ammonia with Dawn the smell can be pretty strong, especially when that ammonia is heated up, so make sure there is very good ventilation when doing this. After everything is done the cooler keeps the smell in so it only smells when open. I cannot vouch for smells if using this for maceration, but I would ensure better sealing of the container and cooler if so!

After about 90 seconds the water will get around 115-120 again and this is where I stop. The heater gets unplugged and stays in the bucket for around 20-30 seconds to cool (if it’s taken out before or directly after unplugging it will short itself out). Remove heater, thermometer, and replace foil. If heating multiple containers the plugging and unplugging of the heater can be a little tedious but you gotta treat cheap things nicely! I’ve got a piece of insulation that goes on top of the buckets before closing the cooler lid. All this insulation and the tall trash cans prevents the lid from closing well, so I place a heavy weight on top to keep it sealed better.

This was a young hen that I picked out from a breeder to join the flock at the ranch but for unknown reasons she just didn't make it. Still, for the couple weeks that I knew her we spent that time bonding and I couldn't let her go to the landfill. While alive she strutted around the coop looking like her distant dinosaur cousins which set in stone her second life.

*Warning: skinned animal picture below*

I don't normally find fresh specimens that need to be skinned, so this was a good opportunity to try my hand at something different. I only had a razor blade to work with which is not ideal for skinning, but the goal here was to make the next processing step a little quicker. At this point, if this were a mammal I would lay the body on it’s belly with arms and legs spread out to make sure the bones don’t get jumbled together. For birds I try to keep the legs apart and pull the bottom wing up farther than the top. It’s not impossible to match up the bones if you aren’t able to keep them separate, but I wanted to make this project a little easier for myself.

Burial is my preferred cleaning method as it keeps the skeleton intact with minimal maintenance. By using a window screen all the flesh and ligaments are removed while the bones remain together and in the same position. If cleaning by macerating, you can separate the legs into individual pantyhose to keep the bones together. The stars lined up for this burial (skin removed, warm temperatures, rich compost soil) which cleaned this gal's skeleton in just two months. I wasn’t able to save the keratin beak and claw sheathes on this one, but if desired, keep checking until you can pull them off as soon as possible. Burial can start eating up these parts but if you catch it early enough you can preserve the keratin. Maceration can preserve these parts a little easier.

Since she was a juvenile and burial did such a great job, she needed no further cleaning or degreasing and went straight into hydrogen peroxide. I used a plastic jewelry box to keep the right wing, right leg, left wing, and left leg all separated. The extra effort is worth it, especially when you're working on an unfamiliar animal. Bird bones are light and tend to float, so placing a paper towel on top keeps the floaters covered in peroxide goodness.

After peroxide it's time to set everybody out to dry completely. Here I've still kept left from right separated which helped my sanity during articulation. For this girl I used mostly Elmer’s white glue which takes longer to dry but is more forgiving with mistakes. When I was confident in the placement and needed a strong or fast hold, I added a little super glue. Bird bones are very light and juvenile bones can be porous, so this combination allowed me to articulate only with glue, no additional supports needed. My goal was to get this girl standing on her own with no base, so I chose a walking pose that would help balance her skeleton. Looking at pictures of live chickens as well as watching the ranch’s flock walk around helped figure out exactly where everything needed to go.

The first thing I like to put together is the skull. Whether you have an adult skull that just needs the teeth to be put back in or a juvenile like this one that requires a bit more piecing together, that beautiful face will encourage you through the rest of the articulation.

Normally the first and easiest place to start is with the spine (I did, but didn't get a picture!). I was on a roll with feet at this time so I decided to tackle the toughest part of arranging the wings and feet. Birds are incredibly different from mammals, but actually a bit easier when figuring out toes and finger(s). To place the toes in their walking position I referenced a lot of walking chicken photos and did one bone at a time to slowly shape the feet.

Here you can see the feet all done and the spine already completed with the upper ribs and pelvis attached (tacky glue only used as a stand!). When articulating the spine start stringing the vertebrae together on a wire. Once you have everything in the correct order and in the shape you need for the pose, you can glue the vertebrae in place. Leave some extra wire at the front of the spine to hold the skull. I had wrapped this wire in some tape to keep the vertebrae from spinning around and found it helped hold the skull on without needing to glue it down. Not the most attractive but you’d have to look hard between the vertebrae to see this.

A big step that makes any articulation more complete and spectacular is by adding cartilage. Each vertebrae is separated by cartilage and in juvenile skeletons there’s a lot more cartilage holding everything together. I’ve seen articulations use sculpting clay, hot glue, foam, and other materials to simulate the missing cartilage. I wasn’t able to experiment with cartilage during this articulation but I will definitely be adding it to future projects!

This picture shows the breastbone with the lower ribs attached (cat face drawn on digitally for a chuckle!). This juvenile skeleton was so light that I was able to glue the lower ribs to the upper ribs with no other supports needed. These ribs may not be in the correct order as I had to make a lot of adjustments through this part. From here the coracoids and furcula (wishbone) were attached, and finally the scapula and wings were added, providing more stability for holding the two halves together.

As I said, terrible documenting! Here's the finished piece; a beautiful dinosaur chicken which stands on her own. The last thing to finish were the legs, which I eyeballed by skillfully holding the body and leg bones in place by hand. Once I got an idea of the angles they needed to be at, I glued them down one at a time. It took some trial and error but eventually I got everything to match up so she stood up correctly. There are easier ways of doing this part, such as creating a frame to string up the main body or using something like a helping hand jig. These will hold the skeleton at the height you need to then attach the legs. Finally I added the skull, which in this case simply slipped onto the exposed wire from the spine.