How do you de-flesh a bird skeleton? Does immersion in warm water, over several months, work? In this methods does it need to be skinned? What if you don't skin it?
by 
cynicalsoul000
ANSWERS: 6
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You do realize this is a creepy question. I don't have an answer, but "it puts the lotion on it's skin"!
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YYuukkk!
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I agree it is a creepy question. But I would think you would not need to de-flesh a bird's skeleton. A skeleton I think does not have any flesh left on it, only bones.
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You have to try to take off as much of the skin and meat as you can and let it dry out. Put your skeleton in the position you want it to be in before you dry it. Dry it with blowing cool air over the skeleton. Then you get some dermestes beetles and put them in contact with the remaining flesh of the skeleton. They will do the job for you. Then a bleach and clean up job and you're done:-)
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It depends on what you want done with the skeleton. Not everyone has access to dermestid beetles (although Galeanda's method works wonderful). For those with less of an inclination towards bugs, deflesh as much as possible, including removal of the brain / eyes. Depending on bird side, a small tweezers or dental pick works wonders. Next, pick up some Calgon (water softener) from your local grocery store, and add to a pot of water. Immerse the skeleton in the water/calgon mix, and simmer: DO NOT BOIL. A simmer will remove the remaining flesh, as well as oils from the bones. Some birds are more oily than others - for extra cleanliness, to bleach the bones use hydrogen peroxide (maximum of 30 minutes). Too long and the bones will begin to decalcify, becoming flaky and nasty. You can also soak them in Ammonia (household cleaner) - I would suggest a small rubbermaid container for that however. If it's a really super oily bird, you can leave it in the Ammonia bath for a number of weeks to remove extra fat. Happy cleaning!
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Leave it out for the voltures. They'll do the job for you in seconds flat
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