heyo so I've seen some folks mention vulturing, but there's no thread for it and I figured it'd be cool to have that! This is that. So come show off your deads and/or vulture stories! If you've got any questions about getting into VC or what to do with what you find, this is also that.
Dead things! I don't, because I don't Outside enough to go looking for things, but my great-grandpa used to before he died and I like looking at people's pretty findings. He had a fire ant nest in his yard- just left roadkill and stuff under a box over the hill and they'd pick it clean. Wonder what happened to his collection.
Like Lazarae said! Vulturing involves the collection and preservation of animal remains, usually from found stuff because it is significantly less expensive -- but also things that are bought. My collection is mostly bones I found and cleaned myself (plus a couple nice ones I got as gifts) but other people also collect wet specimens (stuff preserved in jars), skins, or full-on taxidermy. For me, the most important part of the hobby is the cleaning/preparing process and I'm always looking for better ways to do that. Which is part of why I started a thread; I'd love to see how other people go about it The term "vulture" is a reference to the whole hanging around dead stuff bit
the good news: found a freshly roadkilled raccoon on my way home from work the bad news: my province requires me to submit a permit - and fees! - in order to buy the dang thing from the government >:/ while it decays in a sack in the meantime, I assume... an additional, irritating complication: I have to find somewhere to bury it that is both private/accessible and won't be noticed by neighbors or passers-by. thinking about my grandma's backyard under the mulch pile. do buried carcasses smell, or is it somewhat concealed by the dirt? is there enough time to rot it down before winter? if not, will the winter wet and cold rot the bones down to nothing??? any and all advice welcome, Idk what I'm doing here
pain in the ass: i support the migratory birds act and recognize its importance but c'mooooooon i found this skeleton in the woods and i don't know what species it is but it's more cool bones, just let me own them in peace >:|
I had a thing just like this last fall! From my experience, it might be a little late in the year to get started on something as big and fatty as a raccoon, depending on your local climate (I'm in Canada so it gets cold here early). Ideally, you want to set the raccoon somewhere open and warm for a few days to let the bugs get at it before you bury it. I went and buried my raccoon straight off the last time and there was still a lot of flesh on it a year and a half later. Since the bugs are starting to die off for the fall, though, you could just bury it whole now and dig it up in the spring -- the benefit being that it won't stink as bad to leave out for the bugs. (you could potentially de-flesh it yourself, but given how raccoons can carry disease, I wouldn't try this without a hazmat suit, myself) oh - and, if you're going to bury it, I suggest investing in some metal mesh to hold the whole thing together. I wound up losing a bunch of pieces last time round because I didn't do that, including the skull bits, which was sad
So I discovered when I got home I had a very dead very smelly kitty gift waiting for me. It's a mouse and I would like to keep the skull if I can. Any suggestions on how I could do something about the smell long enough to actually move it somewhere? Edit to add I kicked it into a shoe box for now so that the cat doesn't try and eat it.
If you want to try the flower pot burial method, it works pretty well for decomp without a stink. As for moving it -- I use a facemask and/or a smear of Vick's vapor rub under the nose. Neither are total protection from the smell, but it's usually enough for quick handling. Anybody else have a stink solution?
