Bugs get it done
 

Last Fall I shot a deer which was nice but borderline for spending money. He was a dandy for the conditions ( sub zero all week ) with a real good story on the hunt.



So I put him in the rose garden for the Summer, I just pulled him out and those bugs did a number on him, The lower jaw and neck just fell away.

very cool. You buried it in the rose garden?

Yes. Out back of the house and put a cover over it for the winter and never removed it. The cover was something your put over a plant to protect it for the winter so it didn't really look out of place.

Only minor gripes from the Mrs.

I'm curious about this one....Do you have to bury one in a rose garden or would just burying one anywhere with nothing but the antlers above ground be sufficient as long as you made sure that predators/carrion eaters couldn't haul it away?

BPS

You can burry it anywhere. I live in the city so the landscaping around my house was the only option. I did have a critter go after it this spring. I put a planting pot on top of the cover and shoveled a little dirt around the edges.

I'm sure it didn't need this long. There was not a spec of flesh left and aside from being stained, it's perfect. Just a quick rinse with the hose and it's clean as a whistle. I plan on whitening it up with hydrogen peroxide and sunshine.

Did you skin the "mask" and ears off the deer's head and remove the brains or just bury it as is?

BPS

My Buddy used the cape from this deer for his, so he caped it out.

I'm sure this helped the process. I think I will make hide removal standard operating procedure moving forward.

Put it on the roof, and let the birds clean it.

my friend throws all his skulls on the steel roof of his barn to let the birds clean them and to bleach out. But he discovered Ravens will haul them off.
We have a lot of Ravens (much bigger then crows) up where I live.

Dave,

We have them here in my neck of the woods as well. Definitely bigger than crows and their "CAW" is deeper and more raspy than the common crow. I also believe they're more solitary in nature than crows.

BPS