This photo of opossum remains is a perfect example of when to macerate. Only a little dried on flesh and almost no fur on the bones. I just filled up this container with water & tightly sealed the lid. Now I will leave the bacteria to do their work for the next 2 to 3 weeks. Do not add anything else, only water. Especially not any soaps or chemicals that would kill the bacteria that need to breed in that water to clean the bones of the flesh. If you put a whole animal in a maceration tub with fur, innards & skin it would take forever. Could potentially cause the bones to start to decay before they fell free. And would be unbelievably horrid smelling. I also stress using a sealed container for the process especially if you are leaving it outside. Otherwise you could grow algae on the bones or have the tub fill will maggots or other creatures that will possibly begin to decay the bone. Lastly, always wear latex gloves during this process while handling the remains/bones. They will be incredibly unsanitary.
For much more info about maceration check out my other posts here:
