Chicken Mummy Advice?

[La Texican]

Now I understand the entusiastic reports I read here about the chicken mummies! I didn't imagine we would do one because I focus more on books than projects in the homeschool. We just read the article on the Egyptians in the World History book. My son got excited over thr mummy part, remembered every part for his oral narration, then asked, "can we do it?!" Anyone want to give me some advice on making a chicken mummy? One website said they can preserve the innards in baby food jars. Do whole chickens come with innards from the grocery store? The website didn't say what to put in the babyfood jars.

[PIE!]

We're doing this for the second time right now. Innards do come with the chicken. We put them in a little plastic bag with the same salt mixture we use for the big chicken to dry them out. When they're done, we use baby food jars as our own little canopic jars decorated with the appropriate gods. Have fun! And be prepared to change your "natron" a lot at first. It soaks up those juices fast.

[Occasionally]

I followed the advice in this post. Thanks Matryoshka!

[La Texican]

I followed the advice in this post. Thanks Matryoshka!

Is the Matryoshka recipe for Natron salt or is it calling for Natron salt in the recipe. I looked online for Natron salt and really didn't see where to buy it, so now I'm thinking that the recipe means table salt and the recipe itself is to make Natron salt.

[Spy Car]

Is the Matryoshka recipe for Natron salt or is it calling for Natron salt in the recipe. I looked online for Natron salt and really didn't see where to buy it, so now I'm thinking that the recipe means table salt and the recipe itself is to make Natron salt.

She explains it is called "Washing Soda" in supermarkets.

 

Bill

[Matryoshka]

Hi guys!  Thanks for finding that link and saving me the time of typing it all out again. :D

 

And use a Cornish Hen, 'cause really, when mummifying smaller is better!  Although unlike chickens, they don't come with a bag of innards (at least ours didn't).  Later on, when we dissected a bullfrog, the kids insisted on mummifying its innards so we had some Canopic jars to go with our chicken mummy.  So now I have a mummified Cornish hen and some mummified frog guts. :lol:

[Farrar]

I've done it three times now.  Definitely go with the Cornish hen and change the natron a lot.  Outside the first couple of times.  Ugh.  Keep it sealed up in a bag, in a box, in another box.  The time I did it that it worked best, it was in some really good, nice tupperware...  which I then threw out, of course.

[HS Mom in NC]

We did a whole chicken but not the largest one we could find-it needed to fit double bagged in 2 large ziploc bag with all the preservatives. Some do come with innards and some don't. The innards will smell bad no matter what you put them in according to advice I read. VERY cheap boxed wine smells better than rubbing alcohol when cleaning it.

 

It's a little dull later in the process (changing out preservatives less frequently) so to keep the project going we made a sarcophagus using a bunch of grocery store plastic bags squished together and taped into the right shape (chicken shaped but larger than the actual chicken) and layered with lots of colorful tissue paper strips dipped in school glue.  We let it dry on a rack used to cool baked goods so it wouldn't stick to anything-otherwise you have to do the top first, let it dry and then do the bottom.   Then we cut it around the middle with a kitchen knife so there was a top and bottom. The grocery bags were easy to separate and discard leaving the chicken shaped shell of a sarcophagus.

 

You can put a strip of card stock to make a "lip" on the bottom half of the sarcophagus creating a ridge so the top won't slip off.   We also made amulets.  When it was done we did rub a cinnamon/oil mixture before wrapping it in the fabric strips dipped in glue-this will make it smell a bit more, so if you're sensitive to it, skip the oil rub and go straight to the wrapping. Other people have said the smell of cinnamon and oil created a very strong association with dead chicken and they not longer enjoy the smell of oil and or cinnamon.  I suppose it's possible it can do that if you use wine too.

 

Some people suggest burying it and digging it up a year later or at the beginning of school the next year. We didn't but that may be something some people would like to do.

 

We photographed each step of the process and printed the photos out and included it in a lapbook.  You may want to at least make a booklet out of the pictures because mine gets a big kick out of looking at the pictures.  We did the first day's process with a friend. When one of the girls started to turn her nose up at it being gross, the other mom said, "Yes, but think of all the interesting stories you'll have to tell at dinner parties when you're older!" 

[La Texican]

A photobook's a good idea. I was thinking we could write down what we did and put it in the history book, just have him draw a picture. And I'll get a little kitchen scale so he can write down the directions and the weights. Photos would look good in the history notebook. My sister can't believe chicken mummies are a thing. She said there's a little known history factoid that the Egyptians invented nose plugs for the Priests to use during the embalming. Old Tupperware and a Ziplock bag huh? I'd have to keep it inside the house because of stray dogs. Is this an indoor project (except the changings of the natron)?

[Occasionally]

Our Cornish Hen did come with innards, but I was too chicken ( :laugh: ) to try mummifying them. 

 

I kept ours in our laundry room for a few weeks, but had to move it to the garage when the smell was seeping into the rest of the house. I have a good smeller, so YMMV. I had it in a Tupperware which was, in turn, in a ziploc bag.

[HS Mom in NC]

We kept ours indoors and people were shocked to learn they were in a room with a weeks old dead chicken and couldn't smell it at all.  We used the salt and baking soda mixture.  It was in two large ziploc bags.  Too late I realized I could have very easily done simple science study on decomposition and bacteria and put a second chicken in two large ziploc bags without the preservatives for a demonstration. It would only take a day or two to powerfully demonstrate the impressive powers of preservation.  It would have to be timed closely to the garbage pick up schedule. 

[La Texican]

Is wearing gloves and changing the salt outside enough to stop the bubonic plague, salmonilla, or whatever chicken mummies bring?

[HS Mom in NC]

No one got sick here.  We didn't even use gloves for some of it.  Hands wash.  I grew up on a farm with hunters and fisherman and I'm not fussy about such things. The only frustrating part of doing it outside is wind.

[La Texican]

Thanks. I'll take your word for it. It's going on the grocery list. We're trying this! What's the schedule for changing the natron?

[RootAnn]

Change it a LOT at first. Definitely go with the  Cornish Game Hen.

 

DH does it & uses a hair dryer to speed things up.

[Matryoshka]

Thanks. I'll take your word for it. It's going on the grocery list. We're trying this! What's the schedule for changing the natron?

 

If you use my recipe, I only had to change it once after a couple of weeks.  It absorbs so much moisture it becomes almost solid - had to chip it off.  Another couple of weeks and done.

[Hedgehogs4]

We did Cornish hens, as they are smaller and are more easily covered, but other than that, we are nearly through the salt process and will soon wrap 'er up!

[Guest A320Wife]

We are on Day 2 of our chicken mummy adventure.  We added the spices to the natron mixture as recommended.  DH came home and commented on how nicely the kitchen smelled (cinnamon) and asked if I had been baking.  He was all excited until he found out it was just a chicken mummy! 

[trulycrabby]

If you use my recipe, I only had to change it once after a couple of weeks.  It absorbs so much moisture it becomes almost solid - had to chip it off.  Another couple of weeks and done.

 

I did, and it does! I had to "chip off" the natron layer on the cornish hen. No smell whatsoever. "King Cluck" is currently sitting in two ziplock bags in our kitchen, and even DH with his super smeller nose cannot detect decomposition. :p

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Here's my blog post on 7 Tips for Easier Chicken Mummification.

 

I should add #8: Don't get pregnant in the middle of the project! Because I couldn't keep up with it, I was so sick, and had to throw it out. :(

 

[La Texican]

Oh I hope not, they didn't say that was part of the directions. Congratulations, for your Lady Bug! Thank you for linking because I saw the "Horrible Histories Mummy Song" in your post. I've been looking in YouTube and googling "online mummy picture books" all day and comming up very sparse. I thought there'd be more this close to Halloween.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

Oh I hope not, they didn't say that was part of the directions. Congratulations, for your Lady Bug! Thank you for linking because I saw the "Horrible Histories Mummy Song" in your post. I've been looking in YouTube and googling "online mummy picture books" all day and comming up very sparse. I thought there'd be more this close to Halloween.

 

is part of a playlist of ALL the HH Awful Eqyptians clips. :D My kids love that song.