I can't get my bird skins to fluff good. I don't have room for tumbler (small apartment) so I use a 5 gallon bucket and roll it on the floor 15-20 minutes. I've also put them in a pillowcase and throw em in the dryer with the heat off. After I get them out I use a hair dryer. After I use the hair dryer awhile the pin feathers are still matted and the lower part of the big feathers are matted, I'm also losing pin feathers during the hair dryer process. The tips of the feathers also are damaged, split ends etc. For tumbling media in the bucket I've used sawdust a couple times but it made a gooy sticky mess so I followed someone's advise and used borax. I've tried several birds over a few months I haven't done all of the above methods to the same bird. I've even tried not drying the bird before mounting and that didn't work so well either. I also should add before I try and tumble the skins I wash and soak in mineral spirits. After the mineral spirit soak I drain 20 minutes or so then dab with paper towels.
Guys I'm running out of ideas. I remember reading a prior post awhile ago somebody mentioned a bag method and quoted a Breakthrough Magazine. I can't find that post now. What issue was that anybody know? I'm going to switch to diamatous earth because the borax is leaving a soap residue. The bird videos I have shows the guy taking the bird out of a tumbler all nice and fluffy. I don't mind spending a long time with a hair dryer but if I'm losing pin feathers, and the tips are getting damaged there's gotta be a better way.
Thanks in advance.
Jim
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the pin feathers Jim. If you get a fully feathered bird the pins won't fall out of course. As far as tumbling medium. I use corn cob grit. Works very well. I have used the bucket method as well. The bag works good too. Probably better. The bird isn't hitting those hard sides of the bucket. Put the bird in with the tumbling material get some air in the bag and shake. Take it easy with the hair dryer, set it on cool maybe. I never have any problems with spilt feathers. Oh yea, squeeze out you bird after degreasing, as opposed to drip drying. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
make sure you rinse all the soap out of your birds and you do not have to tumble your birds
Jim, Dan put it best...if your bird is pin-feathered....be prepared to lose feathers. I usually never keep anything that is pin-feathered unless it's a RARE bird. Same with customers. I feel bad about turning some people away. I will accept them from time to time...like a Junior hunter's first bird...or as I said...a RARE bird not commonly found in my area. If you have a mature bird, you will not lose feathers as you are experiencing now. If I were you, I'd wash the bird immediately after defatting the bird with dawn, Era, or whatever you're using right now. For tumbling, I would again follow Dan's advice and switch to corn-cob dust mixed with borax. You can find the corn-cob grit in Research Mannikins. I have never tumbled birds with straight borax. I'm not sure how everybody elses experiences have been doing that, but I would be afraid of the bird drying out too fast after tumbling it in a barrel of just borax. Unless you dry the bird skin with cool air. One last important piece of advice...make SURE you rinse it out completely. You do not want any soap residue left on your bird. Even if you think the bird is rinsed and cleaned completely of soap, wash it again with clean water. If you have to, use luke-warm water to help get that last bit of soap out of the bird. Trying to dry a bird with soap residue left on the skin is a pain in the butt and you will never get the full fluffyness of the birds natural skin with soap left in it.
Type "fabric softener" to search menu,,, The first item to come up will be how to make a birds fluff-up with a 15min. soak of this stuff ( one cap full in enough water to cover bird skin.) I have never tried it myself, but plan to experiment. Good Luck.
From what you describe, the problem is occuring during the washing procedure. Do NOT be afraid to use warm water! Hot is bad, but if it is comfortable to your hands it won't hurt the skin to be in it for a short time. (no long soaks though) Cold water does a poor job of cutting grease, and reduces the efficiency of your detergent. You can also use a soft toothbrush to help loosen the oil film from the skin and the feathers around the incision. And then RINSE RINSE RINSE! Look the bird over while it is immersed in clear water. All of the fluff must be floating free like little underwater clouds. If they look the least bit matted or stringy, re-soap and start over.
I don't recommend tumbling birds in borax. It WILL react with water and form a crust which will mat the feathers.
Just for fun, try this: Since you are already soaking your birds in solvent after washing, try drying one without tumbling it.
Now hold on! We don't want any exploding ducks here! Agitate it a few times during the soak (wear gloves!) and then squeeze and blot out all excess. Put some paper towels or a washcloth inside the skin to keep the feathers from turning under and sticking, and then let it air out OUTSIDE until it is only barely damp. (30 min-1 hour? depends on weather) At this point, the remaining moisture is mostly water.
Blow dry and see what you get. If you rinsed it well, the results should be gorgeous.
As for pinfeathers ..... Well...um... Pinfeathers fall out. Such is life.
Nancy M.
Thanks and I got one more quick one.
I've been reusing the mineral spirits. When I went to use it yesterday alot of red flecks came out all over my freshly washed ptarmigan. *@(#^$&! I'm guessing it was rust? How do I prevent this? What can I use in place of mineral spirits since it is so expensive where I'm at?
Thanks again.
Do you mean finding another substitute for washing your birds instead of mineral spirits? If so, try Dawn or Era. I love Dawn's grease cutting power and Era's ability to quickly clean and disolve all types of blood on your bird (Even the hard, dried up blood). Good Luck
No I'm looking for something to dissapate the water after the wash.
thanks
Jim H
That's a new one for me. I use camp fuel from Walmart, and I re-use it until it is gone. I store it in a plastic gas can, so rust can't happen. Each time I go to soak a bird, I pour the fuel from the can VERY slowly. It has been sitting overnight (or longer) and the "junk" is on the bottom. Don't jostle or shake it. At the first sign of cloudy material entering the soaking container, I stop pouring. The sludge makes a good weed killer.
Red flecks. Hmmmmmmm. Without seeing it, I have no idea.
Nancy M.
i had this problem with matting once. i traced it back to not getting all the soap out of the feathers. havent had the problem since.
Use a source of gently blown air to completely dry the bird. Some supply compainies sell bird blowers. You can also use a shop vac on blow as long as you regulate the intake air with a piece of cardboard. You can even use a blow dryer without the heat. This will dry and fluff the feather down to the skin. Good Luck!