I have a very old bird, possibly a small grey albatross that needs re-mounting....how does one relax the mount for re-modeling?
Ilive in Australia and only occasionally, as a hobby, attempt taxidermy. I cant afford to obtain materials etc from overseas so need help in establishing what chemicals to use and how to create scenery etc.. my basic problem is obtaining these and/or trying to find corresponding products, for example i think sal soda is what we call caustic soda (not sure though).When ihave sent off for videos or books i get annoying terms in these such as absorbant(whats that)and preservative no2 (whats that) tanning solution etc?
I live near a good hardware shop and have discovered acetone good on small mammal skins and petrol good on bird skins but it dries quite severly...alan
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The following bokk should be in your local library : Hangay, G., and M. Dingley. 1985. Biological museum methods. Volume I. Vertebrates. Academic Press, Sydney, Australia. xv + 379 pp.
It is the best book published on your continent on various museum a,d taxidermy methods. However, even the best of taxidermists would not attempt to relax and re-mount an Albatross. Perhaps you could vacuum lightly or spot wash in areas, but to totally remake a bird of this size would be a months work, if it even could be made totally pliable and fitted over a newly constructed mannikin.
thankyou , you have saved me destroying this bird..
The procellaria cinerea is infact a species of petrel not an albatross as stated earlier , but im sure same problem of relaxing a skin of this age would occur. Unfortunately it is not so much dirty or faded but was originally mounted anatomically incorrectly.
I shall indeed inquire, in regards to the book, and hopefully purchase a copy. again many thanks alan..
ps ihave an old turtle shell, which i believe originated from southern africa. its about 70 cms long and needs oiling? can you suggest a suitable liquid to use..cheers
Your bird is listed as "threatened" on the world lists. The gray petrel is a southern hemisphere, circum-polar species, and not exclusive to your area.
The turtle "shell" you have may need more than "oiling". In fact, I know of no oil that will restore cracks and fissures in the chelate plates. Perhaps you could better describe the condition and what you wish to repair and Stephen could help you in that department as well.
I must say it is a pleasure communicating with such knowledgable naturalists. I aquired the grey petrel in a junk shop in Dartford ,England a few years ago. On learning it is an endangered species ifeel a bit upset it wasnt mounted correctly all those years ago.I think i will attempt a good clean and possibly try to reset some eyes, are there any pitfalls to be aware of?
With regards to the turtle shell a few of the chelate segments have risen, giving a raised profile in places. I was thinking of applying some sort of resin inside to make the areas more solid and to prevent further lifting. oiling would deter any drying to occur,which i think was the primary reason for the initial chelate plates rising. also it may restore some of the original colour and depth to the shell?
would you agree?
Strangely enough this shell was given to me by an eccentric englishman who said his grandfather had obtained whilst serving in Africa, making it 100 years or so old,so its in pretty good nic considering, he also gave me an amazing rifle,19th centuary arabic or afghani,said he shot a few,sorry,i digress?
Am slowly sorting through my collections, so am very releaved to have found this computor site as iam sure i will require more help in the future. many thanks