hello everyone. i am a window dresser who was just given a very old swan to use in a display. I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to clean the dust off the feathers. it is a spectacular looking bird that has become grey over the years.
Another question: I have had a hard tome finding information on taxidermy swans... is this something that is illegal now? how do i know what type of swan it is.
thank you for sharing your knowledge
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Use a feather duster (no pun intended). Or you can lightly spray a cloth with pledge and gently wipe the feathers down. If you get them wet with the pledge, it will look terrible.
Blow it out with compressed air ,blow with the feathers, wipe the bill down, clean the glass eyes with a q-tip. I would not get pledge or any cleaning agent near the feathers as they would " soil" it even worse. It is most likely a tundra swan if it has a yellow patch near the eye on the bill it is a tundra swan if not it could possibly be a trumpeter. It is still legal to hunt swans in several states, I mount about 10 a year in my business all mostly taken by hunters with swan 'permits'.