i was wondering how to smooth out the edges of the wing feathers i tried with my fingers but there are some stubborn ones that still look ratty. anyone know what im talking about? thanks in advance.
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I am presuming that the bird is already mounted - if not, washing the feathers generally returns them to their original condition unless some caustic chemical has compromised them in some regard. Steam is what I use to bring wing feathers back. Start a kettle of water boiling and hold the troublesome feathers in the steam then groom with the feather veins. Repeat as many time as necessary to fix the problem. Other feathers can also be helped with steam - just not as effective. You can also use a tea pot or a steam iron - do not iron the feathers just push the steam button and steam them. Good Luck.
"What did I do to make them LOOK ratty?" I'm as guilty of that as anyone, but when it happens, you need to look at what you're doing to create that illusion anyway. Are the feathers tumbled enough? Did I arrange them properly? Is the skin taxiied properly? Did I wire and tape them sufficiently? Once you find those answers, your question goes away.
the bird is mounted and everything was tumbled good, and yes the skin is taxied correctly, etc. im talking about the last 1" or so on the wings that are ratty looking they are already positioned fine just that they need to stick together.
If it's just the outer tips you might be running low on tumbler mix.
That seems to be one of the first symptoms.
I don't bother with steam if its just the very tips. Instead I heat water until it comes to a rolling boil and then dip the feather tips for a few seconds. They will straighten out immediately. Blot them gently and just let them dry. Preen lightly if necessary after they are totally dry.
Needless to say, don't get boiling water on any other part of the bird! This method only works on wingtips or the very ends of tailfeathers.