First off can you use somthing like ez tan, for the base of a turkey fan, instead of borax? Any pros/cons?
Second, I have never washed a single feather before. Is there a prefered washing method that keeps the feather together and not seperated (split?). I don't want that to happen because I hear it cant be fixed and this is my first bird.
Sorry this sounds like a rookie quiestion but I'm trying to get my feet wet with this bird.
Thanks for any help!
Joe
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
#1 - Why would you use EZ-tan on bird skin, it's not needed. If you've properly cleaned the tail there's only a 1/2" of skin holding the main quills and just a little patch of skin holding the secondary and tertiary feathers. Borax is all you need.
#2 - I wash the feathers if needed in dawn and rinse, then you can tumble them dry in sawdust or blow dry. Don't worry about the splits they'll return to normal. Think about how wet they get in the wild and with a little shaking and dusting they're good as new.
#1- Borax is an excellent bug-proofer too
#2- If you were talking just the fan, I would steam-clean if anything, but I usually have bad luck with feathers splitting badly if i wash and tumble them - so I usally just clean off the meat, borax, and mount.
you must be tumbling to long if your getting split feathers. tumble less and blow dry more
you must be tumbling to long if your getting split feathers. tumble less and blow dry more
:(
if a tanning agent would be a better preservation method. Wasn't sure if it would even be worth giving it a try.
So...I soak the tail in a tub of dawn/water, then in a tub of regular water to rinse, then one more time in clean water, and blow dry (with no heat) laying flat on cardboard, and that should work?
Any tips on how to avoid spliting the feather? Should I hold the feathers in the air while blow drying instead of laying it on a table and doing it?
Thanks for the help everyone!
Joe
Like it was said- dont sweat the washing. Wash rinse and blowdry. You CAN skip the tumble, its just faster that way. If you have a few feathers that split, steam can bring em back together, along with blow drying some more. Ask any bow hunter how he gets his fletching back in shape- steam. feathers have a sytem of "hooks" that zip them together, some steam and minipulation will usuallu help re-zip feathers. If its the QUILL you are worried about- just be gentle
I once had a dog grab a turkey tail out of a truck. Chewed up the base real good. every quill what clean as a whistle. The feathers were scattered seperately across the yard, in the rain, soaked. I took those feathers back to my shop, washed em dawn, tumbled, and blow dryed em. After figuring out what order they went in and using bondo to reassmble- you would never know what happened. The guys dog did eat the whole damn beard though!
Everything worked out well!