My family received a bald eagle mount from a relative, it needs a cleaning, what works the best, or is there even a method to clean such an old mount, Thanks for any info
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But I have sad news for you. It's likely not going to clean up very well and MOST LIKELY, feather mites have eaten much of the plumage away. Best bet is to put in in a glass case with some moth crystals and just enjoy what you have. I'm not at all sure about the laws covering possession of the bird, so beware.
Where does the post say it is feathers loss or it has bugs?
How about looking at the glass being half full,,,give it a clean with white spirits on a cotton swab, use an air dryer to dry it off and yes enjoy what you have.
Have YOU ever worked on a 50-60 year old bird mount? How about old bald eagles? I have. Dozens. And I KNOW what happens to 50-60 year old feathers. Some of those guys were mounted with arsenic soap and that helps those. Others were in glass cases. Those mounted with arsenic soap or that had moth crystals replaced periodically seem to have fared quite well. HOWEVER, most were not protected in such a ways and the dust and grime of everyday living took a terrible toll on their well being. Since Stefan asked the question about "cleaning", I'm assuming that his bird was NOT in a glass case.
but since you asked, and please no offence, 27 years strictly with birds, dozens of remounts of waterfowl and psittacine specimens in excess of 100 years old, (including extinct species AND birds of prey) involving complete piece by piece disassemblement, rehrdration and re-assembly construction,,, and have mounted pretty well most order of birds from hummingbirds to ostrich, ,,,and,a few NTA national and world show masters titles over the years.......
Old George took that one up the poop shoot!
I cleaned a bunch for a museum and I used acetone and air (shop vac) and they came out great. Some were covered in soot from being above a fire place. I used a rag and acetone and I used soapy water for the bigger feathers.
Eagles are grandfathered and can be possessed without a permit if it was taken prior to the law. Golden Eagles were somewhere around 1960-62 and bald in the 40s-50s? The hard part is proving they were possessed prior to the law being passed. Pictures help if dated. who would have thought to get and keep evidence? They use to give permits for taxidermy/education but Native religious laws have made priority of eagles go to Indian/Native Americans.
Hi, im a native with a bachelors degree in native american law.The grandfathering law is correct.However if this was given to you, ask the person if there are any old photos of the mount, especially if there is something in the photo that could give a time reference. i.e. old cars, kitchen appliences or even phone books in a photo etc. otherwise you may have to surrender it to a repository.A sworn affidavit from whomever you got it from may work too, although im not positive about that one.