1. i finished my 2nd mount 8 days ago. if you put your nose 6-8 inches from the bird, he has a bad smell. i obviously missed something while defatting the bird, but the smell now seems to be going away. is the bird gone, is it ok, or is there something i can do? the mount turned out nice for a 2nd try so i would like to keep it if it is ok.
2. i have read a lot of posts advising only borax is ok as a preservative. how much borax? on my "2" birds, i sprinkle borax lightly inside before sewing up. i'm wondering if i should put more.
thanks for all advice.
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will tell, did you remove the bone marrow?
i ran a piece of wire down the humerus and tibia to get the marrow out. i didnt have the smell on my 1st bird. do you think this bird is ruined?
Did you wash and degrease? Did you use the skull or artificial head?
in dawn 2-3 different times and would rinse well inbetween and i used an artificial head. i have read a lot of posts indicating dawn works great as a degreaser. what do you recommend? thanks for your post.
Sometimes it depends on the species. It also depends on what KIND of smell you are talking about.
Virtually ALL mounts will have the "green mount" smell for a few days, but that should go away. If you are smelling something like decayed meat then you definitely missed something, probably in the feet or wingtips. If it smells oily or fishy then it might be feather oil. (if it's a duck) Feather oil is actually harder to remove than the body fat that comes loose from degreasing. It takes some determined washing and soaking to get rid of it. It won't necessarily make the bird LOOK bad, but it does have an odor and I think it makes the mounts prone to attracting dust.
And then, just to make things interesting, there are some birds which have naturally scented feathers. Nothing you can do will totally remove the smell from those since it's a structural part of the plumage. Parrots are an example.