I have always used borax on bird skins. Does anybody tan their bird skins? What is the advantage or disadvantage? Bryan
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I don't know any of the top bird guys that use any of the so-called "bird tans". They all use borax or DP. I have mounted birds that were tanned before and I really didn't like it. The skin and feathers never fully relaxed. That made it hard to groom the feathers. The birds turned out OK...but not nearly as good as the ones I use borax on.
James, thanks for the response. If the "top guys" are using borax, it will be good enough for me. Bryan
On all my large birds l wet tan the skins, particullarly with large ones like geese cranes and emu. l also do some of the smaller birds in an alcohol/acid pickle solution, and provided you thoroughly rinse all skins, the results are excellent.On quick commercial mounts l will use dry preserve
l dont use any of the paint on mixtures.
I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination but I use both on ducks, especially the smaller ones with thinner hides like teal and woodies. Not necessarily to give it "double" the tanning. I find the hide tougher after using the WASCO Tru tan bird tan which helps my stitches to hold better and not break through when sewing. I also use borax.
Pat M