We have a couple deer that the customer says "smells and is losing hair" I'm wondering what this could be from? All the steps in fleshing, tanning, and mounting were done as we do all our deer and no complaints b4 this. We're relatively new to taxidermy and I'm wondering what could cause this said smell? Or, if there are any remedys or anything to suggest to the customer? ANY help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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To get to the problem, you would need to provide more information on how you specifically handled the hides, don't leave anything out. Then you may get a response here. Otherwise its pretty tough to help.
....To work with! What kind of smell? Have you seen the deer to check the problem? How was it tanned? How long have they been mounted?
"Relatively new to taxidermy"! And you already have CUSTOMERS? Does anyone else see a pattern here?
Have the hides been properly fleshed? All meat out of earbutts and all other places. Have you gave the mounts two to three weeks to properly dry. Almost sounds like they are not being properly fleshed all the way and some meat is spoiling and hair is slipping out. I would suggest practicing on your own stuff ALOT before taking in "customers". Good luck to you in the future though.
Bojack
The deer were wet tanned. Maybe allowed 2 weeks to dry......but the first week without a fan. As far as the smell, i would classify it as a weak rotten smell. Perhaps its possible the deer isnt completely dried? THe fleshing was thorough. The slippage is moderate only when pulled on. I should add that we do our work in a basement. We kept a fan on the deer for a number of days b4 customer picked up. I didnt notice any smell in the shop b4 he picked them up either. I checked out the deer, took them to the shop and noticed they did smell a bit, as I mentioned above. The slippage is probably due to not enough drying time, i'm hoping. Where can i go from here?
Just keep a fan on it. The smell should eventually go away as the mount dries. Always make sure the nose pad is hard and ears cannot be moved anything else on the mount is hard. Drying too fast can hurt you also. Keep a good eye on them as they dry. Also make sure you are getting proper air circulation in your shop. If not, the mount may dry up a little and seem dryl, but when the customer gets his head home in a controlled environment the mount will dry very fast the rest of the way causing eyelids to pull away from the eyes and pulling away from under antler burrs. A de-humidifier may be a good investment if you do not have proper circulation. Good luck to you and keep checking the forums. There is a wealth of information here.
Bojack
If your shop has odors, any mounts in there will likely absorb them. You might ask someone about it. Being that we are around the odors so much, it could build up and we might not notice it. But bring in an 'outsider' and they may be able to detect the odors.
I agree with the others. More drying time should set the hair and help with or eliminate the odor problem. Might try spraying a deodorizing hair dressing sold by suppliers or even try some Febreeze on it.
Explain in detail your "wet tan" method.
I believe you said that the hair only comes out if pulled.Tell that customer to STOP pulling on the hair!
REminds me of the time I went into the ER. Told the nurse that I noticed a pain...'when I press here'. Her reply?..."Don't press it"...LOL.
~ ETCC
it hurts when I press here, and when I press here, and when I press here and here and here, and the nurse said, "Well, I think I found the problem, you broke your finger."
And I agree with Shane, your wet tan method sounds suspect, if you don't want it to happen again, you should let us know how you processed the cape from caping until finished tanning.