i read quite a bit about dry preserve. is this the same as borax? thanks.
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D.P Is differant then borax D.P has better
preserving qualities anti bacterial agents
borax Is great for birds
Dp's are more talc(talcum powder without the perfume)than anything else. Talc itself is just a drying agent. Borax will do just as good a job as far as preserving the specimen.
I have used plain ol 20 mule team Borax for all my small mammal mounts and it has worked fine have a couple of mounts over 10 yrs old that look as good as the day I mounted them.
Borax and talc MAY be the key ingredients, but there is also some alum in most of them. Alum is an astringent and MY theory is that there's more alum in there than we give it credit for. If you don't subscribe to my theory,try this simple test. Take 3 small containers of borax, talc, and alum. Set the aside and wait until you nick yourself with the scalpel or knife. First, put the borax on. It won't stop the bleeding, but it will keep the flies away. Next, put some unscented talc on. It will slow the bleeding some...that is, until it becomes saturated and you can always hope that it stems the tide long enough for your blood to clot. Then touch it with some alum. Guaranteed, the blood flow stops. It's the same product they use in styptic pencils (you youngun's who never shaved with a safety razor probably don't even know what a "safety razor" is, much less a styptic pencil. LOL) The astringent in alum closes the hair follicles and allows the skin to cure, the talc dries the skin and the borax is keeping bugs away.
MY OPINION is that if you don't use DP for your birds and small mammals, you're omitting very important pieces of the puzzle. DP is not profanity or witchcraft, and certainly not rocket science, but it does provide an invaluable service to most any taxidermy shop.