Bird Tumbling

No. You do not have to tumble. You can simply dry with a pet dryer or shop vac. It will take longer, and you'll need to keep the skin moist but it works just fine.

 

I think the same as Brooke

 

I hand tumbled in ground corn cob medium in a plastic tub and then blow dried. it was faster than blow drying without tumbling, however, the end results seemed to be the same. Getting the all the cob out of the down can be a little challenging at times.

 

Another variation on what has already been said. I use ground cobb and add some puffed or granulated borax in a pillow case, easy to gently roll around, then an ordinary hair dryer.

 

Tried the grit and borax separately in a container. Saves shop space considering the size of a tumbler and quick and easy. Results are just as good.

 

can you use saw dust to dry birds thanks

 

Yes, but be careful. You want hardwood sawdust only. No sawdust from composites such as plywood, because is contains glue. Yellow pine is to be avoided due to the resin in the wood. I have known of guys/gals who use white pine sawdust successfully.

 

I have a tumbler but rarely use it anymore. It's terrible to spend the time required to wash a duck, then toss in into dirty tumbler mix, and have sawdust continually falling from the bird. It takes me about 30 minutes to dry a duck, an hour for a turkey, using a hair dryer. It's time well spent, IMO.