Now that hunting season is upon us, does anyone know how to skin and tan a bird? I have found that plucking feathers is rather messy and its hard to keep them all in one place. having a whole skin is much easier to deal with and store. I could probably wing it and dress one on my own, but if anyone knows how to do it thats one less thing i have to learn by trial and error. Thank you.
Bird skins can be cleaned then pinned to cardboard then dried with Borax–you really dont tan a bird skin.
Flyrodde,
Send me your e-mail and I will send you pages with pictures and documentation on what you are looking for. It will be in PDF format. You will ahve to open in Acrobat or equal.
Flyrodde,
Just curious as to wether that helped or not? If it did and you found it useful, I will save it and pass it on to anyone that wants the information.
I have had good results with pheasant and partridge skins. I live in a dry climate where I can almost air dry the skins, but the following should work in more humid areas.
I pin the skins feather side down over a piece of heavy corrugated cardboard and scrap off any remaining flesh or fat with a dull knife. Remove the skin and wash off any dirt or blood with mild dish detergent and luke warm water. Blot dry with paper towels and pin the skin to the card board again.
Cover the flesh side with a 1/2" layer of salt, or 50/50 mix of salt and borax. This will draw the moisture out in a day or two. The dry skin has the feel of parchment paper. If it hasn’t dried out in a few days I remove the salt and replace with a fresh layer. I save the used salt in a big plastic bin for future use. The skins can stay packed in the salt indefinately without damage. When completely dry the skin can be brushed clean and stored in a plastic bag without spoilage. Check newly dried skins often, 2 days is a minimum but I often let then sit for a few weeks. Any odour indicates incomplete drying and spoilage, smelly spoiled feathers should be trashed. There is no help for them, and they attract bugs and other unwelcome vermin.
Wings can be dried whole without skinning. It just takes longer, be extra sure all of the meat in the wings has dried completly or you risk spoilage. I like to pin the wing joint open to spread the feathers out for easier selection later. Wings might take over a month if they contain large bones.
I have tried to dry duck and geese, but I have not been succesful. The high fat content of the water fowl prevents them from drying completly and the feathers eventually get saturated with grease and collect dirt or develop a rancid smell. Better to pluck them. One of my books suggests placing them in a leg cut from an old pair of panty hose for hand washing, then place a kitchen collander over the open end of the panty hose and use a hair dyer to blow air thru the collander to dry and fluff them.
I like to pre-size loose feathers such as mallard flank. I sort them small, medium large and stack them a few dozen together with the stems aligned. I fold a small piece of paper over the stems and bind them together using a staple. Makes a nice neat package for storage at the bench. The paper makes a nice label as well.
Good luck, small road kill responds well the the same treatment.
Yes rookie that helped a lot, thank you. And thanks kengore for the storing tips. I usually keep feathers in a ziplock bag. When I try and use them they end up everywhere, I real pain. The paper trick sounds time consuming but a pay off in the end. Thanks again.
Look here for some info. http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/at … nning.html
I have tried EVERYTHING to get the grease/oil out of waterfowl and other skins and nothing I have read or heard of works. EXCEPT lacquer thinner. I recently discovered that a good soaking in lacquer thinner for about 24 hours give or take pulls virtually all of the oil and grease out of the skin and feathers. Other thinners either don’t touch the stuff or foul the feathers beyond use. After soaking dry out the skin and feathers COMPLETELY and then a good washing in warm water & soap will clean the skin and feathers. Be sure to dry it completely or the thinner will make a mess with the soapy water.
Best to do this outside (particularly the drying of the thinner) because the fumes are highly flamable and not too good to breathe unless you dig inhalents.
Happy Trails!
Ronn