Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 09:02:22
-0400
From: "Rogers, Steve" <RogersS@CARNEGIEMUSEUMS.ORG>
Reply-To: Bulletin Board for Bird Collections and Curators
<AVECOL-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
To: AVECOL-L@listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: [AVECOL-L] relaxing skins
Relaxing large dried skins
to get passable study skins is not always
possible. If the bird was not dried under ideal circumstances,
it would be
liable to slip the instant it would be submerged into water as
suggested by
a number of respondents to this question. If the humidity was
higher when
prepared, the skin probably decomposed as it was drying, especially
if the
skin was not opened to the atmosphere i.e. skin on skin contact.
Without
having injected some solution of formalin or antibacterial agent
into the
feet, if the humidity was medium to high, I can assure that there
will be
scale slipping if total immersion is used. The condition of dry
salted birds
from Africa are much different.
I have relaxed quite a number of older study skins but primarily
for
taxidermy mounts for exhibit (including a Dusky Seaside Sparrow
and Carolina
parakeet) aging from roughly 100 years ago to those I had prepared
circa 15
years earlier. Unfortunately, I have not done any as large as
a vulture.
The procedures that I would recommend would be to use a humidity
chamber and
incrementally relax the bird. If the skin was not properly scoured
of meat,
those portions retaining some meat over the feather tracts would
take much
longer to relax, as would all the tendons in the wing and legs.
Full
immersion could be used if the bird must be washed, but only after
a
stepwise relaxing of the harder portions to relax. I have constructed
humidity chambers out of large Tupperware containers as Mr. Schmidt
mentioned, and had a plastic suspended rack above a saturated
sand mix on
the bottom containing one of the commercially available taxidermy
bactericides or phenol/Lysol. On day one I took a syringe containing
water
with bactericide and a slight amount of detergent for a surfactant,
and
injected around the feet as best I could, wrapped them with saturated
cotton, then surrounded them with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
I also
injected at the joints of the wing without wrapping, and around
the head and
bill (I was relaxing a study skin - an inverted skin you could
simply paint
water/bact/soap onto the stiffer portions of the skin, i.e. the
wing
tendons, main feather tracts, around the head and skull.)
On day two, I unwrapped the feet and re-injected the areas of
the feet,
wings and head, and attempted to move them about to get them flexible,
re-wrapped them and placed them back in the humidity chamber.
Depending on
the bird size by the third day the bird would be relaxed enough
to remove
the body stuffing with cracking the skin, or without wetting the
plumage. By
pulling out the cotton/excelsior/or whatever was inside, finally
a good look
can be had at the inside skin. Often antique study skins were
prepped in an
extremely fast manner and because of fat retained on the skin,
if it would
be soaked directly, it would fall to pieces instantly. However,
if you only
relax the inside of the skin to the point of flexibility like
a slightly
stiff leather, then a taxidermy mount can still be made from an
extinct bird
poorly prepared.
If the inside of the bird is in good shape, then I often remove
the body and
place saturated cotton inside the bird first on stiffer areas
and later on
apteria. A paint brush and syringe is helpful in applying the
fluid.
Eventually a mountable skin can be made.
As mentioned above, my primary goal was a taxidermy specimen.
I usually made
the artificial body for the birds out of balsa wood, and had no
difficulty
relaxing the feet to get the supporting leg wire up into the body.
I mainly
used pinning strips to hold down the feather tracts for drying
and put the
eyes in from the inside and simply packed cotton behind them to
hold them in
place before the mount dried.
Much has been written on relaxing and mounting or remaking study
skins. If
you need any citations on the subject I will forward a list.
Charles, I am not sure if
the above has helped you, but I would use caution
in relaxing the birds.
One last note, The powder
you observed could be quite a number of noxious
chemicals. If you knew who the preparator was, or what school
he was taught
from, someone on Avecol could perhaps tell you what material the
person
used. It could be a powdered insecticide and not Mag. Carb. Pond.
or a Borax
or Borax/Alum mixture.
Good Luck!
Stephen P. Rogers
*Former (But still active) Professional Bird Skinner*
Currently Collection Manager
Section of Amphibians and Reptiles
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
rogerss@carnegiemuseums.org
Phone: 412-622-3257
===============================
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 09:27:47
-0400
From: "Rogers, Steve" <RogersS@CARNEGIEMUSEUMS.ORG>
Reply-To: Bulletin Board for Bird Collections and Curators
<AVECOL-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
To: AVECOL-L@listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: [AVECOL-L] anti-molding agents
The exact bactericide used
in a humidity chamber can vary. While I have seen
discussed on various message boards that phenol has been removed
from Lysol
in the old standby, I have also heard that it is still present.
There are a
number of commercial products specifically designed (or modified)
for the
Taxidermy industry which are designed to be a bactericide for
soaking. Since
the bird sits above the sand/water layer it doesn't contact it,
unless a
small amount of solution is added during the wash/soak which will
prevent
bacterial growth - a practice common in taxidermy. In the humidity
chamber
something as simple as salt water can be used to keep the bacteria
from
growing on the bottom - it won't volatilize and corrupt the specimen.
I have
even used ethanol in the sand mixture. The actual reason sand
is used, as I
understand it, is to have as much surface area as possible to
allow water to
be fully saturating the chamber. Inert cloth or paper products
would do the
same.
Two commercial products sold
as bactericides are listed below, but there are
others
Bactericide by Authentic Supply
sold by McKensie
http://www.mckenziesp.com/taxid_store/catalog_category.asp?CategoryID=%7B39C
0A9F0%2D3448%2D4B43%2DB9F3%2D6AF4F9A927EA%7D&mscssid=AESCBREP0WE48HDBCH16WND
R980P7AUA
Bactericide Bruce Rittel
http://rittelsupplies.net/current_pricelist.html
As far as chemicals to wipe
down mounted specimens or study skins Kevin, I
know of only two companies who sell said products. I don't know
what is in
them, but they sell themselves to do what you ask. I remember
a story Ken
Parkes told of the Philippine bird skin collection being trotted
outside in
the sun on an annual basis with surfaces wiped with solution (phenol?).
I
actually wonder if you could modify a gamma ray fruit sterilizer
to hold
study skins. They supposedly can zap fruit and extend its' shelf
life
immensely.
The wipe down products:
Wasco product to wipe on birds
to prevent moth damage/dermestid damage
http://www.taxidermy.com/cat/15/mothproof.html
Knobloch Protex mount care
products
http://www.knoblochs.com/chemicals.htm