Preserving Bird Skins

1. After you have skinned your bird you should remove any and all excess fat and meat from the skin.

2. Wash the skin in a pan or bucket of warm water. Add a generous amount of liquid detergent (my favorite is lemon scented Joy) and mix well. This will remove most of the grunge and other foreign matter that you may not want to contend with later. If blood is present, you will want to do this as soon as possible to remove it before it dries, as it can be extremely difficult to remove later.

3. You will then want to stretch your skin out so it will not become deformed after it has dried. I usually use a sheet of corrugated cardboard and pin the skin to it with the skin side down. To facilitate the drying process you can use a common hair dryer.

4. After the feathers have dried out well, reverse the skin (feather side down) and apply Borax to the skin. I gently rub the Borax powder into the skin making sure that it covers the skin completely. Check the skin periodically and rub in additional Borax to any spots that appear greasy or damp. Try to allow the skin to dry in a dry well ventilated area. Do not dry in a spot where there is direct sun or this will cause the skin to be too brittle, as it will cause the natural oils to be removed. Within a couple of weeks you should have a very workable and well-preserved skin and you can shake out any excess Borax.