Clesn Feathers Make a Good Study Skin
Preparing a museum study skin, commonly called a "stuffed bird," is a delicate process, especially with smaller birds. While each museum has its own specifications, the general procedure is the same for all.
Instructions
Skinning
1. Lay your bird on its back and incise the thin abdominal skin from the vent (anus) to the breastbone.
2. Free the base of the tail from the body with snips.
3. Clip off the legs at the knee joint.
4. Free the wings from the carcass by clipping the bone nearest the shoulder joint just below the joint. Skin out the shoulders to the base of the beak.
5. Skin the head by cutting the eye membranes and the ear canals from the inside. Then detach the head from the carcass by snipping the backbone close to the skull between the first two vertebra. Gently extract the carcass from the skin and discard it. The head, wings, tail and feathered part of the upper legs remain with the skin.
Cleaning
6. Remove the brain and tongue from the skull. Take as much tissue as possible off the wing and leg bones.
7. Do as little cleaning as possible to help maintain a natural look. If the feathers are very soiled with mud or blood, wash them carefully with a mild dish soap such as Dawn and blow-dry gently, allowing the feathers to fall naturally into place.
8. Dust the outsides of clean, dry skins lightly with chinchilla dust (powdered concrete, volcanic ash or diatomaceous earth) from a pet store to remove moisture.
9. Clean the inside of the skin by removing as much fat and tissue as possible, especially from the tail base and lower part of the wings. You can cut into the bare spots under the wings to get at this on big birds.
10. Dust the inside of the skin generously with borax powder.
Shaping
11. Working on the inside of the skin, use thread to tie the bones of the wings together to hold them in a natural-looking position. Pull the leg bones down, wrap them in cotton and push them back into the skin so the drumsticks look filled out. Then turn the skin feathers-out.
12. Roll small bits of cotton the size and shape of the bird's eyes and push them into the eye sockets.
13. Wrap one end of the dowel in cotton until it looks like a Q-Tip and push it into the skull from below.
14. Measure the skin against the dowel and cut the dowel to a length that will fit inside the skin. Sew the end of the tailbone to the end of the dowel.
15. Use more cotton to fill in around the dowel until your skin starts to look like a bird again.
Posing
16. Cross the legs left over right and secure them to the dowel.
17.Sew the belly shut.
18. Fold the wings so that the tips are parallel to the tail.
19. Fill out the game bird tag or make your own.
20. Tie the tag to the left leg with thread.
Final Drying
21. Wrap the finished study skin in a layer of sheet cotton.
22. Set the furnace filter in a spot that gets good air circulation but no direct sunlight.
23. Lay the wrapped skin on its back on the furnace filter.
24. Leave it there until it is completely dry.
25. Display your study skin or store it in a protective container.
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