Alright , How The Hell..

[Taco]

do I prepare and preserve pheasant skins? Just got a pair of fairly complete (wingless) fresh frozen pheasant skins. I assume flesh, stretch, rub in borax then air dry.

[Ricinus]

I've also read you should do a couple of freeze/thaw cycles to eliminate any bugs.. And keep them away from your other feathers till you're sure their safe..

 

Mike

[albertatrout]

If you wash in warm anti grease dish soap prior to the borax you will be pleased. Blow-dry and then pack with borax, works like a charm. I did a few birds for a friend that had a silverfish infestation, the store bought rabbits were destroyed but they never touched the birds we preserved. Seems to be a good method.

[SilverDoctor]

I've processed a great many skins.

• Clean and trim as much fat off the flesh as you can. This is where a good small skinning knife shines.
• Pat down the inside with a paper towel to remove moisture
• Like albertatrout I give em a quick wash in dish soap to remove blood and dirt then rinse (you can forgo this step if it has been frozen, it will kill any bug eggs) although I do like to wash and clean skins and feathers. Makes them shine.
• Bow dry a bit and then air dry overnight
• Rub the inside of the skin with Borax (use lots) heap it on, salt also works but Borax works better
• Prop the skin open or as I like to do pin it flat on a board with thumbtacks, open it as much as possible, including pinning open tail and wings
• Add a bit more the next day, look for greasy patches to add to, keep an eye on it and add more as needed
• I sprinkle a bit of Borax on the fur or feathers also, keeps the critters away
• Leave it in a well air circulated area, in a garage is great, this is where pinning to a board is nice as you can lean it against a wall
• If grease or damp spots appear it means that you didn't clean enough fat from the skin. Give it another scrape in those areas
• I usually give it a couple of months, you can tell after that if you scrape a bit off and it is dry.
• When dry put the skin in a plastic bag on its own, keep it opened not zip locked for the first year.
• Avoid using Mothballs or the like. The smell never comes out and it can loosen fur
• Ceder chips or just pieces of Ceder wood does a great job of keeping pests away
• With small animal skins (not hoofed critters) I like to shampoo (a shampoo with lanolin) the skin and rinse, makes the fur really nice to work with.

There was a time when the only real source of fur and feathers for our fly tying family was hunting in the fall. The wife still cringes when I stop to have a peek at a road kill. She hasn't quite housebroken me yet.

 

Give me a shout if you have any questions on prepping.

[Taco]

That will sure as heck work, thanks for the tips Guys. Now to find the time between fissin and workin'............