Skin smells like dead bird..

[Simplejack 0]

I just purchased a bird skin from Ebay and I open the bag and it smells like a dead bird.. I got a refund for it, but what do I do with it now?

I don't want to put any more money into it since I wanted it for the price, but not more then what I paid, but can it even be saved?

I feel like i need to handle it with a face mask and rubber gloves..

 

 

[cjsnyder1234 0]

Not sure of that bird species but I am sure someone on here will and I hope it is not illegal to own but someone else will chim in on that I am sure.

 

Also will get the don't buy off ebay and expect the best. If you can not put natural materials in your hand before you buy DON'T unless you have bought from the person many time or other have posted great comments in the feed back section.

 

Well for one the skull is still on the bird which is more then likely the source of the smell.

 

The skin also looks to be soft and flexible if so it was not dried out right.

 

First thing you need to do is get rid of the skull if you can.

 

Wash it in hot soapy water and clean dry it by pinning the skin to a cardboard sheet skin side up. after it is dry put it into a container and pour borax over it and let it sit for a couple of days. take it out and scrape off all the wet borax. do this a few times untill there is no borax clumping up on the skin.

 

I have done this with pheasant rumps from guys that I know that hunt.

 

After all is said and done you should have a clean smell free bird skin.

 

P.S. What fly pattern was this bird for?

[Simplejack 0]

I purchased from Ebay many times and usually get great results, but this time..

I think the person just had no idea what he was doing. I looked up the person online since he included a business card for his fly tying store and I see the guy is in his own world of fly tying. His website is very bad, his material page doesn't even have a page and his streamer flies he sell are like the ones I tied on my first week of fly tying and his video of him teaching someone how to tie flies are some of the worst fly tying I have ever seen.. I mean really bad. Like leave you sitting there like ???

 

I think you are right about the smell coming from the skull and looking at it more, you are right again. The skin is very soft and has alot of moisture..

 

I greatly appreciate the how to on how to fix this skin, but I think I will just get rid of it to someone who wants it and wants to mess with it. Just too much trouble for a skin I'm not that interested in and also, I don't like messing with birds in that kind of way. I'm not a hunter, so scrapping dead bird skins and cutting away skin from the skull is just not for me lol.. I just wanted some feathers to add to my collection lesson learned on this one..

 

I liked it because it was different, small feathers and I figured I could do something with some of the small feathers. No pattern for these feathers that I have seen, I just thought I would use them for wet flies or a little hackle behind the wet fly hackle to tie something a little different.

 

The skin is a Roller bird. Not sure if ok to sell or not?

 

 

[rockworm 0]

I would snip or pluck the feathers and store them in baggies labelled with source location (ie: left wing primaries, left wing secondaries, marginal coverts, etc.) The feathers should be more-or-less odourless if there is no fat or meat attached to them. You should get some nice feathers for soft-hackle flies from the neck, breast and wings. The primaries and secondaries should make good wings.

[Simplejack 0]

I would snip or pluck the feathers and store them in baggies labelled with source location (ie: left wing primaries, left wing secondaries, marginal coverts, etc.) The feathers should be more-or-less odourless if there is no fat or meat attached to them.

 

I was kinda thinking about doing that also. I'm just worried about since the skin is so soft now, there may be some moisture on the feathers stems with who knows what on it?

Maybe I can just treat the feathers I pluck off the skin?

[rockworm 0]

You could give the feathers a few cycles of freeze/thaw to kill any bugs. Then store them with a few moth crystals (para-dichlorobenzene) in each bag.

[Simplejack 0]

Not worried about there being bugs on it, but moist dead birds that been dead for who knows how long makes me wonder if there is now something growing on it as far a a decease or Ecoli or something?

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

Put it in s shoebox and cover the skin side with Borax. It will be fine.

[troutguy 0]

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[BattenkillBum 0]

I was under the impression that all song birds are a no no, I could be wrong.

[Gene L 0]

I was under the impression that all song birds are a no no, I could be wrong.

Interesting point. Since Roller birds are not native the the US, they may fall under the exception for songbirds in the US, like Starlings.

 

What's causing the skin to stink is likely either the head or fat on the skin. Bird skin is hard to de-fat, which you see with necks. They're greasy.

 

Also, the only critters on birds feed on live tissue and blood, so once the animal is dead, the food source goes.

[troutguy 0]

I removed my post because they are protected. They are listed as "threatened". I could not condone their sale, purchase and use. http://www.arkive.org/european-roller/coracias-garrulus/

[Simplejack 0]

Looks like the species is the Indian Roller

 

 

[pica 0]

Why does it smell like a dead bird? Well because it is a dead bird. Little borax and sea salt mixed works great. You can also add some backing soda to the mix to eat up the scent.

[mybadhabit 0]

Where are the birds native to?