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On another note. To tumble or not to tumble. What say you…
I don’t tumble. I like to be able to keep the skin damp while i’m working. Tumbling with interruptions ( phone calls or visitors) can cause the skin to dry out. And spraying it with water doesn’t bring it back like it was. I just dust the skin in a box of borax, then blow dry.
Page, what kind of blower do you recommend? I have been tumbling and the tips of the wings get a little bent and messed up. My skin is drying out and the down is not completely dry.
Thanks Page. I was wondering how others were handling things. I do it both ways but I must say I tire of all that I deal with after tumbling. Especially wing tips. And my tumbler barely has a baffle in it.
Tumbler. I put them in for 30 minutes tops.If it bends the wing tips I steam them back out straight. By using the tumbler it gives me a chance to do something else while it’s in there( like eating lunch).I usually give it a quick blow dry afterwards to make sure all the down is dry.
I use a bright orange blower with a 4hp motor with a high and a low switch. It cost $200 10 years ago. Your local pet grooming salon can order it for you. You may find it cheaper on the net. It does great on mammals! Or some of the supply companies have them for around $400 I think.
I don’t tumble, It tears the wing tips up…I gas, blow dry with my shop vac until farely dry then I throw it in a tub of borax and cover the entire bird with borax for just a minute then remove shake out the excess and go back and finish drying The down will dry alot quicker after the borax…I then apply a little dry preserve to the skin and mount and touch up with the hair dryer….DC
PAGE wrote: I use a bright orange blower with a 4hp motor with a high and a low switch. It cost $200 10 years ago. Your local pet grooming salon can order it for you. You may find it cheaper on the net. It does great on mammals! Or some of the supply companies have them for around $400 I think.
It’s a ‘Metro Air Force Commander’. You can order on-line from Petsmart for $189.00. They don’t have a heating element, but I just clamp a hairdryer about a foot away from the intake, and it works like a charm. I can blow a 25 pound turkey DRY in 30 minutes. DO NOT put the hair dryer up close to the intake, or you will burn the unit up!!
PAGE wrote: I use a bright orange blower with a 4hp motor with a high and a low switch. It cost $200 10 years ago. Your local pet grooming salon can order it for you. You may find it cheaper on the net. It does great on mammals! Or some of the supply companies have them for around $400 I think.
Ron is right, it’s a Metro Airforce Commander and run’s about $150. It has 2 speeds and though it doesn’t have a heating element, the air is warm just from the motor. They also make a couple other models that McKenzie sells. The Blaster is also 4HP, has just a little more flow and runs around $200 but isn’t 2 speed like the Commander. The Master Blaster has twin 4HP motors and almost double the air flow as the other 2 models. I’m not sure I would want to dry a bird w/ one though, because that’s a lot of force. Would be great for drying mammals, esp. Mountain lions. I own the Commander which is perfect for birds and mammals both, and can’t believe I waited as long as I did to buy one. They are awesome.
