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I've been getting certain questions over and over and decided to finally compile a FAQ section to refer people to.  I've covered many of the basic questions I get as well as the ones concerning how to preserve animals but if I've forgotten something or if you have a specific question that hasn't been answered here, feel free to leave me a comment.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q. Where do you get all the things in your collection?

A. I get them from a number of places including taxidermists, second-hand stores, colonial history events, but many of them are animals that were found as roadkill which I take home and preserve myself.

Q. Why do you collect these things?

A. I find them to be invaluable for study and reference, not just for art, but for learning more about the animal kingdom as well.  They are also beautiful and allow me to get up close and personal with animals that I wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Q. Do you have anything from -insert specific species of animal here- in your collection?

A. I have compiled a list of my collection that includes all the species' scientific names and is sorted by taxonomic groups.  It is a work in progress but is kept up to date for the most part and can be seen here: fossilfeather.deviantart.com/j…

Q. Do you have a favorite animal in your collection?

A. I love every one of them for different reasons but I would have to say that my two wolf pelts have a most special place in my heart.

Q. Is anything in your gallery for sale?

A. No, nothing is for sale unless specifically designated as such.

Q. Have you killed any of them yourself?

A. No, nor do I see myself becoming a hunter at any point in the near future.  And rest assured, if I ever do, I will only be killing animals that I intend to eat and will also be making use of their other parts (fur, bones, etc).  I dislike the idea of killing animals for the sole purposes of sport or fashion.

Q. Are you frequently hassled for owning dead animal parts?

A. Not really.  A few of my friends were kind of iffy about them at first but I've since won them over.  A couple of my friends' friends were a bit more against my pelts but they were never terribly rude or anything.  I've even gone out in public on several occasions with an animal draped over my shoulders and have only gotten positive or curious questions about them.  Even on this online account, the number of rude comments has been very low and I've not had to deal with any flamers yet.  I guess I've just been fortunate so far.

Q. Are there any books on natural history that you could recommend?

Yes, I have a small library of books on animals and anatomy and I will share a few of the ones I've found to be most useful:

Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch: www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811…

The Bone Building Book manual series by Lee Post: www.theboneman.com/

The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives by Mauricio Anton & Alan Turner: www.amazon.com/Big-Cats-Their-…

The Encyclopedia of Mammals by David W. Macdonald: www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Ma…

CLEANING & PRESERVATION

Q. How do you clean your skulls and bones?

A. I have written up a detailed tutorial on this topic that can be found here: fossilfeather.deviantart.com/a…

Q. How do you get the skin off of the animals?

A.  I use a knife to cut incisions where the dotted lines are in this diagram: i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35… then slowly cut away at the membranes that hold the skin to the body while taking care not to nick the skin as I work.  The tail bones of foxes, squirrels, coyotes, and other such critters can be very tricky to take out and are best removed with a tail stripper tool (though even with this it can still be a challenge).  I bought mine for only a few bucks from McKenzie taxidermy supply.

Q. How do you preserve the skins?

A. I follow Amy's Step-by-Step tanning tutorial that I found on taxidermy.net up until I get to the tanning and oil part. For that I use McKenzie brand oil and tan and follow their instructions on the bottles.  If you are interested, I would be happy to email you Amy's tutorial.  Just note me with your email address and I will send you the file.

Q. How do you preserve bird wings?

A. I cut them from the bird at about where their "arm" meets their body (if you feel around gently, you can find where the joint is) then I pin them out on corrugated cardboard in the shape that I want them in. I then pour Borax over them (the feather tips should poke out from your little Borax piles) making sure that all the parts of the wing that have flesh/muscle under the feathers in completely under the Borax. You can find Borax in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store.  The wings are then left to dry for a week or two. I freeze mine for 24-48 hours after this just to kill any possible mites that would end up damaging the feathers over time.

Star! — Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

I've been getting certain questions over and over and decided to finally compile a FAQ section to refer people to.  I've covered many of the basic questions I get as well as the ones concerning how to preserve animals but if I've forgotten something or if you have a specific question that hasn't been answered here, feel free to leave me a comment.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q. Where do you get all the things in your collection?

A. I get them from a number of places including taxidermists, second-hand stores, colonial history events, but many of them are animals that were found as roadkill which I take home and preserve myself.

Q. Why do you collect these things?

A. I find them to be invaluable for study and reference, not just for art, but for learning more about the animal kingdom as well.  They are also beautiful and allow me to get up close and personal with animals that I wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Q. Do you have anything from -insert specific species of animal here- in your collection?

A. I have compiled a list of my collection that includes all the species' scientific names and is sorted by taxonomic groups.  It is a work in progress but is kept up to date for the most part and can be seen here: fossilfeather.deviantart.com/j…

Q. Do you have a favorite animal in your collection?

A. I love every one of them for different reasons but I would have to say that my two wolf pelts have a most special place in my heart.

Q. Is anything in your gallery for sale?

A. No, nothing is for sale unless specifically designated as such.

Q. Have you killed any of them yourself?

A. No, nor do I see myself becoming a hunter at any point in the near future.  And rest assured, if I ever do, I will only be killing animals that I intend to eat and will also be making use of their other parts (fur, bones, etc).  I dislike the idea of killing animals for the sole purposes of sport or fashion.

Q. Are you frequently hassled for owning dead animal parts?

A. Not really.  A few of my friends were kind of iffy about them at first but I've since won them over.  A couple of my friends' friends were a bit more against my pelts but they were never terribly rude or anything.  I've even gone out in public on several occasions with an animal draped over my shoulders and have only gotten positive or curious questions about them.  Even on this online account, the number of rude comments has been very low and I've not had to deal with any flamers yet.  I guess I've just been fortunate so far.

Q. Are there any books on natural history that you could recommend?

Yes, I have a small library of books on animals and anatomy and I will share a few of the ones I've found to be most useful:

Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch: www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811…

The Bone Building Book manual series by Lee Post: www.theboneman.com/

The Big Cats and Their Fossil Relatives by Mauricio Anton & Alan Turner: www.amazon.com/Big-Cats-Their-…

The Encyclopedia of Mammals by David W. Macdonald: www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Ma…

CLEANING & PRESERVATION

Q. How do you clean your skulls and bones?

A. I have written up a detailed tutorial on this topic that can be found here: fossilfeather.deviantart.com/a…

Q. How do you get the skin off of the animals?

A.  I use a knife to cut incisions where the dotted lines are in this diagram: i16.photobucket.com/albums/b35… then slowly cut away at the membranes that hold the skin to the body while taking care not to nick the skin as I work.  The tail bones of foxes, squirrels, coyotes, and other such critters can be very tricky to take out and are best removed with a tail stripper tool (though even with this it can still be a challenge).  I bought mine for only a few bucks from McKenzie taxidermy supply.

Q. How do you preserve the skins?

A. I follow Amy's Step-by-Step tanning tutorial that I found on taxidermy.net up until I get to the tanning and oil part. For that I use McKenzie brand oil and tan and follow their instructions on the bottles.  If you are interested, I would be happy to email you Amy's tutorial.  Just note me with your email address and I will send you the file.

Q. How do you preserve bird wings?

A. I cut them from the bird at about where their "arm" meets their body (if you feel around gently, you can find where the joint is) then I pin them out on corrugated cardboard in the shape that I want them in. I then pour Borax over them (the feather tips should poke out from your little Borax piles) making sure that all the parts of the wing that have flesh/muscle under the feathers in completely under the Borax. You can find Borax in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery store.  The wings are then left to dry for a week or two. I freeze mine for 24-48 hours after this just to kill any possible mites that would end up damaging the feathers over time.