Preservation of small tails, feet, wings and other various specimens using salt/borax
I Personally use this method a lot when preserving a variety of items for jewelry use or for my own home collection.
You will need
- Salt ( i usually buy a few boxes for good measure) You will want to buy enough to completely submerge whatever you want to preserve
- Borax ( again i buy a few boxes) you will also want enough to submerge your specimen
- a container that can fit your item(s) and hold a good amount of salt ( tupperware, boxes…etc)
- A dry ventilated space
- aromatic dry herbs ( optional)
- and patience.
1) After you have harvested whatever it is you wish to dry, clean off any meat or fleshy bits sticking out of the severed point ( if you are working with a tail, clean up the base where you cut… same for wings, heads and paws)
- If you are working with a head, i would suggest removing the brains so you do not get ANY decomposition or odor. You can remove the brains by using a small forked piece of wire ( any thin sharp object ), poking it up through the base of the skull( through the hole in the atlas bone or where the atlas bone connected to the spine) and scrambling the brains until they are able to be scooped, sucked or dripped out. Once most of the brain matter is removed, fill the cavity with a combination of salt and borax.
2) make a mixture of borax and salt… i usually use one box of borax mixed with one box or container of salt ( if you want to add aromatic herbs you can, i usually mix a bit of dry cedar)
3) take your mixture and pour a layer to the bottom of your container ( about half inch - inch )
4) place your specimen(s) inside. Make sure if you are drying more than one specimen, they do not overlap one another.
- if you are drying wings you can take needles/tacks to pin them in am open position so they dry out stretched <3
-You can also pin feet in whatever desired position you would like to dry them in
5) pour in the rest of your drying mixture (salt/borax) over the specimen(s) until they are completely submerged
6) leave to dry in a well ventilated space for a few weeks, the larger and more fleshy your item(s) the longer you will need to let them sit.
- squirrel tails/ bird wings and smaller feet i leave for about 3 weeks ( i exchange the drying mixture around week 2 to keep it fresh, but that is not fully necessary)
Heads i leave for 4+ weeks, again depending on size…
- small bird heads = 3 and a half - 4 and a half weeks
- squirrel heads = 4 and a half to 5 and a half weeks
- goose heads or any similar size i leave for 5+
* if anything is salting longer than 3 weeks i exchange the drying/salt mixture to ensure freshness and make sure no odor will set in.
The timing for drying are just what i have found to work for me, the times can increase or decrease due to climate, humidity and environment. I live in a very humid, damp place so drying can take much longer.
7) once your items are dry ( you can tell when they are firm and have NO moisture left) you can brush off any salt/borax with a old tooth brush or even your fingers.
If you notice any odor i would allow it to air dry in a well ventilated space for a few days and then soak it in a dry bath of aromatic herbs (cedar, clove, flower petals, mint… etc) You can also use smoke to help with odor, all you do is allow any smoke or fumes to further dry/ absorb into your specimen by burning cedar, incense or other wonderful smelling things near or under it.
I am in no way a professional at preservation, these are things i have discovered through trial and error and have worked well for me through out my various projects.
Also note i am horrific at explanation/spelling, so if these directions have been confusing in any way, feel free to message me and i will try to correct/fix it.
Here are photos of some items that have been cured/dried using this method.
Hope this helps you all <3
