Just wondered if anyone else let their fans get cleaned the "natural way".

By this I mean that, I let flies deposit their eggs on the skin/meat and then the larvae eat away the remaining flesh. The results are a a perfectly soft skin, that has absolutely no meat adhered to it, when they're finished. Also, the larva either die (when the food is gone) or develop and fly off.

When I think the cape or tail is "clean", I merely stick it in a large plastic bag and stuff it into the chest freezer for 12/24 hours, to kill any remaining buggers. I then pin & treat the fan, so it dries in the position I choose...

Just curious if anyone else out there has a sickened wife this time of year...[8D]

I tend to use the ol salt treatment and then remove what is left.
I have this thing about maggots.....[]

No but it works for sure. I have done it with bear skulls and deer skulls.

I use the old salt trick as well...

Borax to the max

Borax here too,but them little critters clean a hog skull wright up!!!

There's really no need for that. Just take off most of the meat you can. It's not that difficult. Put borax on the base of the fan and pin it down. In one week it's ready and it never smells. By the time I cut the tail off, I have it spread out and pinned down ready to dry in less than an hour. You have your fan mount ready to hang a whole lot quicker than using the maggot method. It's a whole lot cleaner too. If you do it right you don't have to worry about it smelling. Just make sure you get the oil gland and most of the meat and fat off before applying borax. I've done many fan mounts and I have not had one go wrong yet. I see so many people who don't take proper care of their fans and it shows when they try to mount it. I handle mine with kid gloves because I want them to look real nice.

Superstrutter,

I've dried my fans by various methods, and have found that the "maggot method" actually works the best. There is absolutely no meat left, and you have the opportunity to reposition the fan anytime you want by simply moistening the skin. If there's any meat left, by using the Borax or salt methods, the fan is pretty much immobile.

I've got a few hanging with Borax, but this year the flies were too quick and the eggs were deposited by the end of the day I harvested the bird. This was a very pretty bird (and quite large), so I decided to do an entire cape. The maggots are doing a great job on the wings, and any remaining fat/tissue on the entire cape...

For some reason, they do not have the possess the enzymes required to break down the protein matrix of the skin, which remains intact...

Whatever floats your boat. More power to you. I'll leave the maggots to you.

lmao....sorry Strut&Rut....i'm not married....but there aint no way i can live with that smell looming around my place...i do have a friend who, thats all he does....never did the borax or salt thing...i hazzard to say i never visit him if i know he's gotten a bird....lmao