Gonna Mount This One So What Do I Do

Mike Belt · Dec 20, 2016

Just wondered what you guys do to help preserve the feathers on ducks you may have mounted. I always took a panty hose and cut the foot end out of it, reached inside of it, and then pulled my duck through leaving it tucked away inside. This way I kept the feathers compressed and didn't break or bend any of them.

scn · Dec 20, 2016

From a taxidermist friend:

Blot/wash any visible blood off before freezing.

Wrap the bill in a paper towel to absorb any internal blood that may leak out the bill.

Tuck the head under a wing to avoid it getting broken off in the freezer. For a pintail with the long tail feathers, you may want to slide them in a paper towel tube before freezing.

You pantyhose deal is an excellent way to package it for freezing. Freeze it in a heavy duty plastic garbage bag to cut down on any freezer burn.

DirtyBear0311 · Dec 21, 2016

From what I've been told, tuck the head under the wing and then you can put in a freezer bag or vacuum seal it. If you do vacuum seal it, don't suction it down all the way or the creases in the bag will leave lines on the duck. Just leave a bit of air in it and seal it off. Or wrap the bird in wet newspaper and seal it up.

Ironsmith-Jared · Dec 21, 2016

I put my heads under wings and put them in a gallon zip loc bag. Took to the taxidermist 10 months later and it was fine.

Bump · Dec 21, 2016

From Tnducks: Duxrus @ Wild Wings taxidermy

I get asked many times each year "How do I take care of my bird before getting it to you" ?

I would suggest just buying a box of 1 gallon ziploc bags and putting some in your blind bag "just incase". Once you have your trophy in hand let it cool off for about 10 minutes before putting it in the ziploc. Drop it in and make sure it's head and neck fold up against the body. Now it is protected on the trip back home and ready for the freezer.

If you aren't sure how long you will have it in your freezer before handing it off to a taxidermist, I would go one more step in protecting it. Once frozen with the head and neck up against the body, take it out of the bag. Wrap it in about 10 WET paper towels, making sure the head and legs are covered and re-freeze. This will create an ice barrier and add years to the bird's shelf life. This trick will protect from freezer burn that will start showing signs after a year or so in the freezer.

Do NOT's......

Use those cheap grocery store bags (zero insulation or protection from freezer burn)

Wrap in DRY paper towels (will suck the moisture out of the bird and speed up freezer burn)

Wrap in News Paper ( Will suck the moisture out of the bird and has potential to leave ink on bird)

Use Pantyhose (does nothing for freezer burn protection and can cause sever feather damage if they don't lay perfectly when applying....now if you enjoy just having women's ware in your blind bag then so be it

Vaccuum seal bags (Can and will leave those "dot" impressions on the feathers if sealed too tight. If done loosly it is fine )

What about blood on the feathers ? Either in the field or in the kitchen sink, use COLD water to lightly rinse off any blood you see. This is not a must but does lessen the taxidermist's work once they get it. Warm or hot water will set the blood stains to the feathers and could potentially ruin a mountable bird.

What about broken wings ? On flying poses broken wings aren't usually an issue unless the (wrist) bone is broken (the small bone connected to the primaries). If it is broken there is no way to support that area and it will potentially break in the future. Basicly it is like carrying around a potatoe chip forever and thinking it won't break. I will not take the chance of mounting something that WILL break in the future. Also, wing shot birds missing more than one main feather are not for flying poses.