Taxidermy Page

Proper field care for birds

Waterfowl, and upland birds make beautiful mounts, either single or in groups, birds will let your imagination run wild. With a little care you will not only have a memory of the hunt, but a wonderful work of art.
Feathers are fragile, treat each bird with care. After you have taken a bird you want to mount, clean off as much blood as possible, use a soft cloth or tissue. If you have planned ahead, you may want to bring cotton balls. These can be placed in the mouth and nostrils to keep blood from leaking out onto the feathers. Do not field dress the bird! Instead, fold the wings back in the natural position and slip it gently into a paper bag. Once again, if you planned ahead, a ladies nylon stocking works the best. It lets air flow easily over the bird to cool it off and keeps the feathers laying nicely. At this point, either place the bird in a cool place or freeze it until you can get it to your taxidermist.
When selecting a bird to mount, their are a few things to remember:

• Try to select a bird with as few shot holes as possible. Although they will cover up nicely in the body, wing and tail feathers that have been broken by shot may show up on the final mount.
• Birds with broken wings and leg bones are harder to mount. Therefore it is common for some taxidermists to charge extra to fix these. But they can be fixed and will not show on the final mount.
• Select a mature bird. Young birds often have immature feathers that will fall out during the mounting process and will give the mount a rough appearance. Also, mature birds will in most cases, be the most colorfull.