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stubborn feathers

1K views 7 replies 2 participants last post by  Pete-pec 
#1 ·
:pissed: i mounted a scaoup in the standing but flapping wings type of motion. and i have some feathers on the wing that dont want to cooperate. they look messed up any suggestion before it completely dries. :help:
 
#2 ·
Take a piece of saran wrap. and fold it over the leading edge of the wing. You tape the saran wrap on the top side of the wing, and wrap it over the leading edge, now tape the saran wrap to the bottom. This usually does the trick! If you have any questions please feel free to post up again. You have to allow it to dry real well. If it looks as if it is dry, let it dry a week more! -Pete
 
#4 ·
Not the feathers you are referring to I take it. If it is the primaries you are talking about and are bent at the Rachi (the stem of the feather), then you will have a bit harder time fixing this problem. Try using some mineral spirits on a cotton ball, dampening the area of concern. Follow up with some steam from a boiling pot of water. Yes boil water on the stove, and steam the feathers of concern. Hope this helps, otherwise I'll wait for your response or pictures. -Pete
 
#5 ·
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as you can see on the right wing .............bottom is ......well messed up.
 
#6 ·
Try the steam thing. It's hard for me to tell from the photo, exactly what the problem actually is. Can you explain with a little more detail what the problem is? It may be just the fact that the bird's feathers weren't fully developed. Were there any pin feathers? From the photo, it seems to be an early bird, that may be poorly plumed. More info please. I'd love to help!
 
#7 ·
its the top photo.............the main feathers are messed up and it just looks wrong........
early bird............wow you got a good eye.
what do you mean .........plumed
 
#8 ·
I assume you are referring to the speculum feathers or the featheres at the shoulder. The steam will help you in this situation. Plumed/plummed refers to the degree that the featheres have reached maturity. Like this; You have a duck that just got done molting (summer plummage) and you have a duck that is in it's courtship colors. There is an extreme difference in the both. The breading plummage has vibrant colors (on a drake) the feathers are at there highest quality such as length and fullness. The best example to this is a drake Mallard in August/September, doesn't always have a green head, and are quite difficult to differentiate between a male and female. Come December/January they look green and full, and there head appears much larger. When you fleshed out your Scaup, did you notice a bunch of pin featheres under the fat as you were defatting the quills? Did you notice black rows of immature feathers at the wing pocket, and at the neck and head? When you find these "pins", that is a good indicator of a poorly plumed/plummed bird. The reason I knew it was an "early bird", is that a Scaup shot in the latter part of the season will look like it has an iridescent black/blue/green/purple head, if it is a later bird, the bar across the breast will be straight, black, and full. Unless you shoot a scaup in the spring, they're very hard to get in perfect plummage, so don't feel bad, but they do get better in December/January. Unfortunately here in Wisconsin, our season ends the first weekend in December, so we don't get perfect birds either. Hope the steam helps you out, and good luck!
 
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