[Pete-pec]

What's the purpose to tuck the neck up against the body... By the time I get it home and cleaned regor has set it and it pretty stiff (4-5 hours) what's ur suggestions

It's really not needed, but it will help defend against the neck breaking along with skin and feather. Once the bird is frozen, and the neck is sticking straight out, it would be more apt to have an issue in the freezer. Even after rigor mortis has set in, you can still bend the neck towards the breast, and then stick it in a freezer bag towards the corner, and it will freeze in this manner instead of straight out. I very seldom actually tuck it under a wing.

 

[Cougar125]

Any thoughts on vacuum sealing birds for the taxi?

 

[Pete-pec]

I think vacuum sealing is fine. I would first freeze it in a ziplock and water, then vacuum seal the frozen ziplock once it is solid. The reason is, the water will be drawn out of the bird as you pull vacuum, and will hinder the sealing point. If the bird is already frozen in a ziplock, there will be no water hindering the seal. Vacuum sealer plastic is very heavy, and I would think it would help as a barrier to. Now this method is in reference to a skin (fleshed or unfleshed).

There was some discussion about the tiny little impressions that could be left behind from the vacuum sealer plastic itself. I never had a problem, but some people claimed that they saw a diamond shaped pattern on the feathers themselves when freezing a whole bird, where the plastic made direct contact with the feathers of the bird. If you are going to freeze a whole bird, I would first freeze it in a ziplock, then vacuum seal it. I also want to mention one thing about those vacuums. If the bird is fresh, it will draw blood out of the wound channels as you suck the air out of the bag. Also when thawing the bird, you want to make sure you cut a slit in the bag. Same deal, under vacuum, the wounds will bleed, making for a bloody mess. I think blood will normally wash out, but why make for unneeded work if you can simply avoid it by freezing the bird first?

 

[alanwebfoot]

great advice about throwing your bird down on a metal boat seat floor etc. a guy I know also doesn;t allow them to touch the ground [once retrieved] for fear of them freezing to the ground and leaving feathers behind.

 

[phishbum]

When using newspaper bags, has anyone ever experienced residual ink rubbing off onto feathers?

 

[Pete-pec]

Never use paper, so no idea of print? Paper wicks away moisture. I would never wrap in paper. Just plastic.

 

[phishbum]

Pete - I was actually talking about the bags newspapers come in. Have heard folks mention using them, but just curious about ink.

 

[Pete-pec]

Never used them, but wouldn't worry about ink.

 

[Glimmerjim]

When using newspaper bags, has anyone ever experienced residual ink rubbing off onto feathers?

Yeah, it kinda sucks. I've got a beautiful greenhound mount with a damn Doonesbury cartoon on its breast! :lol3:

 

[Adrenal-Line]

The question of how to care for birds that are going to be mounted is asked quite often, so, I have decided to post a thread (as a sticky) that can be used for future reference.

Now on to the field care...
If the bird is still alive, the best way to dispatch it that I have found is to open the bird's mouth and stick a small pocket knife through the roof of the mouth into the duck's brain. This causes instant death and I feel is much better than drowning or squeezing a bird as some other recommend. Just make sure that you don't get rough and stick the blade through the top of the head. DO NOT wring the bird's neck..

I found this post very insightful! Especially the part I quoted above, I would like to hear your feedback on my device I invented which is this same concept you were mentioning but you do not need to open the birds mouth as you go into the back part of the birds head where the neck and base of skull meet and it puts a small #2 size BB hole in the back of the head, here is a picture of my device and video link of me using it this past duck season, I would like to get your opinion on it!

 

[The Waterfowler]

The less holes in the head the better.

 

[Pete-pec]

I understand you are a sponsor, but you asked for an honest opinion. I was on your fb page just recently, and saw where you had comments like "here is another bird mounted that was dispatched with our device". I thought to myself at that time, (as a taxidermist), who would recommend a hole in a bird's head who also wanted the bird mounted? The head for me, is the last place I want another hole. Please understand that some people use the original head, and therefore do not separate the skull from the face. These guys make a relief cut that must be sewn up anyway, so your device may have very little impact on their method. However, the overwhelming majority of taxidermists use an artificial head, and must sew up those random pellet holes to hide those imperfections that a poorly sewn hole can often show. Do we have head shot birds? Of course, do we prefer them? Absolutely not. So like the waterfowler said, less holes is better.

I think your selling point to your key chain trinket should be geared more towards the meat hunter than the taxidermist. I have never tried your device, so please understand that I'm only giving you my opinion. I just cannot see a time I would use this tool instead of my current method which is compressing its chest with my knee. I would never be so brave or reckless to try that tool on a turkey.

I wish you the best of luck.