What causes feathers to fall out of a duck skin when I am attempting to mount it? I had alot of feathers come out and ended up with bald spots on the skin,which ruined it. Thanks.
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on where they are falling from. We need more info.
On some ducks they tend to lose feathers on the belly due to stomach juices. Cleaning them too much
is also a possibility. Keep at it!
A second cause is trauma. It seems that the fatter the duck, the worse the problem when it comes to trauma-induced slipping. Grouse and quail are prone to this also. Often, the feathers all around a shot hole will slip off and I have also seen them come off from what I suspect was the area of impact where the bird hit the ground. Not much you can do about it in those cases except try to spot the problem while the customer is still in the shop and warn them. I do this by stroking the bird with a damp hand to check for loose feathers.
If the problem is due to spoilage it will usually start on the belly and vent area if it is due to the bird not being frozen soon enough. If it occurs on the face and around the eyes I think it is often due to improper thawing.
Nancy M.