A friend brought me a pheasant to mount. It was frozen when I got it. When I thawed it out I saw that it was in really bad shape. It was all shot up,missing a lot of feathers and one wing was almost completely shot off. What do you guys do, do you try to mount it, or call the customer and tell him that it is not worth doing? If you have already got a deposit and bought supplies for the mount how do you handle this? Thanks a lot. Don.
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Get use to repairing things its a way of life in taxidermy, then you wonder why the old timers are high priced. They have seen it all. My brother does auto body repair and sometimes he has to rebid a project after he is into the repair because of things you cannot see.
Call him and ask wha he wants done? If you are not able to make the reprais send it to someone who can.
Have you seen Ricky Morris replace whole feather tracts on turkeys?
I would contact and advise the customer about the situation. I would then move forward according to the customer's wishes. If the customer would still like it mounted I would make certin I had him sign a form noting the problems and that the final outcome cann't be gaurenteed and that the agreed upon price will not be refunded. I may also consider getting a larger percentage of the deposit up front. As for the deposit and purchased materials. If the customer wishes not to proceed I would refund the entire deposit and use the materials on a future mount. As a taxidermist it is our responsiablty to only order the materials that we are certin we need. I guess that is just part of business. I feel that by refunding the customer he will find you very honest and be extreamly happy that you contacted him and will most likley tell many people about you honesty which will get you mor work in the future.
Rick Morris is not posting in the "Beginners Section" and it takes great care, skill, and an abundance of spare birds (plus EXTRA CHARGES) to do what Rick does. I still refuse shot up specimen or pin-feathered birds because regardless of what the customer says, when he takes it home with him, it's an advertisement of YOUR skill not his harebrained idea. Refund his deposit and keep your materials. Pheasants are common specimen brought to taxidermists and you've less than $15 tied up in items you'll use soon anyway. And write it down as a hard lesson learned. I always conditionally accept frozen specimen. I tell the customer that everything is contingent on what I find when it thaws. I once had a customer bring in a deer shot by his son who'd been killed in a car wreck. I couldn't refuse it, but when it finally thawed and I unrolled it, the frozen maggots started to fall out and the side of the face had sloughed off. Obviously, I had to call and offer a replacement hide. Some things just cannot and should not be done simply because you accepted them in a frozen state.
you cant tell until its unfrozen - had customer bring me 4 deer flats to tan - one slipped comletely (the best one of course) - 2 others slipped minorly and one didn't slip at all - go figure
him you can't make chicken soup out of chicken ****.
Sounds like the customer wanted a chicken made out of chicken soup. Do you know Jack?
George, which predicament would be harder to perform: A guy gives you a bowl of soup and tells you to make a chiken out of it, or a guy gives you a pile of crap and tells you to make a soup that can fool a gourmet chef? If I knew what they can put into food these days and can still make it taste respectable, that latter would most likely be easier. I've never heard the saying that you informed me about, but I think mine gets the point across to a dummy who brings you a pile of disformed and shot up feathers more easily. Do you know George?
If the Bird is badly shot up. It is doubtfull that it has any special carictistice. the jumble of feathers would make that almost imposable to notice. Few of my customers who bring in Gease, Pheasant, Ducks, Quail, or most birds. Get their actual birds back. I have a room full of mounted Pheasant , and other Birds. That I mount when things are slow. Unless a bird is Malinistic, or has some other special carictistic. I just call the customer in a few weeks, and give him a bird in the requested pose. Just mount him a bird, collect your payment, and go on with life. a bird is a bird is a bird.
A bird is a bird is a bird, is correct. Just like to a doctor a patient is a patient is a patient. He just slaps you a prescrption and goes on with life. The one's that have a good name usually take the time and effort to do the best possible job. My point is, even if the customer is satisfied, when he walks away smiling ear to ear looking at the bird that he thinks he shot, my conscience woulg get to me.
I never tell the customer I will give them back the same bird. And I never lie to them. so why should mu conscience bother me. I do understand the personal relationship a hunter develop with the bird they shoot. and can understand why they would want the exact sane one back. after all they have had it for so long before they bring it in it is easy to see how they can become attached. By the way your analogy using ther doctor was rather obserd. since every patient and illness is an individual set of circomstances. here is a better one. do you require your mechanic to rebuild your origional spark plugs? after all they have served you well for so long
Okay, so yu may never tell them that they'll get the same bird, but I wonder if you paid them a visit after they picked up the specimen, told them that the pheasant was killed in New Jersey on a game farm with a lethal injection instead of with a shot of #8 from his grandfather's shotgun on the plains of South Dakota. I bet your freezers would fill up about half as much the next season. And about the doctor analogy, ask my grandparents if they're an individual person with an individual situation every thime they go in there. In my opinion, the spark plug analogy is terrible. I actually give a rip how and whose that animal on the wall is, or else it wouln't be a trophy. I don't pop the hood on my car and gaze at those spark plugs.
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