There's been a couple posts about pin feathers lately. It's been on my mind since the post about the difficulty of mounting birds with lots of pin feathers. Having not come across this situation yet, how do pin feathers affect mounting a bird. Do the existing feathers just not cover well enough, spotty layers, or do they just fall out easier? What makes these mounts 'not a good idea'?
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First off, I'll tell you what pin feathers are. They are immature feathers that grow to replace those lost during the molt. In comparison to a mature feather which has a hardened shaft, pin feathers have soft, fleshy shafts. As the season progresses towards the mating season (spring) the pin feathers become more mature and the shafts harden. The birds also develop their "breeding colors". A bird that is fully colored will have a sheen and iridescence (most species). 1st year birds will also have a tremendous amount of pin feathers as they are growing and developing into adult birds.
What do pin feathers look like? When you look at a bird, pull back the feathers so you can look closely at the shafts. Pin feathers will look waxy. When compared with a mature feather, you will be able to tell the difference...its like night and day. When you skin the bird, the pin feather quills will look like little black dots inside the skin whereas mature quills have the opaque/off-white coloration.
Why don't pin feathered birds make good mounts? First, they are obviously not as beautiful (alive) as a fully mature, "colored out" bird. Second, pin feathers love to fall out. You can just look at them and they fall out. They fall out while you are skinning, they fall out while you are fleshing, they fall out in the wash, and they fall out while you are mounting. They will even continue to fall out after the bird is fully dry. As the feathers fall out, it becomes progressively harder to make the bird look good. The side pockets and the head/neck seem to be the worst. As the skin dries, the pin feather shafts shrink because they are not fully hardened. As they shrink, there is nothing to hold them in the skin and they simply fall out.
Now, you have to learn (through experience) where to draw the line. Some birds killed in late December and January will still have a good amount of pin feathers. When I assess a bird, I try to determine of there are enough mature feathers to cover the pin feathers. Last week, I mounted two birds that had a fair amount of pin feathers. So far, they look pretty good. These were birds that were killed in mid to late December. Birds killed in October, I don't touch. I will show the client what to look for as far as pin feathers are concerned. November birds are usually very "iffy". The 1st year birds are still pretty bad, but older birds might be OK. I will also take into consideration if its a kids first bird or something like that, but even then, if its bad, I won't put my name on it.
Very well explained James.
September teal, or early season wood ducks can be some of the worst. Although a pheasant with a solid rump of pin feathers can be very dissapointing as well.
Feathers do hide a lot, and a bird can loose a lot more than you'd think possible and still turn out looking good, although not perfect, still repspectable.
I usually wait until after the bird is dried before I any concrete decsions on whether or not to proceed with the mounting process.
Jon~
That was a very nice response James. Explained alot. I just mounted a Canadian Goose. Loads of pin feathers. Still came out very nice. I lost feathers skinning, washing, mounting, and preening. The worst trip of it for me was the amount of time I had to spend w/ teasing needles to get them under the feathers. If I was to take on another goose I would need gamehead prices. Im learning. Thanks as usual and take care
....can be a total nightmare. I NEVER take them in.
And early season Geese,the necks look terrible. I try and turn them down as well.
Have a great day,
Dave
That really explained it well. This may be one of my problems. I thought I was just being too rough!