I'm only 13 and i'm working on a wood duck for my first mount I ordered a kit from Van Dykes and I was wondering how do you stop the head from shrinking.
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the best way to go to avoid shrinkage in the head and bill is an artifical head. Alot of taxidermist use artifical heads on waterfowl to avoid this problem. One tip for you is waterfowl are harder to do than upland birds because of all the fat and grease on waterfowl skins. I would recommend a pheasant that you could purchase from a game farm, they are fairly inexspensive and than get yourself a instructional video and go from there. Which ever way you choose good luck to you and don't get discouraged.
Lybeck,
You are about to find out just how challenging Bird Taxidermy can be!
Woodies are probably the MOST difficult Waterfowl there is to mount.
Don't get discouraged if you don't succeed with this bird. (My first several ended up in the Trash).
I would suggest that you get ahold of a few Diving Ducks (Buffleheads, Ruddies and Scaup)and work with those until you start to get some sense of feel for what you are doing.
As Winston Churchill said: "Never Give Up" and you will make it. You are starting down the road a very deeply satisfying Art - but there are quite a few "Potholes" for the first few miles!
thanks actually I have worked with a few Greater Scaup that I shot last season I made my own mannikens out of this stuff I bought It's called Great stuff If I would have known how to mount a duck step by step the Scaup would have turned out better but on Valentines day my Parents got me the Breakthrough bird mounting book so at least I know a little bit. thanks for the info.