I'm just getting into taxidermy and have friends that are giving me turkeys to mount . can i cape them out and put them back in the frezzer before degreeseing them,to save frezzer space. and is thier any thing i should put on the skin before putting them back in the frezzer?
Return to Bird Taxidermy Category Menu
This is one of those questions that deserves a click" on the "search" button to the left. In short the answer is yes. I do this regularly and with most birds I take in - however, there are some considerations. Skins are more easily freezer burned if not properly wrapped. I wash all my skins and vacuum pack them before freezing. They will stay fresh alsmost indefinitely as long as the vacuum holds. Sometimes a toe nail will puncture the bag and the vaccum will be lost - they need to be re-sealed. If you do not have a vacum packing device, I roll the skin in plasatic wrap so there are about three layers of wrap aroung the skin. I then double bag in plastic bags removing as much air as I can and tape. While you can do this with a "dry" skin, I prefer to wash them first. I do not add anything to the skin prior to freezing. Try and avoid a frost free freezers. The constant air flow dehydrates things much more quickly. Of course there are many different ways to accomplish this process. The key to keeping it longer is removal of the air. Frozen skins are also more easily broken. Be sure to fold the neck skin and the tail back on to the other feathers to preclude accidently breaking them off when rummaging in the freezer. Also make sure you write the contents of the bag on the outside and save important information such as neck length, head size, manikin size and so forth. Good Luck
thank you for the info and that searching takes way to long i bet i have benn reading for about two hours and i have not found that info that you gave me thanks dave