I am just getting into bird mounting. A friend of mine has some birds he wants done. His freezer quit on him and all the birds thawed. He put them back into another freezer and re-froze them. Will they still be good? Is there a way to tell if a bird is no good before you start to skin it? Thanks for all the good info. that is provided in this forum!
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How long were they unthawed? Look them over when you take one out. If they weren't unthawed to long you shoud be okay. If the feathers are slipping, it's bad. If they were in the freezer to long and are dry, it's bad. Are these practice birds? There is nothing more dicouraging to a new taxidermist than to work with poor specimens. If you are just starting with birds, look them over good. If they were shot in the early season like Minnesota's season starts early Oct.I don't take them in. To many pin feathers. (woodduck is the exception) I have to many other things to do than to fight with crappy birds. I don't mess with many bird until late in the season. A good bird that is fully feathered out is a joy to work with. Poor ones arn't worth your time and the money you get out of it.
How does the bird look shape wise..the best birds are winter birds
partially thaw the bird and then spray it with compressed air (set compressor at about 80 psi and hold nozzle about 16-20 inches back). If feathers start to fly out then you can be sure that they, like hair on mammals, are starting to slip and there is nothing at this point you can do to save the bird. Give it a good blow because if the bird has not gone bad, then the feathers really don't fall out in any sort of big way (you will always get one or two fall out). This also lets you see how many pin feathers the bird has so you can also determine what the bird will mount up like (i.e., the more pin feathers the less attractive mount). If the bird is partially frozen and there are still ice crystals in the meat, you can re-freeze with little risk of spoiling.
I do this for all my birds that I take in. If they are brought in frozen, then I explain to the client what I have to do (thaw and blow) and tell them I'll call them later with the results. I also discuss how they want it mounted and the cost, do up a mount contract and inform them of what the deposit will be. Once I check it out, I call them and if the bird is bad they can have it back and I don't charge them for this. If it is good, I just double check that they still want it mounted a certain way (better to ask twice then once not enough) and request that they drop off the deposit we discussed. Once I have the cash, I do it up.
You may also find that only a small area has slipped and perhaps you can do a certain pose that hides that thinly feathered area or build habitat onto your mount that hides it...just be sure to discuss it with the client and get their okay (record the date of the conversation and write any other important info down on the mount form/contract just to CYA). Hope this helps.
loss of sleep, changing chirping patterns, refuses to fly, starts bullying smaller birds, participates in anti-social behavior and takes up hanging around crows, buzzards, and starlings. If you dont get help soon your dirty bird may be lost.