I have a duck in the freezer that i wanted to get mounted and i was going through my freezer yesterday and noticed that it's head some how got broken off at the neck. Is it still mountable?
I wanted it in a flying mount, can a good taxidermist sew it back on?
Thanks,
Rick
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If it were some unusual or hard to obtain speciman, yes, someone might attempt it, but honestly? Probably not. The feathers would most likely not lay very well all the way around, by the time the whole process was done, and the skin edge didnt match as well. IF, I say, if, the whole process was done, and during mounting, the head THEN tore off, that MIGHT be a shot.
Sorry but unless you are really not fussy, Id suggest a new speciman. Now, please dont tell us this is an Eider, etc...lol!
There's a method I read about that Stevan Stevaides (spelling) that did an articule on that subject. What he did is after all the fleshing and whashing is all done the skin is inverted ( feathers on the inside). Then he took a dowel, the size depends on the bird. Insert this through the neck. Now since it's broken you will see how this all matches up to the tear you have. Take a small needle and thread and sew it up with small stiches. Reinvert the skin and mount it up just being careful with it. It should look as good as new if done properlly.
I have mounted quite a few ducks that the heads were broken off. I use the dowel method Frank mentioned and it works great...you can't even notice the repair. You should expect to be charged extra $$ as this is, in my opinion, a repair that is over and above the norm.
You should place the bird's head over the back or under a wing prior to freezing it from now on. It will prevent this from happening in the future.
DO it ASAP.. the skin around the break will freezer burn very rapidly. Stefan's method does work with remarkable results, however, freezer burnt skin, especially in that area where the skin is considerably thin to begin with could hinder the actual skinning process and make a repair more difficult.
Jon
Jon, you understood what I was talking about! The new edge vs the old edge makes a big difference on that repair.