I finished off a crow in my garage last night; I had initially skinned and defatted it two weeks ago before putting it back into the freezer. During the drying and mounting process, the crow shed alot of feathers from around the neck which seemed to drop out in droves. I have three questions:
1 - Is this normal for birds to lose alot of feathers or have I "Got a touch like a Mid-wife"?
2 - Is it best to glue the feathers back in when the skin is damp or dry?
3 - Is it best to use a PVA type glue or a "superglue"
This is only the second bird I have mounted so I am not rightly sure on the procedure yet.
many thanks for your help
Kindest regards
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Laurie, crows are pretty resilient critters and the feathers shouldn't have fallen out that easily. The hide spoiled someplace along the way and you see the results. It's best to keep the whole bird frozen until you get ready to mount it. Once that takes place, the feathers stay put.
I suspect that the heat from your hands set up the process. You have to take it slow on birds, but be quick about it. I know that doesn't make sense, but you have to take particular care in getting them fleshed (I don't recall ever seeing a crow with any fat that had to be removed) and it has to be done where the body heat from you doesn't spoil the skin.
No glue is ever going to allow you to match up all those covert feathes exactly where they won't show, I fear. Can it and start on another.
George,
I will start with another crow. The fat I removed was from the feather tracts down the back of the skin, I just assumed that all the fat had to be removed but each bird brings a new experience. I do have very warm hands, even in winter so yes, it could well have been my doing. Does the heat cause the skin tissue to break down? Do I need to wear thicker gloves to stop the heat transfer? or do I have to handle the bird even less?
Kindest regards
Although George is 100% correct in his statements above about your crow, there is one other scenario that may be taking place. You said you skinned and deffated the bird two weeks ago, which puts time of death sometime during Mid October if not before. My questions is this.. were the feathers that fell out fully formed or were they pin feathers. You made mention that most fell from the neck area which is one of the last places on any bird to fully feather out after a moult. If this is the case, then chances are, you may have done nothing wrong. Pin feathers are difficult to keep attached to the skin even for the pros.
I also think you may have misunderstood George. I think George by his statement of "I dont recall ever seeing a crow that had fat that needed to be removed," meant that of the crows he has mounted, there was little to no fat on the skin. This is possible. However, you were correct to think that all fat must be removed. If you can see it.. then it needs to come off. Now Keep in mind that you're never going to get 100% of every ounce of fat off the skin.. so don't magle your skin in the fleshing process trying to do so... but you need to make your best attempt to get the VAST majority of all the fat off.
Now onto the repair. Once again George has led you in the right direction. The specimen isn't wortht the time or agony of trying to GLUE anything back to the skin. However, you may get away with a tucked/low head position where the missing will not be noticeable. Otherwise, I would probalby just get another bird to work with.
Best of Luck,
Jon
Jon,
Thank you for your lengthy response. The feathers were actually a mix of pin feathers and fully formed feathers but I will try a crouched head pose.
What is the best way of keeping the bird skin cool to prevent feather loss?
Kindest regards
I've never personally had a problem with an overheated skin because of my body heat. I know it is possible... but generally only on risky skins to begin with. Anything smaller than a Robin and I might start taking precautions against spoilage. But birds that small will need to be worked quickly anyways so that the skin doesn't dry out and remains managable throughout the process.
Good Luck,
Jon