I skinned out 2 mallards today and the first one was good until i reached the neck. I started turning the neck like a sock inside out. As i got near the head, the tension was tight on the skin do to the head being bigger than the neck. I hardly put any tension on it at all and wham. The skin ripped right in the middle of the neck all the way across making my mallard 2 pieces now. I cant believe it did this. Do some of you guys have to make a head incision on your mallards? The second one came out fine as i skinned out around the bill and turned the skin from the head first before even attempting to tug on the neck. I cant believe how thin and sensitive the skin is. I made a belly incision and as i was working with it, the incision just kept growing bigger and bigger like i was cutting a bigger incision which i really wasnt, just from turning it over and reaching up in the neck area. Do some of you guys experience this?
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By and large, ducks NEVER skin out over their heads. Either a head incision if you're using the real head or a bill incision for an artificial head is always required. Very few waterfowl will skin out as you described without doing what you described. Anhingas, comorants, egrets, cranes, mergansers, etc. will, but the puddle ducks and divers don't work that way.
I have only done 7 or 8 mallards, and I skinned every one over the head from the bill and never had a problem. I did 2 hooded mergansers(spelling?) and skinned them the same way. Worked for me. Hope it helps.
I have never skinned a mallard that I would have been able to get the head through the neck. I tried on one. just one. the skin there does not have enough give to fit over the skull. either make a neck incision, or cut the neck at the base of the skull, and cut around the bill like you were using an artificial head. good luck , especially if you try to invert another one.