How long can a bird(magpie)sit in the freezer before its a write off the bird is double wrapped in bread bags......Thanks
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Magpies are protected species and unless you have paperwork or fit into the exemptions of the 50 CFR series of federal regulations, you could have a "bomb" frozen in your freezer.
If you live someplace else, it's hard to say how long the bird would remain viable and there are even some who insist it can be hydrated and still mounted regardless of the time.
When I first started I had a redhead drake that had been frozen for 6 years. It was not a good bird to begin with but the mount turned out prettygood, I also had a mallard at the same time that the legs & bill were to frezer burned, so it required arterfishel head and leggs.My opinon try it. That's what makes a good taxidermist.
Up until just a couple years ago, magpies were legal to shoot in Alaska.......
Check your state laws pertaining to nuisance wildlife.I know you can legally kill magpies in Colorado if they are doing damage on private property. Other states may have similar laws but you'll need to check to make sure.
Brian
Magpie(black-billed)are"not"protected in my province,nor are cowbirds-grackle-english sparrow-rock dove-crow-starling-yellowheaded blackbird-redwing blackbird-rusty blackbird-brewers blackbird-clark's nutcracker but yes it is still tagged.The plan for the bird was to incorperate it into a deerhead mount/ontop of a fence post so if its not worth the effort I have no problem chucking it and getting a fresh one when needed.......thanks
You can simply inject water into the toes and up along the legs. Keep the injection sites limited if you are going to inject again with epoxy or the like. Inject the head area a couple hours before you skin, under the eyes and on top of the skull. Go slowly and you can see the areas fill up with water. The bird should be O.K. As noted before, you can get away with quite some time in the freezer and still be salvageable. My best, Jim
And I certainly envy you for being allowed such species. I'd love to have one of my own, but then you state that you can get a fresh one easily. If I had THAT choice, I'd get a fresh one.
No,'I AM CANADIAN'Manitoba,no shortage of magpie's here,I would send ya one if I could george but it would be hard to stick in an envelope.Thanks for the input i'll more then likley pop another at least it will be fresher in case I need a backup.
if they were still legal here, I'd send you a sack of them! They're really a PAIN!
If they had been, I'd have tried to bark a couple of them with my .300 mag last year.
Last year , here in colorado their was a falcon season you could harvest Magpies in ;havent looked this year.
...it works great for rehydrating bird skins, it's not just for mammals.