I prefer using the original skull. I mounted a woodcock by skinning the head cutting around the beak just as using an artificial head. Then I used super glue gel to attach skin back around beak. Turned out okay but wondering if an incision below the jaw bone down towards the neck would be the best for skinning the head without having to super glue skin gel around beak?
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better off if you can stay away from any incisions in the neck area. More prone to get feathers caught up in the stitches. Just curious; as to why you don't go ahead and use artificial head? Less stuff for bugs to get into.
dal, I dont really know why but I just did not like the looks of the beaks on the 2 pheasant mounts . Since I dont have an airbrush to paint the beaks the proper looking color perhaps? Maybe a color ? on the pheasant beaks would have been alright with a hand foam brush. Matching the pheasant beaks with the closest natural look was very diffucult and the beaks just seemed to fake when I was done brushing them.
Matt, in ducks you can make an incision from the back of the head down the neck. Here the feathers are quite long and when sewn up the incision will be invisible. Wouldn't try this on a woodcock though.
Peter
Matt, you have to realize that duck bills are different than the beaks of upland birds (turkeys, pheasants, woodcock, etc). Beaks are hard and shrink very little and generally retain their color well. Waterfowl bills on the other hand are fleshy and tend to shrink quite a bit and they lose their most of their color.
I like to use artificial on waterfowl for same reason James Parrish mentioned.
On a woodcock, I prefer the original head. I think it's easier and can't mess up the glueing. and yes, I highly recommend an incision! these birds are extremely fragile, and without an incision it can cause tear - making the incision will also provide less headache when inverting.
now, my opinion on incisions on ducks...an incision on top of head will just cause problems. trying to sew up a hole on top can affect the shape of bird and placement of feathers. I personally find incisions easier to hide with small feathers as opposed to long feathers.
good luck
brian
Skinning out a woodcock head without an incision is not that difficult as long as you are careful and take your time.In my experience an incision will grow larger because of tearing, causing more problems than advantages. But this is just my opinion.