i just finished a ringneck duck. i ordered a body that matched the dimensions of the carcass, but there seemed to be some sagging in the belly area. i used cotton balls to help and the mount turned out really nice, but i'm wondering why there was so much room left over. it was an extremely fat bird, and i know the skin will shrink a little, but i didnt notice that on the last bird i did. thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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These are "sea ducks" around here and you could quite possibly use a football for a body of a sea duck. The skin, when defatted, is especially resilient. I stopped measuring bodies 20 years ago and order species specific bodies. If they need bulk, I use sheets of polyfill quilt lining. That eliminates the "lumps" of cotton balls.
When you flesh/defat/wash a duck, the skin will get bigger. You can put a body that is the same size as the carcass that was removed back in and have slack skin. That's what you want. It allows you to taxi the skin. You don't want a body that fits tightly in the skin. When the belly sags, just pin it up for 24hrs and then remove the pins and it will not sag anymore.
thanks for the responses and advice.
When you remove the body and take the measurements of the specimen to order the manikin, make sure you account for fat. A fat duck may have a quarter inch thick around all parts of the body, and the basic circumference may be 1 to 2 inches larger. The skin also does expand during cleaning with a wire wheel, but using manikan paste will work to hold the skin both to the manikin and allow you to scrunch it back together, or pin it as meantioned by James.