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Deer Hair/skin Color Change

Discussion in 'Beginners' started by kythunter, Feb 1, 2019.

  1. Feb 1, 2019 #1
    kythunter

    kythunter New Member

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    How soon after a deer dies does the skin coloration start to change/fade?
    Especially around the eyes, nose and ears?
    From my observation right after the deer is dead the colors look the same as when alive or close.
    If the skin doesn't fade immediately after death why not use kill photo's of the deer as reference.
    In some kill photos the deer will have dark brown around their eyes and yet the taxidermist will spray dark almost black around the eyes.
    I understand each deer is different some have dark brown/gray hair and some blackish.
    I'm sure there's a reason you don't hear much about reference photo's of dead deer.
     
  3. Feb 1, 2019 #2
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

    4,975
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    dallas oregon
    I believe that after blood stops pumping it quickly leaves the surface of the skin, leaving the pigment there,but, the underlying pink gone. So, pink nostrils turn white, pink ears turn white and various shades of browns around the eyes change to a darker brown. Nothing scientific about what I think. My guess is that it just seems to be that way from my observations. I could easily be totally wrong.
     
    GWebb likes this.

  5. Feb 3, 2019 #3
    kythunter

    kythunter New Member

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    That sounds right just couldn't find much information on the subject.
     
  6. Feb 11, 2019 #4
    George

    George The older I get, the better I was.

    33,719
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    Magnolia, Delaware
    What you're seeing is production taxidermy. I always tried to keep up with the most modern techniques. When I started putting septums in, clients questioned it. When I started layering colors on the nose, you'd have thought I kidnapped a child. Several customers demanded that the nose be black "like real deer", so I painted them black. Many if not most taxidermists are "craftsmen" and craftsmen tend to be redundant in their work efforts Others are "artists" and insist on the finite details of their work. I tend to agree with Tanglewood. Once a deer is shot, it dies of shock and hemorrhaging which drains the blood from all the capillaries where it would usually be pink. As for the hair, however, only sunlight over time can bleach the hair and brown becomes yellow.