Duck taxidermy questions

Anthony A

Anthony A

Well-known member
Shot a beautiful drake bufflehead this morning and would like to get it mounted (at the bottom of the attached pic)
  • How much can I expect it to cost? (would like to budget for next year)
  • What's the best way to store it in the freeze? I wrapped it up in newspaper (heard this piece of advice long ago) - any other recommendations?
  • How long can I store it in the freezer before giving it to the taxidermist?
  • Can anyone recommend a taxidermist in North Jersey, Morristown, NYC, or southern NY state who is reasonable priced (the deciding factor here)
Thank you in advance for your feedback

Sincerely

Anthony

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i think his name is robert kennedy he mounted my pheasant and is currently mounting me a widgeon and he is priced reasonable
 
Anthony, Wes Potter is right in Barnegat light, he does a great job. He did a gorgeous dead mount for me and he's affordable. Talk to Jim D. he'll give you his number.
 
There are a TON of VERY good preservation artists around the country... you will pay for their talent. I would say $225-$450 and then whatever do for habitat. Don't use news paper. There is no value to the ink on feathers. Completely submerge it in water (ziplock back) and freeze. If the entire bird is encased in ice, you can keep in good as today for 20+ years.
 
first get the newspaper away from the bird now!! It will actually dry the bird out and cause him to freezerburn very quickly. You want it in a ziploc bag with no air in it at all air is the enemy here. There is a guy in the northeast named Tim Schloss (sp) and he is very good seems like he is in PA never the less if you are not going with Jerry Froelich or Shane Smith Tim would be my third choice. He goes up to the westlake show every year really nice guy.

R
 


Anthony congrats, I have used Robert Kennedy nice guy does great fish work he mounted 2 trout for me but I would not use him for bird work. The only NJ Taxidermist I would use for bird work is George Dante from Wildlife Preservations, he does museum work and has a team of talented Taxidermists on staff. As most good taxidermists will tell you that they specialize either in birds, fish or mamamals. I use Todd Huffman from Birdman Studios, very nice work you can expect to spend about $300, I send alot of client specimens to him and they all look great!You can store birds for about 1 year, my suggestion is to send the specimen to the taxidermist it takes about 1 year to get back check out Todd's website there is a link to his site on mine he has all the information on there as well as videos for care and identifiying a trophy. Here is some birds he has mounted for me and my clients
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Shot a beautiful drake bufflehead this morning and would like to get it mounted (at the bottom of the attached pic)
  • How much can I expect it to cost? (would like to budget for next year)
  • What's the best way to store it in the freeze? I wrapped it up in newspaper (heard this piece of advice long ago) - any other recommendations?
  • How long can I store it in the freezer before giving it to the taxidermist?
  • Can anyone recommend a taxidermist in North Jersey, Morristown, NYC, or southern NY state who is reasonable priced (the deciding factor here)
Thank you in advance for your feedback

Sincerely

Anthony
Click to expand...
 
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Gary King at Waterfowl Creations is incredibly talented. I have over 15 birds mounted by a very talented, award winning taxidermist in upstate NY. Once I saw Gary's work I will now be sending any bird I decide to mount to him.

www.waterfowlcreations.net

Expect an average of $250 per bird, habitats cost additional but add so much to the mount. I always do a small habitat if the bird is going to be mounted standing, flying mounts I have done with and without.

I make sure all blood is removed from the birds feathers, then I make sure the bird is dry before sliding him into some pantyhose. The pantyhose will keep all the feathers matted down. Sometimes I will tuck the birds head under his wing. I then wrap the bird in newspaper only if I know he will be going to the taxidermist soon, if I am not going to bring him to the taxidermist in the near future I have actually used a vacuum sealer to remove as much air as possible. I have stored birds in the vacuum seal up to a year in the freezer with no ill effects.

One piece of advice, go online, look at magazines, etc and find a photo of exactly how you want the bird to be mounted and give your taxidermist that photo to match. Otherwise, your mount may come out slightly different than you had hoped. It happened to me on a black duck mount, now I submit a photo with every mount and I am always happy in the end.
 
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I would also recommend NOT using panty hose.... use it in the field if you like, but don't freeze the bird in panty hose. Will it hurt the bird? NO.. It makes life harder for your taxidermist. If there is any moisture the hose will freeze to the feathers. I use to do the panty hose thing, until I became a taxidermist. Again, as mentioned, air is the enemy. Freeze it it a block of ice, and the bird can be kept indefinantly....

This bird was frozen in ice for 25 years!!!

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/showthread.php?t=722265&highlight=stellers+eider
 
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I also use Wes Potter. Excellent work. Quick turn around. Per Wes, fold the head underneath and double wrap in bread or newspaper bags. He said they will keep in the freezer lime that for years.
 
Like I said about using pantyhose.... make sure the bird is completely dry before using, this way it wont freeze to the feathers.

I would also recommend NOT using panty hose.... use it in the field if you like, but don't freeze the bird in panty hose. Will it hurt the bird? NO.. It makes life harder for your taxidermist. If there is any moisture the hose will freeze to the feathers. I use to do the panty hose thing, until I became a taxidermist. Again, as mentioned, air is the enemy. Freeze it it a block of ice, and the bird can be kept indefinantly....

This bird was frozen in ice for 25 years!!!

http://www.refugeforums.com/refuge/showthread.php?t=722265&highlight=stellers+eider
Click to expand...
 
Thank you very much everyone for your input and advice! I quickly removed the duck from the wrapped newspaper after seeing the first few posts and put him in a large ziplock filled with water and stuck him in the freezer, I tried to get as much of the air out as possible, but the duck kept floating to the surface - I did my best.

I now prefer the term preservation artist - it has a nice ring to it :)

I'll consider all the provided advice on who to bring it to...

Thanks again!

Sincerely

Anthony
 
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