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February 22, 2016
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I came across a head of a duck the other day on a nature walk, and as I’ve never done it before, I was wondering if anyone had some tips on how I could flesh it, and preserve it? I’ve been looking around, and I’ve seen some good methods, but the skin is gorgeous and I’d like to know what I’m doing for definite before I jump in
I think it was either a Eurasian Teal, or a Green-Winged Teal. As I only had the head and part of the neck, it was hard to work out which one it was. I skinned it carefully off of the skull, and am in the process of preserving that as well. I got off most of the flesh, and after having boiled it a little to soften up the meet enough to scrape it off without damaging the bone, I’ve left it to soak in a small pot of Hydrogen Peroxide. I’ve also left the beak cap on, though I wasn’t sure what to do with it, since it wasn’t technically flesh… did I do that right, or should I remove that too?
I’ve kept the skin the freezer for now until I know what to do with it…
Thank you
September 26, 2011
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As far as the skin goes, you will need to flesh it to remove the meat from the feather quills. you can do this with a wire wheel, scissors or a wire brush. Next wash it in Dawn dish soap and rinse well in cold water. After that dry it and fluff back up the feathers. Apply borax or Dry Preserve to skin an either let dry flat or mount it on an artificial head, depending on what you want to do with it.
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February 22, 2016
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Aaron Stehling said
As far as the skin goes, you will need to flesh it to remove the meat from the feather quills. you can do this with a wire wheel, scissors or a wire brush. Next wash it in Dawn dish soap and rinse well in cold water. After that dry it and fluff back up the feathers. Apply borax or Dry Preserve to skin an either let dry flat or mount it on an artificial head, depending on what you want to do with it.
Thank you! Thats really helpful. Would you recommend using a hair drier to fluff/dry?
September 26, 2011
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yes
Taxidermy Talk Administrator
Stehling’s Taxidermy LLC http://www.stehlingstaxidermy.com
Taxidermy Insider / Learn Taxidermy Online http://www.taxidermyinsider.com
920.650.5457 a.n.stehling@gmail.com
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