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I decided to add this page on to reference a lot of calls I was getting surrounding bird and mount care.

 A good mount starts with a good specimen, but it also needs to be handled correctly to have a positive outcome.

First lets work on a few points to help make a perfect specimen. 


  • Broken  feathers , wings and legs. -------While a lot can be repaired the perfect bird would not have    these . 


  • Broken  or wrung neck.  A bird can be dispatched by squeezing the rib cage  hard right behind the wings from the back of the bird . It doesn’t take long for the bird to expire.


  • Obvious bare spots and large wounds .  I have to have feathers to work with. 


  • Maturity ………. Is this a mature bird with out Juvenile or seasonal pinfeathers. While I CAN mount just about any bird , pinfeathers make a rough  looking mount


  • Cool it  :  Place it aside in a cool spot and let the air cool the bird.  The back of the truck in the sun doesn't  cut  it.  
 
  • Bag and freeze:  Smooth the feathers down in their natural position ( panty hose really doesn't help anything and may damage feathers).  Place the head under or along side a wing .    Put the bird in an AIR PROOF  bag . ( not  a Joe Albertsons grocery sack but a kitchen garbage bag is fine) , push as much air out as possible .   Seal it with a tie , string , tape  or whatever  .  Freeze it  .   The whole idea is to keep it from freezer burning .  


  • Tag it ,  if some one else is going to transport the bird  print out a tag ( from my site ) . Complete the information  and attach it  or place it in the bag. 


There are a couple other things you can doif you plan on keeping it an extended period of time but the best is to get it to me ASAP.
Now for mount care , this is simple.


  • Feather duster ,   I keep a feather duster for this purpose alone.  I  gently pet my bird mounts with it as needed . 


  • Blower ,  I also keep dust at bay  by gently blowing the mounts with a blow dryer  NO HEAT or the shop vac . Move the air across them like if they were flying….. Beak first. 


  • If needed  I gently pull  the wing feathers between  a thumb and forefinger to smooth them.If you get a rough or bare looking spot you can move the feathers to cover ( preen)  it with a pair of tweezers or a long pin. 


  • If some thing gets broke ………. Bring it in , I can fix it. 
  

I hope this helps …. If you have a question … call , 
Thanks , Jay

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