Duck season is open. Save your birds for a board before they go in the freezer. How to send a bird
Feather & Frame Taxidermy

Guide

How to save a duck for a feather mount.

What you do in the first few hours after the shot decides how good the board can be. Here's how to handle, freeze, and ship a duck so the feathers arrive in shape for a feather mount.

First, decide which board you want

This decides whether you can keep the meat.

  • Base layout or base plus head feathers: you can breast the duck out and keep the meat. Leave the wings, tail, and head attached to the carcass.
  • Any board with the body background: the background is built from the duck's own body feathers, so I need the whole duck, frozen and uncut.

Not sure yet? Keep the bird whole and message me before you clean it. A whole duck gets a $50 cleaning fee, and it keeps every option open.

In the field

  • Handle the bird by the feet or the head, not by squeezing the body. Smooth the feathers back into place.
  • Wipe off blood with a dry paper towel and keep the bird as clean and dry as you can.
  • Don't stuff it in a game bag with a pile of other birds. Lay it flat or carry it on a strap.

Freezing it

  1. Put a paper towel in the beak.
  2. Tuck the head under a wing, or lay it flat against the body.
  3. Seal the duck in a heavy-duty zip-top bag, then seal that inside a second one.
  4. Get it into the freezer as soon after the hunt as you can and let it freeze solid.

A properly frozen duck keeps well, so you don't have to rush. Freeze it right and ship it when you've booked your slot.

Shipping it

  1. Message me first to settle the layout. A $200 deposit holds your build slot, and I'll send you the shipping address.
  2. Pack the bagged, frozen duck in a styrofoam cooler and put the cooler inside a cardboard box. No loose ice.
  3. Include your waterfowl taxidermy tag in the box.
  4. Ship it UPS or FedEx overnight. Two-day is fine if you're close to Billings.

Local to Billings? You can drop it off instead.

What it costs

Flying duck mounts start at $500 and secondaries mounts start at $300, with head and body background feathers as add-ons. Return shipping is included on duck boards. Current turnaround is about 2 months from when your duck arrives. See duck mounts and pricing.