Marc Phelps, Taxidermist - Karen Phelps,Wildlife Artist
Quality work at a reasonable price!
Care of Game
Birds
Look over your birds and select the best bird you have. Preferably one that is not chewed up by a dog or shot up to bad. Do not gut the bird! On smaller game birds one good item to carry is a pair of old nylon stockings. Clean any blood from the feathers as soon as possible. After you clean up the bird the best you can, put a piece of paper towel in the mouth and tuck the head under a wing, then carefully slide the bird into the stocking, head first. This will hold the feathers in place and help keep the bird from getting damaged. If you cannot get the bird to a taxidermist right away, put it in at least two zip-lock bags and carefully squeeze out the air before sealing. Put the bird into a freezer. The same process goes for larger birds only take some cardboard that you can roll around the bird and tail to protect the tail.
Game Heads
If you have harvested a trophy animal you need to care for the animal right away to keep the skin in good shape to mount. The best thing to do is skin the animal as soon as you possible to cool the skin down. This will help inhibit bacterial growth. Clean as much of the blood from the skin. If you do not know the skinning technique, please contact me prior to going hunting and I will go over that with you.
Life-size Mammals
On any life-size mammals, either get the animal to a taxidermist as soon as possible or double bag and freeeze the animal. Do not gut the animal!
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