Well, I haven't gotten my Pintail yet, but I do have a few beautiful birds; a GWT, a Cinnamon Teal and a Canvasback. All drakes. I have rinsed all the blood off, the feathers are smoothed down, head under the wing, covered in a nylon to keep the feathers nice, stored in a pastic bag with the air pumped out, then inside another plastic bag and stored in my freezer. Although 2 of the birds are teal, I'm very proud of all of them and want to do this right. I'm OK with spending some $$$ on this project, but I can't invest $200+/bird. I may only be able to afford getting 2 of these birds done.
Here's the next questions...
Are there any good Taxidermists,
that you could recommend, that don't cost an arm and a leg?
How long can I keep my birds "on ice" before I need to make my decision and get the birds to the taxidermist?
Last, how do I ship them? I mean, won't the birds defrost on the way to the taxidermist? Should I use dry ice?
Thanks in advance,
B-Boy