Tietz Taxidermy and Wildlife Art Lebanon WI

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For more information about getting your trophy mounted please call:
(920) 925-3382 or Cell (920) 342-0517

Here's a few important tips on caring for your trophy in the field.
If in doubt, CHILL DOWN or FREEZE the speciman ASAP.

Caping for a Shoulder Mount:	DO NOT cut into the brisket (chest) area. DO NOT cut into the armpit area. DO NOT cut up the back / top of neck to head. DO NOT cut the ears to tag the animal. With a sharp knife, slit the hide circling the body behind the shoulder at approximately the midway point of the rib cage behind the front legs. Cut the skin around the legs just above the knees. An additional cut will be needed from the back of the leg to the body cut behind the legs. Peel the skin forward up to the ears and jaw exposing the head/neck junction. Cut the neck off approximately three inches down from this junction. Fold the cape once and place in a freezer until transported to the taxidermist. DO NOT ball it up because it will take too long to freeze, and will cause hair slippage. These cuts should allow ample hide for the taxidermist to work with in mounting. Remember, the taxidermist can cut off excess hide, but he can’t add what he doesn’t have. If blood gets on the hide to be mounted, wash it off as soon as possible, and GENTLY dry the hide as best you can. Remember moisture causes hair slippage. Avoid dragging the deer out of the woods with a rope. Place it on a sled or use a four-wheeler. The rope, rocks, or a broken branch from a deadfall can easily damage the hair or puncture the hide. If you do need to drag it out with a rope, attach the rope to the base of the antlers, not the neck, and drag your trophy carefully.
Small Mammals	DO NOT gut the animal. Small mammals spoil quickly because of their thin hide and bacteria. If you can’t take the animal immediately to a taxidermist, as soon as the carcass cools completely, put it in a plastic bag, seal it up and freeze it.
Bears	Usually it is quite warm during bear season, so you need to have a plan in place to deal with your bear once you get it out of the woods. Bears must be skinned out immediately in order to get the hide cooled down to prevent spoilage and hair slippage. When skinning, leave as much fat on the animal as possible. This will help keep the hide thinner and makes it easier to get it cooled down or frozen as fast as possible. Leave the skull in the hide, as this is best skinned out by a taxidermist. Fold the hide once keeping the head to the outside and place in a cooler with ice or freezer until transported to the taxidermist. DO NOT ball it up because it will take too long to freeze, and will cause hair slippage. You should ALWAYS contact me before you go hunting so you can pick out a mount style like a full body, half body or rug mount because the cuts are made in different locations on the animal. Improper cuts will lead to more sewing which I will charge for and possibly limit your pose options.
Birds	DO NOT gut the bird. Birds are easy to care for in the field. First determine if the bird is good enough to mount. Many birds brought in each year, particularly waterfowl, are not fully feathered so they would not make a good mount. Check for pin feathers by gently lifting backwards and looking for feathers that are not fully grown. The back of the neck, the top of the head, the rump and the side feathers are the areas where pin or blood feathers are the most common. Immature first year birds or early season birds are generally not suitable for mounting. Check to see how badly hit your bird was. Small areas of damage can generally be fixed or hidden. If the speciman has large holes, badly shot-up wings or missing wing feathers or more than just a few pellets in the head area, then it is probably in too poor a condition to mount. If you are in doubt, bring the bird in so I can check it. Assuming that you have a well feathered bird that you did not shoot up, 1. Rinse or wipe as much blood off the feathers as you can. 2. Place a paper towel around the birds mouth to absorb fluids. 3. Tuck the head under or next to the wing and place the bird in a plastic ZIPLOCK type bag to prevent freezer burn. 4. Keep the bird as cold as you can and bring in as soon as possible OR place in a freezer. Turkeys and other large birds may need to be field dressed in order to keep them from spoiling. Make a short incision from the vent to the base of the rib cage. Remove the entrails and rinse the cavity with water, then place ice inside the cavity. Be careful not to get feathers full of blood or entrails as they are difficult to remove from the feathers. Place in a cooler and bring in ASAP.
Fish	DO NOT gut your fish. If you cannot immediately bring in your fish, wrap it in a wet towel, put it in a plastic bag and seal it to prevent freezer burn. Make sure all the fins are flat against the fish’s body (to prevent damage) and freeze it. Fish frozen this way can be kept in a freezer for 6 months. A fish will lose its coloration shortly after being caught. A good color photograph taken immediately after the catch will help the taxidermist duplicate the natural color pattern of that particular fish.
Antler mounts	If possible, cut rack off skull and take hide off the skull cap.