# drying duck feet



## phantastickfish

anyone know how i would go about drying some hoodie feet? i want to make a christmas tree oranament.


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## steve1983

i dont know, but thats a cool idea.


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## Mitchell Ulrich

You got a couple of choices...the easiest one is to buy artificial feet from your taxidermist..(if he's in a good mood...sometimes its a pain to order just a pair of feet, there is only a few different species of duck feet avaible!)....OR....To do it right, the feet need to be injected with resin used for just that purpose, it makes the feet plump and not look dried out. (again taxidermist) But before you inject, you need to run a wire inside the leg bone to remove the marrow. Cut the underside bottom of the heel pad. Use a hooked wire to remove the tendons. Wash in dawn dish detergent, then pat dry. Now you need to card the feet. Old cereal box will work but open plastic mesh works better for this stage. Cut out triangle shaped pieces (using the foot as a template) and paper clip to webs on the feet. Not its time to inject the resin. After several days they should be dry enough to airbrush. Using good photos for reference of course. Don't forget to clear coat the legs and feet before painting or the paint wont want to adhere to the feet! Don't forget to insert a pair of wires into the legs and leave them long enough to stick into whatever you are using for an ornament!>>>OR<<< you can cast the feet in alginate or RTV rubber and make a mold. This way there is noting to rot and painting is much easier..but that requires Casting material..its not cheap either!

I suppose that you could cut them off and let them dry, but it wont be long until it either stinks and draws bugs or both (ho ho ho).

This forum is for tips... Ebowhunter


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## Ebowhunter

A perservative should be injected into the feet. I don't believe formaldehyde is on the drug store shelves anymore.

I haven't pulled tendons for quite a few years or (ever) drilled the leg bones (thighs, yes) for morrow without adverse problems.

I do use a two part injection to reduce shrinkage prior to drying and painting.

Of course, everything above is based on the quality of the finished product. You may find the mummification (drying) is adequate for several years or more.


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