# snow goose question



## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

I shot a really nice snow today and it has a really rust colored head. What causes some birds to look like this? Will that color stay if I get it mounted?


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## brobones (Mar 10, 2004)

Iron rich soil from where they are feeding, I know that the greaters have this from feeding on the ST. Lawerence river in Quebec You shot a lesser snow so it was grubbing in soil that was iron rich probably in the wintering grounds.
That is how I understand it, and yes it should stay stained even after the bird has been to the taxidermist


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## IOWAFOWLER (Nov 30, 2006)

Brobones is right. Most likely came from Texas or Oklahoma. There soil is iron rich and red in color. Gives the birds a rusty grill.


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

Thanks for the info. Now I have to decide what pose to get it.


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## poppaduck (May 11, 2006)

quote=

I hunt NE Arkansas and SE Missouri, many snowgeese feed in harvested rice fields here and most fields still have some water in them, the water is mineral rich and the stubble has a rust color to it. We kill many S&B's with that rusty face so I am sure a lot of them come from here also. I have never hunted S&B's in Texas or Oklahoma, but there is a lot of rice farmed in the Katy, Tx. area which is a large wintering area for S&B's. NW Texas and SW Oklahoma has a lot of the Red Clay soil so I'm sure they come from there also.............poppaduck


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## headshot (Oct 26, 2006)

It is amazing how far these birds can travel in such a short time. I don't see that many "rusty" geese around here and he is virtually undamaged so I will be getting him mounted. I was thinking of getting 2 birds done in the same mount, the rusty gooose looking over his back hissing at a pure white snow. I have watched how aggressive and "mean" the birds are to each other and I think it will look cool. :beer:


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## FlashBoomSplash (Aug 26, 2005)

Make sure you tell the taxidermist you want the rust color a couple of years ago I got one with that rust color I also liked how it looked so I got it mounted when I picked it up most of the color was washed off.


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

FlashBoomSplash said:


> Make sure you tell the taxidermist you want the rust color a couple of years ago I got one with that rust color I also liked how it looked so I got it mounted when I picked it up most of the color was washed off.


The rust color is in their feathers, you can't wash it off. I would guess that you got a different bird back or some of it was dirt and blood. I have a bust mount of a blue that is really rusty. I will post up the picture later today.


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

Here are a couple pictures of the rusty blue I have.
[siteimg]6899[/siteimg]
[siteimg]6898[/siteimg]


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

When I went to pick this bird up I thought it just had a really bloody head. This is the rustiest bird I have seen in person, they are pretty cool.


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## Trapperjack (Feb 25, 2007)

There is definetly a chemical taxidermists use that will take the rust coloring right off. Make sure you inform them that you would like to keep the staining since they do try and get the birds as clean as possible. I like the staining personally and have seen snows that were almost completely orange.


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

After Trapperjacks comment I called my taxidermist and I stand corrected  . The rust will not wash off when they clean them normally, but they can get most of it off with a product that is very caustic, something like lime away. They use it to get rust off of diver ducks breasts usually and don't use it on most of the birds. So the other posts are correct just tell the taxidermist to try and keep the rust color on and not to use the rust remover compounds.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

It shows up most often in white birds. Swans and Whooping cranes from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas often look this way. So do Sandhill Cranes, but one of those that they inspected closely had redish microscopic mites that had infested the bird. I'm not sure if they were the aquatic Hydracharina or terrestrial species. I don't know of it being found in other species, but you might want to check closely. I would guess your bird is red from Iron oxide, as everyone else says, but now we know there is another possibility.


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## Vandy (Mar 29, 2005)

Snow Hunter said:


> FlashBoomSplash said:
> 
> 
> > Make sure you tell the taxidermist you want the rust color a couple of years ago I got one with that rust color I also liked how it looked so I got it mounted when I picked it up most of the color was washed off.
> ...


Are you not going to give cred where cred is due??? I thought I shot that bird??


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## Snow Hunter (Nov 16, 2004)

WHo said anything about shooting it, I said I have it and I paid for it oke:


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