Specimen Breakage and Repair. Repair is often needed for Nature in the Classroom and other teach specimens. For birds, common damages are heads snapped off when bills hit something or are dropped, and wings or legs are loose or pulled off. Some imagination for repairs is needed but overlapping feathers often cover damaged areas.
Heads. A smooth skewer can be drilled through body stuffing through the neck and into the head to stabilize a loose head. A hypodermic with glue can be used to inject glue around the skewer in the head. In using a hypo, first, create a vacuum to avoid getting glue on the feather when inserted. Similarly when withdrawing create a vacuum so that glue is transferred to feathers when the needle is withdrawn. If anchored firmly with glue the stick can be left extending beyond the tail creating a stick bird.
Legs. If legs are loose or detached, a thread can be tied to the leg bone or a stick substituted (bamboo skewer fragment is best) and sewn on by passing a needle through where the leg inserts out the body and tied off. Glue as needed.
Wings. Loose wings can be sewn through the body, then back through the other wing, and tied off at the first wing. The knot can be hidden in the feathers. If detached use the leg technique above and tie off.
Bent rectrices or remiges can be straighter with steam or by emersion in hot water.
Cleaning use water & brush or Van Dykes’s restorer.
Broken toes and feet. Legs can be replaced if spares are available from other teaching specimens or the freezer. Prepare them with long tibiotarsis. Preparing a replacement bird is about as easy.