Field care is very important in determining how your trophy will look when it is completed.

• Do not cut the throat!
• When field dressing your trophy, take care not to cut into the brisket. Don't take your belly incision past the front legs.
• Get your trophy field dressed and cooled down as soon as possible. Flesh destroying bacteria thrive in a warm, moist environment and can irreparably damage your hide in a matter of hours.
• Keep it cold, dry, and free of as much blood and debris as possible.
• If you are unsure of the following procedure, bring your trophy to your processor or Decatur Taxidermy immediately for proper caping.
  
• Leave more skin than is necessary. Never cut white hair in the armpit area! Cut around the body about the midway point of the ribcage. Ring the legs below the knee and join the cuts up the back of the leg where the brown hair meets the white hair, striaght back to the body cut. Skin the hide forward to the base of the head. Cut the head off leaving the hide attached. Leave approximately 3 inches of neck to allow for an accurate measurement for your mount.
• Leave birds whole and do not remove internal organs. Do not ring the birds neck! Place into pantyhose to keep the feathers against the body and freeze.
• Leave small mammals whole as well, and do not remove the internal organs. Place into a paper bag and keep dry and cold or frozen.
• We do not skin mount fish, however, with the weight, girth, and length measurements, you can enjoy a trophy mount while still supporting catch and release. A color photograph, if possible, will aid in reproducing your trophy catch.
  

• Decatur Taxidermy and Ken & Kesia Harlan will not be held responsible for loss of any specimen due to fire, theft, or any other catastrophic disaster.
• Although we at Decatur Taxidermy take great care to preserve your trophy, the taxidermists can not be held responsible for hides that will not mount or that come apart during the tanning procerss due to improper handling in the field or other causes beyond our control.
• Proof of legal harvest must accompany each specimen.
• All tanning is perfomed at the customer's risk. There are no guarantees on ANY tanning!
• All dry tans must be paid in full before processing.
• All migratory birds must be paid in full before processing.
• A deposit is required before any work is begun.
• Capes that require excessive repairs are subject to an additional charge.
• Mounts not picked up within 30 days of completion notice are subject to a weekly charge of 5%.
• Mounts left over 90 days past notice of completion will be considered forfeited and will become, along with any deposits made, the property of Decatur Taxidermy and may be sold to satisfy the remaining balance
• A $35 fee will be assessed for all returned checks.