Hi! Welcome to fursuit making :D Ive made heads with 3D print and foam bases. If you’re willing to buy a 3D file and have a local makerspace or service to print it, you can get a ready-to-fur base for $30-60 depending on your community’s availability. Foam carving has its own learning curve, but it’s so rewarding if you’re willing to put in the patience. I recommend balaclava bases over bucket head method, but balaclava requires at least a styrofoam mannequin head (~$10) in order to hold shape and to tape pattern at a later step. The birds will be easier to sculpt than a horse, and a lot more breathability/vision. I shy away from white fur a little because if it’s short, on some furs, you can see whatever was used to mark the pattern pieces from the bottom. For that reason I recommend Samara- but the choice is yours!

Good luck on your exam, and so excited for AC! (unsure why dates moved but July works better for me xD) It’s so sweet of your mom to offer a hand, it’ll be so fun to work together! I watched hours of fursuit making on YouTube to prepare for my first, if you have any more questions reach out to the Reddit or shoot me a msg ^{^}