Tail Feathers question

[HUSKERBUCK]

Now that I have gotten my first turkey I have a question. I cut off the tail feathers and part of the tail. Is there anything special that I need to do to preserve the tail before I make some kind of mount?

 

[blake]

Cut away as much of the fat and meat from around the feathers as you can.Then put a liberal amount of 20 Mule Team Boarax mixed with some common table salt on a large piece of cardboard were the fleshy part of the tail will sit. Pin the tail in the open position as you want it to display.Then pour more of the mixure on it. After several days it should be dried and perserved. Good Luck.

 

[HUSKERBUCK]

Thanks Blake thats what I was looking for.

 

[muddy]

there is also a small tail bone at the base of all the feathers that you'll want to take out as well. spread the main tail feathers out and pin them down before you put the borax on. there should be two more sections of tail feathers that make the fan look good as well. to describe it through the internet is tough. i talked teeroy through it over the phone, send me a PM with your phone number and i can try the same with you if you want.

 

[NebraskaWhitetail]

Yep. I do mine much the same way Muddy suggested. I like to seperate the fan into two pieces for the purposes of drying. Once piece contains all of the largest feathers plus the next largest set of feathers. The second pieces contains several rows of the smaller feathers. Cover the bases of the feathers in Borax (one box from the grocery store will last you a lifetime!). I prefer to use straight pins to position the fans the way I want them to look, then I cover then with cardboard and add some books to weight it down.

Allow the fans to dry a minimum of two weeks, and change the Borax about three times during that period. You should end up with good results

Here's a couple of websites to check out before you get started:

http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/fan.htm
http://www.nwtf.org/tips_adventures/tips.php?id=289

 

[stuffy]

After you have done the borax routine. Make sure you have the tail spread like you want it, take small pieces of masking tape on both sides of tail. Next use a hot glue gun and apply the glue on the top side, let dry, and then to the back side.