Treating turkey fans

[Rogue Bay]

Does anyone on here treat dried turkey fans for bugs before bringing them into the house? I’ve always just dried them thoroughly using Borax on the base of the tail, top of the beard, etc. but a few years ago we had a fan that got eaten on by bugs while in the garage. That was a first for but I wouldn’t want to have that happen if the fan was in the house with my other mounts.

Has anybody had this experience and what’s your go-to method?

 

[Jimss]

Try to get rid of all the yellowish fat. Borax usually works well with me once all the fat is gone. If you really want to make a fan bug-proof you can put a thin coat of bondo on the base.

 

[Rogue Bay]

Thank you for the suggestion. I read about the Bondo online but that was the first I’d heard of it until you mentioned it.

 

[UncleNommies]

As mentioned above, bondo works great! I get all the yellow fat off the best i can, fill the tub or sink with dawn soap and water, then i give the fan a really good washing. Hit it with a blow dryer and it comes out looking better than before! I lay down some plastic wrap where the bondo will be, spread the tail fan out to where i want it, then tape it down. Mix up the bondo and apply it to the base, fold the plastic wrap over and place a heavy book on it to form the bondo. Once the bondo is dry, carefully pull the painters tape away towards the tip of the feathers. It's more steps, but way faster than the borax method!

 

[WCB]

As mentioned above, bondo works great! I get all the yellow fat off the best i can, fill the tub or sink with dawn soap and water, then i give the fan a really good washing. Hit it with a blow dryer and it comes out looking better than before! I lay down some plastic wrap where the bondo will be, spread the tail fan out to where i want it, then tape it down. Mix up the bondo and apply it to the base, fold the plastic wrap over and place a heavy book on it to form the bondo. Once the bondo is dry, carefully pull the painters tape away towards the tip of the feathers. It's more steps, but way faster than the borax method!

Id do very similar but split in between the feathers even further and probably get 99% of all the fat and meat off the quills. Wash with dawn, rinse well, then dry with hair drier set on warm. Borax the connective tissue between the feathers.

All the other feathers I individually pluck and clean the quill off so no need to clean those. I assemble with clear JB Weld epoxy and some hot glue if needed.

From start (cutting it fresh off the bird) till wall hangable about 2.5 hrs. Absolutely no worry about bugs. Seen too many grouse and turkey fans even "salted/boraxed" get eaten by bugs or even mice when all the meat and fat wasn't removed. Picture below is one I made 3 years ago including the plaque.

 

[Rogue Bay]

This is incredible! Thank you all so much for the instruction! I’ve got a tail in the early stages of drying I’ll practice on. Thanks again!

 

[Jbehredt]

Agree with the above but I find a little JB weld easier to work with and stronger which is nice if it’s destined to be a decoy fan.

 

[Chris in TN]

I've always just used Borax but now you have me thinking about checking the ones in the barn for bug damage.


Damage or not, I might hit them with some permethrin while I'm at it.

 

[High Climber]

Wow I need to step my game up on Turkey fans mine look no where near that clean at the quills I cut as much as I can with a knife, pin it out, then salt the crap out of it for a few weeks and nail it to the wall in my shop

 

[OneGunTex]

I've done the Borax + salt to dry fans before, but for a permanent mount I have clipped and placed individual feathers. Takes a lot longer, but lays nice and flat and perfect.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

I trim as much of the soft tissue off as possible and then encase the base in a mixture of salt and borax. Let it sit until all of it is cured/dried. No bug problems ever after 25 or so..

 

[10mbowle]

I have done the borax method. Seems to work very well. I think the next time im going to try to make it in a picture frame and place the feathers. Pic for reference.

 

[UncleNommies]

I have done the borax method. Seems to work very well. I think the next time im going to try to make it in a picture frame and place the feathers. Pic for reference. View attachment 1063752

I did one of these, took me 16 hours lol. I'm still not sure if I like the wing or not.

 

[10mbowle]

I did one of these, took me 16 hours lol. I'm still not sure if I like the wing or not.View attachment 1063807

I could see that. From an aestetic perspective its not weighted evenly. I have seen those and just me but I dont like it as much. I like things being symmetrical.

 

[Rogue Bay]

I've always just used Borax but now you have me thinking about checking the ones in the barn for bug damage.


Damage or not, I might hit them with some permethrin while I'm at it.

This is what I’ve always done as well. I’ve never had an issue until the one fan a few years ago. After getting my PB turkey this season I don’t want to take any chances.

 

[Rogue Bay]

Id do very similar but split in between the feathers even further and probably get 99% of all the fat and meat off the quills. Wash with dawn, rinse well, then dry with hair drier set on warm. Borax the connective tissue between the feathers.

All the other feathers I individually pluck and clean the quill off so no need to clean those. I assemble with clear JB Weld epoxy and some hot glue if needed.

From start (cutting it fresh off the bird) till wall hangable about 2.5 hrs. Absolutely no worry about bugs. Seen too many grouse and turkey fans even "salted/boraxed" get eaten by bugs or even mice when all the meat and fat wasn't removed. Picture below is one I made 3 years ago including the plaque.

That looks great! Do you happen to have a template for the plaque? I’m wanting to attach the feet on the side as well and am trying to decide how best to do that. Something similar to the photo below.

 

[WCB]

That looks great! Do you happen to have a template for the plaque? I’m wanting to attach the feet on the side as well and am trying to decide how best to do that. Something similar to the photo below.

I do not. I just went into the shop grabbed some wood and winged it. I made two identical. I do however have to make 4 or 5 more in the next couple weeks. Ill try to remember to write down the measurements and pass them along.

I was literally just finding centers and moving the saw to whatever angle looked good let it rip and matched up the trim pieces. I think the radius on the top I just traced a paint can or Folgers can I keep nails in.

 

[Green-Up]

I've always been paranoid about bug problems, so in the past I've went through the trouble to split between each quill and scrape 99% of the meat and fat out - a bird flesher that taxidermists use (really just a glorified wire wheel with a shield for the mess) would probably make quick work of it, but given that I don't have such a setup, it's a pain in the rear and time consuming.

So, I'm now a fan of the pluck and reassemble method. Just pluck each feather and keep track of where it goes, and use the glue/adhesive/filler of your choice to bind them back together - Bondo is convenient and works well. Zero meat, fat, or tissue to worry about and no waiting for Borax to dry everything out.

I also like to wash the feathers in warm water/dish soap and then rinse and blow dry. Plucking each one also makes it easier to "preen" them if you happen to be someone that doesn't like the usual gaps and separation of the barbules that they all have to one degree or another - giving them the ratty look sometimes. In most cases, they will "zip" back together pretty easily by just lightly pinching the separation between your thumb and pointer finger and pulling outward from the base to the tip.

 

[OneGunTex]

FWIW - I've noticed multiple people on this thread saying they use Borax for drying. Borax is NOT for drying, it's for bug repellant. Salt is for drying. A 50/50 Borax/salt mixture is ideal for both drying out and keeping bugs out. I just found a pair of goose wings at the bottom of a dusty pile of junk in a closet - just skin under the wing opened up, meat 99% dug out, salt and Borax treatment. They've been down there for years and nothing got into them (and I have plenty of bugs in my ancient house).

I wonder if you just used borax if perhaps something wasn't totally dried out and a critter decided to ignore the borax because it found a tiny meaty bit. Also possible there's just bugs around and they don't care - plenty of inorganic things get bugs in them too

 

[Chris in TN]

FWIW - I've noticed multiple people on this thread saying they use Borax for drying. Borax is NOT for drying, it's for bug repellant. Salt is for drying. A 50/50 Borax/salt mixture is ideal for both drying out and keeping bugs out.

The way I read the first post he was asking about dried fans, not how they got dry.

I use salt and borax in the drying process. But the salt is for drying, the borax is for bug control later.

I thought we were discussing dry fans. Not how they got there. Otherwise your point is a good one.