How To Make A Turkey Fan with Your Tail Feathers

It is Turkey season for some already and will be for all very soon. For those of us that dream about this time of year we are eager to hit the woods. We have been watching our cameras, prepping our blinds and getting our gear ready to roll. There will be countless mornings that we spend working our “purr” and “cluck” skills. On that amazing day when a Tom rolls into our sight line and we harvest a beautiful turkey, we will be cheering and jumping for joy to have fresh organic meat.

Harvesting a turkey not only means meat for family and friends, you can also have beautiful feather art by making a turkey fan with your birds tail feathers.

Below you will find the simple steps to guide you through mounting your own turkey fan with your tail feathers. Please note, if you cannot work on this immediately after harvesting your turkey, you will want to freeze the tail until you can.

Step 1. Depending on how many rows of secondary feathers you want on your tail mount, locate the oil gland near the front and cut out that area leaving the desired number of secondary feathers attached to the long primary feathers.

Step 2. Using a knife or scalpel and wire brush clean all the meat, fat and tissue from between the quills and the base.

Did you know there are many color variations of turkey tail feathers?
Learn more at NWTF.

Step 3. Wash the tail in cool blue Dawn dish soap for 15 minutes and rinse well. Gently squeeze out excess water. Wrap tail in a towel and let set for 15-20 minutes, to soak up a little more water.

Step 4. Use a hair dryer on low heat to thoroughly dry the tail feathers.

Step 5. Dip the tips of the quills in powered Borax and rub into the tail base. You will find powered Borax in the laundry section of your favorite grocery store.

Step 6. Use a flat piece of cardboard to spread out your tail into the desired position, arranging both the primary and secondary feathers. Using blue painters’ tape, secure the tail to the cardboard and each other. Let dry for approx. 5 days.

Step 7. When the tail is dry use a hot glue gun to fill in the area where the quills are exposed to create a solid base. Pull off all the blue tape and remove your tail from the cardboard.

Step 8. You are ready to attach your fan and beard to your Skull Hooker Turkey Fan Mount!!

Now, pick the perfect spot to hang you your fan and get ready to tell the stories of your adventure. Happy Hunting!

Check out these great Turkey Harvest articles, Wild Turkey Three Ways and Capturing Memories Of Your Harvest.

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