How To Turkey Fan Mount: A Complete DIY Taxidermy Guide

Learn how to turkey fan mount using a professional, step-by-step DIY preservation method that guarantees a lifetime of display. By mastering precise fleshing, borax curing, and symmetrical pinning, you can transform a wild turkey tail into a stunning 180-degree wall display. This technical guide covers every detail from the initial field cut to the final plaque assembly.

Essential Tools, Anatomy, and Preparation for Turkey Fan Preservation

Mounting a wild turkey tail fan is an exceptional way to preserve the memory of a successful hunt. However, a lasting mount requires more than just cutting off the tail and pinning it to a wall. Without proper anatomical prep and chemical preservation, grease, tissue rot, and destructive insect infestations will quickly ruin your trophy.

Before beginning, you must understand the tail anatomy. The fan is comprised of 18 primary tail feathers anchored into a thick base of skin, fat, muscle, and the uropygial (oil) gland. Your goal is to strip away every trace of soft tissue, fat, and muscle while keeping the quill bases intact so they do not fall out.

Required Equipment and Materials

To complete a professional-grade DIY turkey fan mount, assemble the following tools and materials:

• Safety Gear: Nitrile gloves and a dust mask (especially when handling fine borax powder).
• Fleshing Knife or Scalpel: A razor-sharp scalpel or a small, high-carbon steel skinning knife.
• Wire Brush: A stiff brass wire brush to scrape stubborn fat from the quill bases.
• Preservation Agent: Pure Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate). Avoid standard table salt, which is highly hydrophilic and can draw moisture back into the mount in humid environments.
• Mounting Board & Pinning Medium: A clean sheet of thick corrugated cardboard, foam insulation board, or plywood (minimum size 30" x 20").
• Securing Pins: Heavy-duty T-pins or long push-pins (at least 50 count).
• Stabilizing Compound: Bondo auto-body filler, hot glue, or two-part epoxy to lock the cured quill base.
• Washing Agent: Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid (the industry standard for degreasing feathers).
• Display Plaque: A wooden turkey mounting plaque (with optional slots for the beard and spurs).

Project Estimation & Benchmarks

• Estimated Budget: $15 to $40 (depending on whether you purchase a pre-made wooden plaque or build your own).
• Active Working Time: 1 to 2 hours (fleshing, washing, and pinning).
• Passive Curing Time: 14 to 21 days (complete desiccation of the quill base).

The Step-by-Step Turkey Fan Extraction, Curing, and Mounting Process

Follow these precise steps to ensure your turkey fan is cleaned, dried symmetrically, and permanently preserved.

Step 1: Extracting the Tail Fan from the Carcass

Locate the base of the tail on your harvested bird. Feel for the hard, fleshy triangle at the base of the tail feathers where they join the body (often referred to as the "pope's nose" or uropygial area).

With a sharp knife, make a clean cut across the lower belly just above the vent, working up and behind the legs. Gently pull the tail fan forward and slice through the joint connecting the tail vertebrae to the spine. Ensure you leave approximately 2 to 3 inches of back feathers attached to the front of the fan; these feathers are crucial for hiding the unsightly, fleshy base once mounted on your plaque.

Warning: Do not cut too close to the quills. Slicing through the quill bases will release the individual feathers, making it nearly impossible to hold the fan together naturally.

Step 2: Fleshing and Removing the Fat

Lay the fan flat on your workspace with the backside (the side facing the bird's back) facing up. You will see a large, yellow, double-lobed mass of fat: this is the uropygial gland.

1. Using your scalpel or knife, carefully slice off the uropygial gland. Work slowly, slicing parallel to the quills.
2. Carefully scrape away the layers of pink muscle tissue and yellow adipose (fat) tissue surrounding the feather follicles.
3. Use a stiff brass wire brush to scrape between the quills. The friction from the brush pulls out stubborn grease and meat without damaging the quill structure.
4. Flip the fan over and scrape the front side, taking care not to pull out or damage the small cover feathers that conceal the quill base.

The goal is to expose the white, hard quills of the primary tail feathers while leaving just enough connective tissue to keep them bound together.

Pro-Tip: If the meat and fat look greasy, use a paper towel to blot the area constantly during scraping. Removing oil is the most critical factor in preventing long-term insect damage.

Step 3: Degreasing and Washing (Optional but Recommended)

If the feathers are soiled with mud, blood, or excessive grease from the skinning process, wash them before pinning.

1. Fill a clean tub or sink with lukewarm water and add 2 tablespoons of Blue Dawn dish soap.
2. Submerge the entire fan and gently work the soapy water through the feathers in the direction of the feather grain.
3. Rinse thoroughly with clean, cold water until all soap residue is gone.
4. Gently squeeze excess water out of the feathers. Use a hand-held hairdryer set to low heat to blow-dry the fan. Blow the air from the base of the feathers out to the tips to ensure they fluff back up to their natural, clean state.

Step 4: Applying the Borax

Borax works by drawing out moisture and chemically altering the remaining proteins so they are unpalatable to bugs.

1. Lay down a 1/2-inch layer of Borax on your pinning cardboard or foam board in the shape of a semi-circle where the quill base will rest.
2. Press the raw, fleshed quill base of the turkey fan firmly down into this Borax bed.
3. Pour an additional generous mound of Borax directly over the top of the exposed flesh, completely burying the base in at least 1 inch of powder. Ensure no meat or skin is exposed to the open air.

Step 5: Pinning and Spreading for a Symmetrical 180-Degree Fan

A wild turkey tail fan naturally contains 18 primary feathers. To display it correctly, you must spread it into a perfect semi-circle.

1. Locate the two center feathers of the fan. Align them so they point straight up (vertically) on your board. Pin them in place by placing T-pins on either side of the quill near the base. Do not pierce the quill itself; instead, cross the pins over the quill to lock it down.
2. Gradually spread the feathers out to the left and right, ensuring equal spacing between each feather.
3. Insert T-pins through the cardboard directly adjacent to the outer edges of the outermost feathers to hold the fan at a full, wide angle (typically 180 degrees).
4. Place a second, flat sheet of cardboard or a heavy piece of wood directly over the fan's feathers (excluding the borax-covered base) to keep the feathers perfectly flat as they dry. Put light weights on top of this cardboard sandwich to prevent the feathers from warping or curling.

Step 6: The Curing Phase

Store the pinned assembly in a cool, dry, pet-free, and well-ventilated area. Avoid damp basements or unventilated crawl spaces.

Leave the fan undisturbed for 2 to 3 weeks. After 14 days, gently brush away the Borax to inspect the flesh. If the base feels hard, dry, and completely wood-like, the curing process is complete. If it still feels soft, damp, or greasy, scrape away the old, clumpy Borax, apply a fresh dry layer, and let it cure for another week.

Step 7: Final Mounting and Plaque Assembly

Once the base is rock-hard and completely preserved, you can mount it to your display plaque.

1. Shake off all loose Borax. Brush the base clean with a stiff paintbrush.
2. To ensure long-term stability, apply a generous layer of hot glue, two-part epoxy, or Bondo auto-body filler over the dried, exposed quill base. This solidifies the joint and prevents any individual quills from shifting over time.
3. Center the cured base onto your wooden mounting plaque.
4. Secure the fan to the plaque using the included mounting bracket, wood screws, or heavy-duty wire.
5. Cover the raw base of the fan by layering the preserved breast or rump feathers over the bottom of the display, or slide the wooden cover plate of your plaque over the base and screw it down.
6. Optional: Hang the dried turkey beard and dried spur-mount legs from the bottom of the plaque using leather cord or hot glue for a complete display.

Preservation Materials and Technical Specifications

Choosing the right preservation agent and mounting substrate directly impacts the longevity of your turkey mount. Use the reference table below to compare the technical parameters of the most common DIY taxidermy methods.

Common Taxidermy Failures and Remedial Solutions

1. The Fan Feathers are Falling Out After Drying

• Root Cause: During the scraping stage (Step 2), the connective tissue holding the quills together was cut too deeply, or the scalpel severed the base of the quill jackets.
• Actionable Fix: Lay the fan face down on a flat surface. Re-align the loose feathers into their correct positions. Mix a batch of two-part epoxy or Bondo auto-body filler and apply it generously across the entire backside of the quill bases. This acts as an artificial skeletal system, locking the loose quills back into a singular, solid block.

2. Bugs or Small Beetles are Eating the Base of the Mount

• Root Cause: Flesh or fat was left on the quill base, or the fan was not cured thoroughly with Borax, allowing dermestid carpet beetles or clothes moths to infest the organic material.
• Actionable Fix: Remove the fan from the wall and place it inside a sealed plastic garbage bag. Put the bag in a deep freezer for 72 hours to kill all active insects, larvae, and eggs. Remove, brush away any loose debris, and thoroughly spray the base with a specialized taxidermy protector spray containing permethrin. Apply a fresh layer of Borax or seal the entire organic base in Bondo to prevent future pest access.

3. The Fan is Warped, Curled, or Not Laying Flat Against the Wall

• Root Cause: The fan was not weighted down or sandwiched between flat layers of cardboard during the drying phase, allowing the feathers to cup as they dried.
• Actionable Fix: You cannot easily flatten dry, stiff feathers without breaking them. You must carefully rehydrate the mount. Place the cured base of the fan inside a plastic bag to keep it completely dry. Suspend the feather portion over a steaming pot of water or use a clothes steamer to gently relax the curled feathers. Once pliable, sandwich the fan between two flat sheets of plywood, weight it down heavily with bricks, and let it dry completely flat for 48 hours.

4. Greasy Spots are Bleeding Through onto the Wood Plaque

• Root Cause: Incomplete degreasing of the uropygial gland or fat layers. The remaining oil has liquefied and soaked into the wood grain.
• Actionable Fix: Remove the fan from the plaque. Scrub the oily wood plaque with mineral spirits to lift the grease, then reseal the wood with a clear polyurethane spray coat. For the fan base, apply a heavy paste of Borax mixed with cornmeal directly over the greasy area to draw out the residual oil, leaving it to sit for a week before wiping clean and reassembling.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a turkey fan mount last?

When properly fleshed, washed in degreasing soap, and cured with Borax, a DIY turkey fan mount can easily last 30 to 50 years or more. To maximize its lifespan, keep the mount out of direct sunlight to prevent color fading and display it in a climate-controlled room with low humidity to prevent pest infestations.

Can I use table salt instead of Borax to preserve the fan?

While table salt will draw out moisture, it is not recommended for long-term taxidermy. Salt absorbs moisture from the surrounding air; in humid conditions, a salt-cured mount will rehydrate, become damp, smell bad, and eventually rot. Borax dry-cures the meat permanently and acts as a natural deterrent to insect pests.

Do I need to remove the skin from the front of the fan?

No, you do not need to remove the front skin or the small cover feathers that sit at the base of the tail feathers. These cover feathers are aesthetically essential because they hide the quill bases. You only need to scrape away the thick fat and meat from the underside and deep between the quills.

How do I clean blood off the turkey feathers?

Wash the blood out as soon as possible using cold water and Blue Dawn dish soap. Warm water can set the protein in the blood, making stains permanent. Gently rub the stained area with a soft toothbrush in the direction of the feather barbules, rinse with cold water, and dry immediately with a hair dryer on a cool setting.

Preserve Your Spring Harvest Pride

Take your time during the critical fleshing stage to ensure every ounce of grease and fat is removed from your trophy. By following these professional preservation steps, you will create a beautiful, hand-crafted display that honors your hunt for decades to come.